''St. Jorgen's Day'', (''Holiday of St. Jorgen'', ''The Feast of St. Jorgen'', ) is a 1930 Soviet, partly silent comedy film by

Yakov Protazanov Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (; 4 February (Old Style, O.S. 23 January ) 1881 – 8 August 1945) was a Russian and USSR, Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of cinema of Russia. He was an Honored Artist of the ...

and starring Igor Ilyinsky. Uncredited are the original novel by Harald Bergstedt, and the cues written by

Ilf and Petrov Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Feinsilberg or , 1897–1937) and Yevgeny Petrov (Yevgeniy Petrovich Katayev or , 1902–1942) were two Soviet prose authors of the 1920s and 1930s. They did much of their writing together, and are almost alway ...

(with the additional contribution of Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky). The film tells the story of a cunning thief impersonating a saint during a rigged religious festival, causing chaos among the clergy and authorities while plotting his escape with stolen wealth and newfound allies.

Plot summary

The story takes place in a fictional European country on the eve of the religious festival of Saint Jorgen, the highlight of which is the selection of his "bride" who receives a significant monetary prize. The candidates for this role are relatives of clergymen, and the elections are rigged. The bishop, a high-ranking church official, promotes his own relative, Oleandra, for the position. To attract more parishioners, the bishop employs modern technology, commissioning a film titled ''The Life and Miracles of Saint Jorgen''. Meanwhile, the thief Korkis escapes from prison with the help of his accomplice, Schultz. On a train, Korkis meets Oleandra. Blending into a crowd of parishioners, the pair arrive at the church. Realizing how much money the clergy pocket, they plot to rob the church. Schultz creates a duplicate key, lets Korkis into the church, and locks the door behind him. However, Schultz is spotted by the police and pretends to be disabled to avoid suspicion. When a church procession arrives unexpectedly, Korkis is caught off guard. Thinking quickly, he disguises himself as Saint Jorgen and steps out to greet the crowd. Asked to perform a miracle, he notices Schultz, "heals" him, and then forgives everyone’s sins free of charge. This causes an uproar among the clergy and authorities, who bribe the impostor to leave. Korkis, Oleandra, and Schultz flee the town together. In the final scene, the bishop introduces a new saint, Franz, unveiling an icon depicting Schultz holding a crutch.

Cast

* Igor Ilyinsky as Franz Schulz * Anatoly Ktorov as Michael Korkis * Mikhail Klimov as adjunct of the St. Jorgen church * Ivan Arkadin as treasurer of St. Jorgen Church * Mariya Strelkova as Oleandra * Vladimir Uralsky as conductor of the railway * Anatoly Goryunov as relic seller

Credited crew

*Director: Yakov Protazanov *Script: Yakov Protazanov, Vladimir Shveitser *Operator: P. Yermolov *Co-director: Porfiri Podobed *Composer: Sergei Bugoslavsky *Soundmaster: D. Blok *Zvuk: S. Yurtsev, N. Ozornov *Orchestra and chorus of Mezhrabpom-Film *Tagefon sound system

Part-talkie

Films from this period often combine silent and sound sequences. Most of ''St. Jorgen's Day'' was shot without recorded sound. These sequences have Russian intertitles, an orchestral and choral score, and occasional sound effects (e.g. the sound of a hand knocking on a door) or added dialogue. A specific scene can use sound effects and intertitles together. The often-impressive exterior scenes were shot silent on location. Interspersed throughout the film are short indoor scenes with recorded sound. The opening credit sequence uses sound, with the principal performers speaking in costume as their characters.Source: DVD release from Незабытое Кино.

Quotes

* «The primary task for a thief profession and for a saint is to vanish at right time!» * «Learn how to handle it without a jemmy!» * When I was just an infant... My dear poor mother had dropped me from the ...nth floor... * - Please, make one more miracle - an ascension!
- And how about ''ascendables''? (Korkis, talking about money)

References

*Rollberg, Peter. ''Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema''.

External links

* 1930 films Soviet black-and-white films 1930 comedy films Soviet comedy films Russian comedy films Russian-language comedy films Russian satirical films Religious satire films Films directed by Yakov Protazanov Transitional sound comedy films Films critical of Christianity and Christians Russian black-and-white films 1930s Soviet films 1930s Russian-language films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub