The White Devil
About The White Devil
Hadji Murat (Ivan Mozzhukhin), a leader in the Caucasus, comes to the attention of the Czar, who wants him as a go-between against the mountain peoples. He will not be steered. He takes Saira away from the court and leads the revolt. The campaign ends with his death.
Cast & crew
More about The White Devil
Alexandre Volkoff directed the UFA production for Gregor Rabinovitch, from Leo Tolstoy's 1912 novella Hadji Murat. Mikhail Linsky is credited on the screenplay. Alexandre Lochakoff and Vladimir Meingard designed the sets. Curt Courant and Nikolai Toporkoff photographed it. Location work in Nice, Switzerland, and the French Alps was done in 1929, with studio scenes at Babelsberg. Anatole Litvak was assistant director and production manager. It was shot silent and a soundtrack was added later. The score is by Michel Michelet. It opened at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo in January 1930. Lil Dagover and Betty Amann co-star.
Themes
Making
UFA built the picture as a late silent and then fitted a recorded score, so the January 1930 premiere at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo played with music and effects rather than as a dialogue film.
Look
Curt Courant and Nikolai Toporkoff shot the Babelsberg sets and the 1929 locations in Nice, Switzerland, and the French Alps.
Music
Michel Michelet wrote the score that was added after the silent shoot.
Preservation
A print survives, with the added soundtrack.
Notes
- The German title is Der weiße Teufel.
- Mozzhukhin, billed in some prints as Ivan Mosjoukine, plays the mountaineer. Fritz Alberti and Acho Chakatouny are in the court scenes.
- Litvak's job covered both the assistant direction and the production management on the Alpine locations.
Influenced by
- Hadji Murat (Leo Tolstoy, 1912)
Also available
- Internet Archive (TheWhiteDevilderWeieTeufel1930)
