''His Excellency'' (russian: Его превосходительство, Yego prevoskhoditelstvo) is a 1928 Soviet

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Grigori Roshal Grigori Lvovich Roshal (russian: Григорий Львович Рошаль; October 21, 1899 – January 11, 1983) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He directed 26 films between 1926 and 1968. Biography Grigori Roshal was born on ...

. It was released in the United States under the name, "Seeds of Freedom.""Seeds of Freedom," Variety, 11 September 1929 The film is based on real events. On 5 May 1902, shoemaker-laborer

Hirsh Lekert Hirsh Lekert (born 1880 in Onuškis, in the Troksky Uyezd of Vilna GovernorateNachman Ben-Yehuda, "Political assassinations by Jews: a rhetorical device for justice", SUNY Press, 1993, pg. 106/ref> died June 10, 1902 in VilniusJeffrey S. Gurock, " ...

, a member of the Jewish party Bund, attempted to murder the governor of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

Victor von Wahl Viktor Karl Konrad Wilhelm von Wahl (russian: Ви́ктор Вильге́льмович Ва́ль, Viktor Vil’gel’movich Val’; 1840 – 1915) was a Baltic German general, mayor of St. Petersburg, and governor of Vilnius. He came from Ba ...

Plot

On the eve of 1 May leaflets turn up in the city with the appeal to support the May Day demonstration of Vilnius workers. Cossacks disperse the May Day workers' march killing some and arresting others. Among the dead and arrested are Jewish laborers. Fearing riots, the Jewish bourgeois elite send their representatives to the governor with the request that he punish only the prisoners, and not the rest of the Jewish population. The governor agrees; he orders those who were arrested to be flogged. Hirsh Lekert, a cobbler, is outraged and proposes killing the governor. Despite advice from revolutionary friends (one intertitle states that "six shots do not make a revolution"), he shoots the governor and kills him. Lekert is arrested and sentenced to death.

Behind the Scenes

The film is notable in that star Leonidov played two important roles, Governor Victor von Wahl and the "Old

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

." He is both sides of the split face on the poster.

Cast

Leonid Leonidov Leonid Mironovich Leonidov (, – 6 August 1941) was a Russian and Soviet actor, director and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1936). Biography Born ''Leonid Meyerovich Volfenzon'' () in a Jewish family in Odessa, he worked in the Moscow ...

as Governor von Wahl and "Old Rabbi" *Maria Sinelnikova as Miriam, the rabbi's adoptive daughter * Yuly Untershlak as Hirsch Lekkert *Tamara Adelheim as Rivele *

Nikolay Cherkasov Nikolay Konstantinovich Cherkasov (russian: Никола́й Константи́нович Черка́сов; 14 September 1966) was a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1947). Career He was born in Saint Petersburg (lat ...

as the tall clown *

Mikhail Rostovtsev Mikhail Ivanovich Rostovtzeff, or Rostovtsev (russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Росто́вцев; – October 20, 1952), was a Russians, Russian historian whose career straddled the 19th and 20th centuries and who produced importa ...

as the short clown * Abraham Grinfeld as Layser, the rabbi *A. Nenyukov as Pyotr * Mariya Dobrova as Circus Star * Aleksandr Sandel as Factory Owner Spiess *

Igor Doronin Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...

References

External links

Films directed by Grigori Roshal 1928 drama films 1928 films Soviet drama films Soviet-era Belarusian films Belarusfilm films Belarusian drama films Soviet black-and-white films Soviet silent feature films 1920s Russian-language films Silent drama films {{1920s-USSR-film-stub