Mermaid
About Mermaid
On the Dnieper bank, a prince tells the miller's daughter Natalya that their romance is over. After he leaves, she tries to drown herself. On his wedding day her image appears wherever he goes, and he goes back to learn what became of her. Vasili Stepanov plays the miller, Aleksandra Goncharova plays Natalya, and Andrey Gromov plays the prince.
Cast & crew
More about Mermaid
Vasili Goncharov wrote and directed this Khanzhonkov short, billed as a folk drama in six scenes with an apotheosis, from Alexander Pushkin's verse play. Aleksandr Khanzhonkov produced it. Russian reference notes give the length as one reel, 280 meters, also listed as 220.
Themes
Background
A 1910 literary adaptation from the first years of Russian fiction films, when Khanzhonkov was putting Pushkin and other national subjects on screen.
Making
Goncharov staged the picture for Khanzhonkov's company with Vladimir Siversen on the camera.
Look
Vladimir Siversen photographed the six staged scenes, moving from the mill on the riverbank to the wedding table in the prince's house.
Preservation
Russian Wikipedia states that the film is held at Gosfilmofond. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Kine-zhurnal titled the opening scenes 'The Dnieper bank. The mill, the miller, and his daughter' and 'The prince's house. The wedding.'
- Some catalog summaries also tie the short to Alexander Dargomyzhsky's opera Rusalka as well as to Pushkin.
- The Russian title is Русалка.
- IMDb lists the film as tt0234636.
Scenes
- Natalya goes into the river after the prince leaves her.
- At the wedding feast her image appears among the guests.
Influenced by
- Alexander Pushkin's play Rusalka
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The Mermaid (1910).webm)
