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Competition from Ukraine: VUFKU and the Soviet Film Industry in the 1920s

2009; Routledge; Volume: 29; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01439680902890654

1465-3451

Bohdan Y. Nebesio,

French Historical and Cultural Studies

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Notes 1. B. S. Ol’khovyi (ed.) Puti kino: pervoe vsesoiuznoe partiinoe soveshchanie po kinematografii (Moskva, Tea-kinopechat’, 1929), 131. 2. For an overview of Soviet studios’ output in the silent era see, for example, Appendix I in Denise J. Youngblood, Soviet Cinema in the Silent Era, 1918–1935 (Austin, University of Texas Press, 1991), 240–241. 3. See, for example, Youngblood; Jay Leyda, Kino: a history of the Russian and Soviet film (3rd edn) (Princeton, NJ, Princeton UP, 1983), and Neya Zorkaya, The Illustrated History of the Soviet Cinema (New York, Hippocrene Books, 1989). Rashit Yangirov does not even mention Ukraine in his article, ‘Soviet cinema in the twenties: national alternatives,’ Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 11(2) (1991), 129–139. Vance Kepley's reconceptualization of the Soviet cinema as a federal cinema, rather than a national cinema, is an exception to this tendency, see ‘Federal cinema: the Soviet film industry, 1924–32,’ Film History 8 (1996), 344–356. 4. NKVD (People's Commisariat of Internal Affairs) during the 1920s did not perform the functions of the secret police for which it is mainly known after 1934. These functions were carried out by Cheka (Chrezvychainaia komissiia) and GPU (Gosudarstvennoie politicheskoe upravlenie). 5. O. Shymon, Storinky z istorii kino na Ukraini (Kyiv, Mystetstvo, 1964), 51. 6. B. Dzien’kievich, Kino-vyrobnytstvo Ukrainy (Kyiv, Ukrteakinovydav, 1931), 10. 7. Dmytro Buz’ko, Kino i kinofabryka (Kyiv, Derzhavne vydavnytstvo Ukrainy, 1928), 75. 8. Dzien’kievich, 37–38. According to Dzien’kievich, his numbers come from the Ukrainian film industry's annual reports and budgets of film studios. Dzien’kievich's numbers are lower than those compiled by Denise Youngblood (Youngblood, 241), on the basis of Sovetskie khudozhstvennye fil’my: Annotirovannyi katalog, 5 vols (Moskva, Iskusstvo, 1961–1979), vols 1–2. For the period 1923–1930, her total is 149 films instead of Dzien’kievich's 122. Most likely, the differences result from the fact that Dzien’kievich lists feature (khudozhni) films that were completed and released, while Sovetskie khudozhstvennye fil’my may include incomplete pictures. Moreover, it is not always clear which films are classified as feature films (khudozhni, khudozhestvennye). 9. Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856–1915) was an American engineer, an expert in the efficiency of production processes, whose ideas were highly influential during the industrialization drive in the Soviet Union. The excesses of ‘Taylorization’ in Ukraine during the 1920s are satirized in the novel Intelihent (Kharkiv, Proletarii, 1929) by a Ukrainian film theorist Leonid Skrypnyk. 10. Compiled from data in Dzien’kievich, 64, 79. Efraim Lemberg cites even lower numbers: the average production cost was 103,283 rubles and average production time 6.17 months in 1925–26, and 69,200 rubles and 4.73 months in 1926–27. Lemberg, Kinopromyshlennost’ SSSR: Ekonomika sovetskoi kinematografii (Moskva, Teakinopechat’, 1930), 222. 11. Dzien’kievich, 32; Istoriia ukrains’koho radians’koho kino, vol. 1 (Kyiv, Naukova dumka, 1986), 30. 12. Pavlo Nechesa, A radians’ke kino vse-taky bude!, in: Kriz’ kinoobiektyv chasu: Spohady veteraniv ukrains’koho kino (Kyiv, Mystetstvo, 1970), 186–87. 13. Exhibition points included movie theatres in large cities as well as make-shift cinemas established in workers’ clubs and in villages. See, I. Vorobiov, Pro ukrains’ke kino: stan, plany i perspektyvy Ukrains’koi kinematohrafii (Kyiv, VUFKU, 1929), 11–13. 14. T. Makhmudbekov, AFKU Azerbaidzhanskoe foto-kino upravlenie, in S. Syrtsov and A. Kurs (eds) Sovetskoe kino na podeme (Moskva, Kinopechat’, 1926), 95. See also Michael G. Smith, Cinema for the ‘Soviet East’: national fact and revolutionary fiction in early Azerbaijani film, Slavic Review 56(4) (1997), 656. On Goskino's activities in Uzbekistan, see Kh. Abul-Kasymova, Organizatsiia kinodela v Uzbekistane, Iz istorii kino, vyp. 5 (Moskva, AN SSSR, 1962), 44–47. 15. I. Trainin, Kino-promyshlennost'i Sovkino (Moskva, Kino-izdatel'stvo RSFSR, 1925), 27. 16. In fact, the Russian film industry of the 1920s is marred by discontinuity and constant reorganizations sanctioned by its political masters. It begins with VFKO (The Photo-Cinema Section of the Commissariat of Education), which produced 24 feature films between 1919 and 1922. Goskino produced 86 films and Proletkino 17 between 1923 and 1926. Sevzapkino, a Leningrad-based company, produced 36 films between 1922 and 1926. Sovkino did not last very long either. It managed to produce 174 films between 1925 and 1931. 17. Trainin, 8; Lemberg, 203–204. 18. Youngblood, 44. 19. Ibid. 20. Youngblood, 44; Trainin, 26. 21. Ol’khovyi, 313. 22. Trainin, 25. 23. In the so-called ‘cinefication’ of the countryside VUFKU was well ahead of other Soviet studios. By 1926, some 800 villages had stationary movie theatres. VUFKU was also leading way in providing equipment and films to the Red Army free of charge. See Letopis rossiiskogo kino 1863–1929 (Moskva, Materik, 2004), 523. 24. Nechesa, 183. 25. On the exhibition contracts and financial aspects of film trade in Hollywood during the late 1920s see F. Andrew Hanssen, Revenue sharing and the coming of sound, in: John Sedgwick and Michael Pokorny (eds) An Economic History of Film (London and New York, Routledge, 2005), 86–120, esp. 89–105. Unlike Sovkino, Western film companies recognized that the profit sharing model was vulnerable to dishonest business practices, and costly. For example, in 1927 the Pathé Company was distributing the very expensive The King of Kings (1927) using the profit sharing model but ‘continued to charge a flat fee to movie houses located in “remote” towns, believing that the cost of checking receipts for those houses would be “prohibitive”’ (Hanssen, 104). 26. Lemberg, 47. Lemberg seems to downplay the wealth of VUFKU to make Sovkino look better. Although he admits in the footnote that VUFKU reported its 1927 capital at 7 million rubles he cuts this number to 4.53 million motivating his decision by Sovkino's estimate of VUFKU's capital at 2.1 million. His number is then an average of the two. Seven million is more consistent with other reports. For example, two years later, in 1929, Vorobiov reports VUFKU's capital at 15 million rubles citing annual growth of 42% (p. 12). 27. The historical studies of Ukrainian independent foreign relations and diplomacy had been discouraged during the Soviet times. First works of the subject started to appear only recently. For an overview of the Ukrainian diplomacy in the early 1920s see, Dmytro Viedienieiev and Dmytro Budkov, Iunist' ukrains’koi dyplomatii: Stanovlennia zovnishn’opolitychnoi sluzhby Ukrains’koi derzhavy 1917–1923 roky (Kyiv, K.I.S., 2006). See also Dmytro Tabachnyk, Ukrains’ka dyplomatiia: narysy istorii, 1917–1990 (Kyiv, Lybid’, 2006). 28. Richard Taylor claims that in March of 1923 Sovkino's predecessor, Goskino, reached an agreement with VUFKU and Goskinprom Gruzii to jointly purchase film stock and films in Germany. See Taylor, The Politics of the Soviet Cinema, 1917–1929 (Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 1979), 73. Goskino bought on credit in Germany some 33 feature films, 50 educational films as well as film stock and equipment. Goskino became a successful distributor in RSFSR and begun developing into a production company in 1924–26 when it was replaced by Sovkino. See Lemberg, 22, note 2. 29. These numbers appear here as reported by Vorobiov (16). The numbers for foreign films seem to indicate feature films only but he is not clear whether the numbers for Soviet films include documentary films as well. Of course, it was in his interest to keep the number of Soviet films as high as possible. For an overview of foreign films in the entire Soviet Union see Vance Kepley, Jr., and Betty Kepley, Foreign films on Soviet screens, 1922–1931, Quarterly Review of Film Studies 4(4) (1979), 429–442. 30. The Soviet state was also trying to exhibit Soviet films abroad. It was the most successful in Germany mainly through the efforts of Internationale Arbeiterhilfe (IAH—Workers’ International Relief) and Mezhrabpom, a Soviet production and distribution company, which was eventually owned by IAH. See Denise Hartsough, Soviet film distribution and exhibition in Germany, 1921–1933, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 5(2) (1985), 131–148. On the Soviet international trade also see Kristin Thompson, Government policies and practical necessities in the Soviet cinema of the 1920s, in: Anna Lawton (ed.) The Red Screen: politics, society, art in Soviet cinema (London, Routledge, 1992), 19–41, and Thomas J. Saunders, The German–Russian film (mis)alliance (DERUSSA): commerce and politics in German–Soviet cinema ties, Film History 9 (1997), 168–188. 31. See, for example, Youngblood, 56–59, and the same author's ‘Americanitis: the Amerikanshchina in Soviet cinema,’ Journal of Popular Film and Television 19(4) (1992), 148–156. 32. The figures in Table 6 are based on numbers supplied by Lemberg separately for Ukraine (p. 227) and for Russia (pp. 93–97). 33. In 1925, Trainin estimates that 60 Soviet-made films could satisfy only 15–16% of the market in the Russian SFSR. Trainin, 13. 34. Ol’khovyi, 49. It is also possible that the lecture organizers decided on Keaton's film to ensure good lecture attendance. 35. Ol’khovyi, 52. 36. Partiinyi Arkhiv Instituta Istorii Partii TsK KP Ukrainy—Filiala Instituta Marksisma-Leninisma pri TsK KPSS, Fond: Odesskii Gubernskii Komitet KP(b)U, Sekretnaia chast’, f. 29, ed. khr. 893, op. 1. I am grateful to Roman Podkur for sharing this archival material with me. After his dismissal, Kapchyns'kyi continued to work in the Russian film industry as a film director and producer, most notably on Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin in 1925. In 1927, while working for Sovkino he was sentenced to eight months in jail for financial machinations. On Kapchyns'kyi see, Iurii Morozov and Tatiana Derevianko, Evreiskie kinematografisty v Ukraine, 1917–1945 (Kyiv, Dukh i litera, 2004), 120–125. 37. Supreme Council of the National Economy (1917–1932), a state institution managing economy initially of the RSFSR and later of the Soviet Union. 38. Lemberg, 149. 39. Istoriia ukrains’koho …, 31. 40. Lemberg, 149–152. 41. VAPP (All-Russian Association of Proletarian Writers) and later RAPP (Russian Association of Proletarian Writers) have been fierce critics of the film industry, and Sovkino in particular. See Youngblood, 59–61. Ukrainian Commissar of Education Mykola Skrypnyk expressed his concerns about the monopolizing role of VAPP in Soviet film criticism at the party conference in 1928, see Ol’khovyi, 185. 42. See Vance Kepley, Jr., Building a national cinema: Soviet film education, 1918–1934, Wide Angle 9(3) (1987), 13. 43. Following the opening of the Kyiv studio, the school was moved to Kyiv in 1930 and became the foundation for the Kyiv State Institute of Cinema (Kyivs'kyi derzhavnyi instytut kinematohrafii). See Alla Zhukova, Al’ma-mater ukrains’kykh kinematohrafistiv, KinoTeatr 6 (2000), 25–26. 44. Anna Sten (1908–1993), born in Ukraine as Anna Fesak, became an international star who appeared in Soviet and German films before moving to Hollywood in the 1930s. 45. On the establishment of Artistic Screen (Khudozhnii ekran) see Roman Rosliak, Koly hovoryt’ movchannia …, in: I. B. Zubavina (ed.) Ekranna osvita v Ukraini: Suchasnyi stan, problemy rozvytku (Kyiv, Muzychna Ukraina, 2004), 88–93. Aleksandr Voznesenskii (1880–1939), was a writer, whose publications include a manual for film directors Iskusstvo ekrana (Kyiv, Sorabkop, 1924). On Voznesenskii, see Morozov and Derevianko, 108–119. 46. Boris Zavelev (1876–1938) worked as a cameraman beginning in 1914 at the Khanzhonkov studio. He shot about 70 films, most of them with directors Evgenii Bauer and Petr Chardynin. After the revolution, he worked for VUFKU in Yalta and Odesa. 47. The Ukrainian press mentions six foreign cameramen (German and Dutch), including M. Goldt, I. Rona, and R. Baizengertz (Ukrainian transliteration of their names). They stayed in Ukraine for about two years shooting films and teaching their Ukrainian colleagues. See Letopis’ rossiiskogo kino, 512. Little is known about Josef Rona, except for the fact that he continued to shoot films for VUFKU until 1931. In later accounts, he is portrayed as an unsympathetic figure who had his own camera and a set of first-class lenses but was very reluctant to show the secrets of his craft to anyone. See Oleksii Shvachko, Rozpovidi pro suchasnykiv (Kyiv, Mystetstvo, 1983), 28. 48. Feliks Zin’ko, Koe-chto iz istorii odesskoi ChK (Odessa, 1998), 101–102. Gorozhanin (1889–1938) is believed to be the mastermind behind the trial of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine, a fictitious political organization invented by GPU (predecessor of NKVD and KGB) in order to stage a show trial in March 1930 geared towards intimidating Ukrainian intelligentsia. 49. Tiutiunnyk (1891–1929) was arrested and executed in Moscow. Another VUFKU employee, Nadiia Surovtsova (1896–1985), a former member of the anti-Soviet parliament, Central Rada, was arrested in 1927. 50. Alexander Dovzhenko (1894–1956) is probably the best known Ukrainian film director. He started working for VUFKU in 1926 as an artist designing film posters. Dovzhenko's VUFKU films include a detective thriller, The Diplomatic Pouch, and a silent film trilogy consisting of Zvenyhora, Arsenal, and Earth. 51. Ivan Kavaleridze (1887–1978) came to VUFKU in 1928 after establishing himself as a sculptor. He directed highly stylized historical films Zlyva (Downpour, 1929) and Perekop (1930). 52. Danylo Demuts’kyi (1893–1954), a photographer and cameraman, one of the newcomers to the studio who went through the VUFKU training and became one of the most distinguished cameramen. Demuts’kyi's cinematography in Dovzhenko's Arsenal and Zemlia has been recognized worldwide. See M. Ushakov, Try operatory (Kyiv, Ukrteakinovydav, 1930), 5–14; for his complete biography see Leonid Kokhno, Danylo Porfyrovych Demuts’kyi (Kyiv, Mystetstvo, 1965). 53. Semenko worked for VUFKU between 1924 and 1927; see Oleh S. Ilnytzkyj, Ukrainian Futurism, 1914–1930: A historical and critical study (Cambridge, MA, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 1998), 117. For more information about Semenko and the film industry see M. Sulyma, Bilia dzherel: Mykhail’ Semenko—redaktor VUFKU, Kul’tura i zhyttia, 20 December 1987. 54. Mykola Bazhan, Mytets’ shukaie puti, Vitchyzna 1 (1971), 181. 55. Leonid Skrypnyk (1893–1929), an engineer by profession, published numerous theoretical articles about cinema and mass culture and two books: Poradnyk fotohrafa (Kharkiv, DVU, 1927) and Narysy z teorii mystetstva kino (Kharkiv, DVU, 1928). For an overview of the latter see my article, The theoretical past of cinema: introducing Ukrainian film theory of the 1920s, Film Criticism 20(1–2) (1995–96), 67–77. 56. Semén Svashenko (1904–69) stage and film actor. He worked at the Berezil’ Theatre from 1922 to 1928. Best known for his roles in Dovzhenko's films, he moved to Moscow during the 1930s and worked at film studios there. He played in Ballada o soldate (1959) and Voina i mir (1966–67). 57. Amvrosii Buchma (1891–1957), a prominent stage actor and director born in Western Ukraine, devoted exclusively to cinema from 1926 to 1930. He played title roles in VUFKU's Jimmy Higgins (1928), Mykola Dzheria (1927), Taras Shevchenko (1926), and Taras Triasylo (1927) as well as the leading role in Nichnyi viznyk (1929). See Kost’ Burevii, A. Buchma: Monohrafiia (Kharkiv, Rukh, 1933) and Oleh Babyshkin, Amvrosii Buchma v kino (Kyiv, Mystetstvo, 1966). 58. Petro Masokha (1904–91), a stage and film actor who worked in the Berezil’ Theatre from 1923 to 1928 and thereafter in film. He is best known for his roles in Dovzhenko's films. 59. Organizatsionnye i khoziaistvennye voprosy Sovetskoi kinematografii (po dokladu tov. Shvedchikova), in Ol’khovyi, 445–452. 60. Ol’khovyi, 224. 61. Spiskok kino-fil’m k provedeniiu dnia 18 marta: Den’ Parizhskoi Kommuny, Den’ MOPR’a (Moskva, Tea-Kino-Pechat’, 1929). A brochure printed in 10,000 copies for free distribution. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana Collection of Russian Theatrical Scripts and Papers, 1902–1968, Harvard Theatre Collection, MS Thr 402, Box 23, Folder 10. 62. Leonid Maximenkov, Stalin's meeting with a delegation of Ukrainian writers on 12 February 1929, Harvard Ukrainian Studies 17(3–4) (1992), 398. 63. Leonid Maksimenkov, Vvedenie, in: K.M. Anderson and L.V. Maksimenkov (eds) Kremlevskii kinoteatr 1928–1953: dokumenty (Moskva, ROSSPEN, 2005), 39.