film versions of "Crime and "Punishment" (cont.)

[Prof Steven P Hill]

Dear colleagues:

Two other versions of Dostoevskii's novel that have some very interesting 
aspects go back to West Europe between WW1 and WW2. 

One of my personal favorites is the French "Crime et chatiment" (1935), 
directed by Pierre Chenal (Cohen), with the haggard Pierre Blanchar as 
Raskolnikoff and Harry Baur as L'inspecteur.  (French dialog, English 
subtitles.)  It is more stark than the US version (Sternberg-Lorre), which 
was made that same year.

Not a masterpiece, but perhaps the most intriguing version ever attempted, 
was the avant-garde German adaptation entitled "Raskolnikow," which 
came out in 1923.  It was directed by the Austrian experimenter Robert 
Wiene (of "Caligari" fame), utilizing  some avant-garde settings designed 
by Andrei Andreev (Andrejew).  Perhaps most intriguing was the cast of 
characters. They were all Russians, mostly from the Moscow Art Theatre's 
"B Team" (a.k.a. "the Kachalov Group"), who had wound up in Berlin for 
this film in 1922-23, after touring Central and East European stage 
theatres from c. 1920.  Among them were Grigorii Khmara (Gregor 
Chmara) as Raskolnikow and Mariia Germanova as Marmeladova.  
[ A few of this ensemble of actors did eventually return to the USSR, 
such as Tarasova and Tarkhanov. ]  

Anyone interested to hear details about the 1923 German "Raskolnikow" 
film, and to see a video excerpt from that version, is invited to my talk
on that very subject,  at the December 28-30 2006 AATSEEL Conference 
in Philadelphia (panel on "Russ.& E. Eur. Expatriates in Film & Theatre"). 

Best wishes to all,
Steven P Hill,
University of Illinois.
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