Alexis Granowsky (), born Abram Mikhaylovich Azarkh (; – 11 March 1937), was a Russian

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

who later became a

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

Life

Alexis Granowsky was born as Abraham Azarkh into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. After studying in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, he went to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

where he gained valuable theatre experience working under

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...

. He served in the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

before in 1919 he set up his own

-orientated theatre in

, which under a new director became GOSET. Granowsky's reputation rose quickly over the following years, as he became one of the most celebrated theatre directors in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In 1925 Granowsky directed his first film, a silent, but concentrated his efforts on his stage work. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, and the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

victory in the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, Granowsky continued to live in the country even though he felt himself culturally

Western European Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Granowsky was initially feted by the Soviet authorities and was awarded a number of honours but he began to find their cultural policies increasingly restrictive, and emigrated to the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

in the late 1920s. In Germany Granowsky worked on some theatre productions, but increasingly moved into film. He collaborated with a number of other Russian exiles such as Léo Lania who shared his

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

political views. He directed two German films, before emigrating to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he lived for the rest of his life. He produced and directed expensive prestige films '' The Adventures of King Pausole'' (1933) and ''

Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (; ) 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 Andriy and Ostap. The sons study at th ...

'' (1936). He had married a wealthy German woman, but they separated before his death.Barton p.25 Despite his lavish lifestyle, Granowsky died comparatively poor.

Selected filmography

Director

* '' Jewish Happiness'' (Еврейское счастье; 1925) * '' The Song of Life'' (1931) * '' The Trunks of Mr. O.F.'' (1931) * '' The Adventures of King Pausole'' (1933) * ''

Moscow Nights "Moscow Nights", originally titled "Leningrad Nights", is a Soviet patriotic song written by Mikhail Matusovsky and composed by Vasily Solovyov-Sedoy. It was later covered as "Midnight in Moscow" by Kenny Ball. Composition and initial succ ...

'' (1934) * ''

'' (1936)

References

Bibliography

* Barton, Ruth. ''Hedy Lamarr: The Most Beautiful Woman in Film''. University Press of Kentucky, 2010.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granowsky, Alexis 1890 births 1937 deaths Writers from Moscow People from Moskovsky Uyezd Russian Jews Russian film directors Russian film producers Russian theatre directors Russian military personnel of World War I Russian exiles People who emigrated to escape Bolshevism Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany