''Rasputin, the Holy Sinner'' (German: ''Rasputins Liebesabenteuer'') is a 1928 German
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
directed by
Martin Berger and starring
Nikolai Malikoff
Nikolai Malikoff (Russian: Николай Петрович Маликов; 1874 – 20 April 1931) was a Russian-Ukrainian film director and actor who worked mainly as a film director in Russia, and later as an actor in Germany.Goble p.673
Selec ...
,
Diana Karenne
Diana Karenne (born Leucadia Konstantia; 1888 – 14 October 1940) was a Polish film actress and director.
She appeared in more than 40 films between 1916 and 1940. In 1917, she opened her film production company in Milan. Injured in a Wor ...
and
Erwin Kalser Erwin Kalser (22 February 1883 — 26 March 1958) was a German-JewishSiegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), p. 213 stage and film actor, best remembered as ...
.
The film was also released as ''Rasputin, the Holy Devil'' and ''Rasputin's Amorous Adventures''. Director Berger made Rasputin into a sympathetic peasant character who was "exploited by the boorish and overly pampered bourgeoisie".
The film was one of Berger's biggest productions according to its budget and boasted a distinguished cast, including
Alfred Abel
Alfred Peter Abel (12 March 1879 – 12 December 1937) was a German film actor, director, and producer. He appeared in more than 140 silent and sound films between 1913 and 1938. His best-known performance was as Joh Fredersen in Fritz Lang' ...
and
Max Schreck
Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck Eickhoff, Stefan. 2007 (6 September 1879 – 20 February 1936), Walk, Ines. 2006. known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film ' ...
.
Russian-born actor
Nikolai Malikoff
Nikolai Malikoff (Russian: Николай Петрович Маликов; 1874 – 20 April 1931) was a Russian-Ukrainian film director and actor who worked mainly as a film director in Russia, and later as an actor in Germany.Goble p.673
Selec ...
received glowing reviews for his portrayal of Rasputin, although his film career petered out soon after due to the advent of sound. (This film is sometimes confused with a 1928 German-Russian film called
''Rasputin'' (1928 film).)
Plot
A simple Russian peasant named Gregori Rasputin seems able to perform miracles and soon comes to the attention of the Tsar and Tsarina of the Russian royal family who elevate him to the rank of spiritual advisor. Rasputin's control over them grows, and members of the hierarchy fear he is trying to increase his own political power. They develop a plot to assassinate Rasputin.
Cast
References
External links
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Films of the Weimar Republic
Films directed by Martin Berger
German silent feature films
Films set in the 1900s
Films set in the 1910s
Films about Grigori Rasputin
Cultural depictions of Nicholas II of Russia
Biographical films about Russian royalty
German black-and-white films
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