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- ...
produced and distributed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
Clarence Brown
Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director.
Early life
Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...
Renée Adorée
Renée Adorée (born Jeanne de la Fonte; 30 September 1898 – 5 October 1933) was a French stage and film actress who appeared in Hollywood silent movies during the 1920s. She is best known for portraying the role of Melisande, the love interes ...
and is based on the 1863 novel '' The Cossacks'' by
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
Renée Adorée
Renée Adorée (born Jeanne de la Fonte; 30 September 1898 – 5 October 1933) was a French stage and film actress who appeared in Hollywood silent movies during the 1920s. She is best known for portraying the role of Melisande, the love interes ...
as Maryana
*
Ernest Torrence
Ernest Torrence (born Ernest Torrance-Thomson, 26 June 1878 – 15 May 1933) was a Scottish film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including '' Broken Chains'' (1922) with Colleen Moore, '' Mantrap'' (1926) with Clara Bow a ...
as Ivan
*
Nils Asther
Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...
as Prince Olenin Stieshneff
*
Paul Hurst
Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...
as Sitchi
* Dale Fuller as Ulitka, Maryana's mother
*
Mary Alden
Mary Maguire Alden (June 18, 1883 – July 2, 1946) was an American motion picture and stage actress. She was one of the first Broadway actresses to work in Hollywood.
Life
Alden was born in New York City on June 18, 1883. She performed on Bro ...
as Lukashka's mother
* Josephine Borio as Stepka
*
Yorke Sherwood
Yorke Sherwood (14 December 1873 – 27 September 1956) was an English actor.
Life
He was born Herbert Edmund Sherwood in Manchester on 14 December 1873.
He moved to California in the 1920s and had multiple supporting roles in Mack Sennett ...
as Uncle Eroshka
* Joseph Mari as Turkish Spy
*
Paul Hurst
Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...
as Zarka
*
Sidney Bracey
Sidney Bracey (born Sidney Bracy; 18 December 1877 – 5 August 1942) was an Australian-born American actor. After a stage career in Australia, on Broadway and in Britain, he performed in more than 320 films between 1909 and 1942.
Early li ...
as Koozma, Prince Olenin's Orderly (uncredited)
*
Lou Costello
Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), professionally known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine " Who's on First? ...
as Extra (uncredited)
* Charles Darvas as Extra (uncredited)
* Helena Dime as Minor Role (uncredited)
* George Goforth as Tavern Keeper (uncredited)
* Neil Neely as Secondary Role (uncredited)
* Russ Powell as Cossack (uncredited)
Production
''The Cossacks'' was beset with problems due to MGM executives requesting various script changes during filming.
Frances Marion
Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens, November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter, director, journalist and author often cited as one of the most renowned female screenwriters of the 20th century alongside June Mathis a ...
, who wrote the screenplay, became frustrated by the numerous requests and later said she "lost track of what the story was really about and the material seemed frayed on all edges." The film's stars, John Gilbert and Renée Adorée, complained about the numerous rewrites and felt their roles were "not worthy".
Before filming completed, George W. Hill requested that he be removed as director as he did not like the film's subject matter and had tired of Gilbert and Adorée's complaints.
Clarence Brown
Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director.
Early life
Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...
was then hired to reshoot several scenes and ultimately completed the film.
Among the many extras used in ''The Cossacks'' were members of a " Dijigit Troupe" of over 100 genuine
, who in 1926 came to the United States from Europe after performing
equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
*Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
exhibitions and traditional Cossack musical and dance shows in various cities in France and England.Anikouchine, William Alexander (1999 "Cossack Timeline" 1925-1928, Foundation for East European Family History Studies, Payson, Utah; retrieved December 15, 2017.Axmaker, Sean article, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Turner Broadcasting System, a subsidiary of Time Warner, New York, N.Y.; retrieved December 13, 2017. Once the troupe arrived in the United States, MGM contracted some of its horsemen to perform as trick riders and as
doubles
Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including;
* Beach volleyball
* Doubles badminton
* Doubles curling
* Footvolley
* Doubles pickleball
* Doubles squash
* Doubles table tennis
* Doubles te ...
in several of the studio's films in 1927 and 1928, including '' The Gaucho'' and ''The Cossacks''. In its review of ''The Cossacks'' in June 1928, the American entertainment trade publication ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' notes the use of these Russian extras and their contributions to enhancing the authentic "look" of the film. ''Variety'' also comments about the equestrian exhibition, "the fiasco", that the Cossack troupe had presented in New York at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...
before some of its performers continued to California, where MGM crews had constructed elaborate
location
In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...
sets for the ''Cossacks'' in
Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon is a mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills West district of Los Angeles, California. The main thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon Boulevard connects the neighb ...
:
Reception
''The Cossacks'' received mixed reviews from critics upon its release in 1928. ''Variety'' gave generally high marks to the actors' performances and to the film's overall production values:
Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.