Joseph N. Ermolieff (1889–1962) was a Russian-born

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

. Ermolieff was a prominent figure in early Russian cinema during the

Imperial era The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, owning large studios in

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...

and

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 million ...

. He fled to France following the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

and became an established producer there, founding the company

Films Albatros Films Albatros was a French film production company established in 1922. It was formed by a group of White émigré, White Russian exiles who had been forced to flee following the 1917 Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War. Initially ...

. As well as

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

he also worked at the

Emelka Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Fir ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. In 1936 he enjoyed a major international success with '' The Czar's Courier'', and he moved to the United States the following year planning to remake the film in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. He settled in America and became a citizen in 1942, but struggled to establish himself in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

despite producing occasional films such as ''

Outpost in Morocco ''Outpost in Morocco'' is a 1949 American action adventure film directed by Robert Florey, starring George Raft and Marie Windsor. Paul Gerard (Raft), a Moroccan Spahi officer and his French Foreign Legion garrison, holds off attacks from the na ...

'' (1949) and ''

Fort Algiers ''Fort Algiers'' is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Theodore St John. The film reused action sequences from ''Outpost in Morocco'' (1949) and starred Yvonne De Carlo, Carlos Thompson, Raymond Burr, Le ...

'' (1953). In 1944 he produced a Mexican version of ''

Michael Strogoff ''Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar'' (french: Michel Strogoff) is a novel written by Jules Verne in 1876. Critic Leonard S. Davidow, considers it one of Verne's best books. Davidow wrote, "Jules Verne has written no better book than thi ...

'' (1944).Kohner p.355

Selected filmography

* '' The Queen of Spades'' (1916) * ''

Father Sergius "Father Sergius" (russian: Отец Сергий, Otets Sergiy) is a short story written by Leo Tolstoy between 1890 and 1898 and first published (posthumously) in 1911.Julian Connolly in Charles A. Moser (ed.), ''The Cambridge History of Russian ...

'' (1917) * ''

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 ...

'' (1924) * '' Kiss Me'' (1932) * ''

Let's Touch Wood ''Let's Touch Wood'' (French: ''Touchons du bois'') is a 1933 French comedy film directed by Maurice Champreux and starring Jeanne Cheirel, Armand Bernard and Lily Zévaco. It is based on the play ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' by Oscar Wil ...

'' (1933) * ''

Michel Strogoff ''Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar'' (french: Michel Strogoff) is a novel written by Jules Verne in 1876. Critic Leonard S. Davidow, considers it one of Verne's best books. Davidow wrote, "Jules Verne has written no better book than thi ...

'' (1936) * '' The Czar's Courier'' (1936) * '' Nights of Princes'' (1938) * '' After Midnight'' (1938) * ''

'' (1944) * ''

'' (1949) * ''

'' (1953)

References

Bibliography

* Kohner, Pancho. ''Lupita Tovar the Sweetheart of México: A Memoir''. Xlibris Corporation, 2011.

External links

* 1889 births 1962 deaths White Russian emigrants to France Russian film producers Mass media people from Moscow People who emigrated to escape Bolshevism White Russian emigrants to the United States {{Russia-bio-stub