Alexis Granowsky (russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Грано́вский; 1890–1937) was a Russian

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

who later became a film director. Granowsky was born as Abraham Azarkh to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. After studying in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, he went to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

where he gained valuable theatre experience working under

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...

. He served in the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

before in 1919 he set up his own

-orientated theatre in

, which under a new director became

GOSET The Moscow State Jewish (Yiddish) Theatre (Russian: Московский Государственный Еврейский Театр; Yiddish: Moskver melukhnisher yidisher teater), also known by its acronym GOSET (ГОСЕТ), was a Yiddish theat ...

. Granowsky's reputation rose quickly over the following years, as he became one of the most celebrated theatre directors in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. In 1925 Granowsky directed his first film, a silent, but concentrated his efforts on his stage work. After the Russian Revolution, and the Communist victory in the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

, Granowsky continued to live in the country even though he felt himself culturally

Western European Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Granowsky was initially feted by the Soviet authorities and was awarded a number of honours but he began to find their cultural policies increasingly restrictive, and emigrated to the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

in the late 1920s. In Germany Granowsky worked on some theatre productions, but increasingly moved into film. He collaborated with a number of other Russian exiles such as Léo Lania who shared his

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political views. He directed two German films, before emigrating to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

where he lived for the rest of his life. He produced and directed expensive prestige films '' The Adventures of King Pausole'' (1933) and ''

Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons And ...

'' (1936). He had married a wealthy German woman, but they separated before his death.Barton p.25 Despite his lavish lifestyle, Granowsky died comparatively poor.

Selected filmography

Director

* '' Jewish Happiness'' (Еврейское счастье; 1925) * '' The Song of Life'' (1931) * '' The Trunks of Mr. O.F.'' (1931) * '' The Adventures of King Pausole'' (1933) * ''

Moscow Nights __NOTOC__ "Moscow Nights" ( rus, Подмосковные вечера, r=Podmoskovnyje večera, ), later covered as "Midnight in Moscow", is a Soviet Russian song. Composition and initial success Composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikhai ...

'' (1934) * ''

'' (1936)

References

Bibliography

* Barton, Ruth. ''Hedy Lamarr: The Most Beautiful Woman in Film''. University Press of Kentucky, 2010.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granowsky, Alexis 1890 births 1937 deaths Writers from Moscow People from Moskovsky Uyezd Russian Jews Russian film directors Russian film producers Russian theatre directors Russian military personnel of World War I Russian exiles People who emigrated to escape Bolshevism Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany