Dimitri Buchowetzki (1885–1932), born Dmitry Savelyevych Bukhovecky, was a Russian

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 ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

in Germany, Sweden, United States, United Kingdom, and France.

Life and career

Initially Buchowetzki studied law. Later he starred in a number of silent films, mostly playing antagonistic characters, including Yakov Protazanov’s melodramas ''Giant of the Spirit'' (1918) and ''Maidservant Jenny'' (1918). He played the hussar officer Minski in Aleksandr Ivanovski’s Pushkin adaptation ''The Stationmaster'' (1918) and appeared in the title role of Aleksandr Razumnyi’s pro-Bolshevik film ''Comrade Abram'' (1919). In 1919, Buchowetzki immigrated to Germany, via Poland, where he directed his most artistic works: the expressionistic Fedor Dostoevsky adaptation ''

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' ( rus, Братья Карамазовы, Brat'ya Karamazovy, ˈbratʲjə kərɐˈmazəvɨ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly ...

'' (1921), the historical drama ''

Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; ; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a leading figure of the French Revolution. A modest and unknown lawyer on the eve of the Revolution, Danton became a famous orator of the Cordeliers Club and was raised to gover ...

'' (1921, based on Georg Büchner’s play), and ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' (1922), all starring Emil Jannings. Bukhovetski also made high-budget period pictures such as ''

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

'' (1922).

Pola Negri Pola Negri (; born Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienn ...

, whom Buchowetzki had directed in the German-made ''

Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...

'' (1924), invited him to Hollywood, where he directed her in a series of erotic melodramas, including ''Men'' (1924), ''Lily of the Dust'' (1926), and ''The Crown of Lies'' (1926). Buchowetzki began work at

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

on ''

Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

'' (1927) with

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

and

Ricardo Cortez Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Kranze or Jacob Krantz; September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career. Early years Ricardo Cortez was born Jacob K ...

. However, producer

Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...

was unhappy with the early filming, and replaced Buchowetzki with

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film '' Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwic ...

, cinematographer Merritt B. Gerstad with William H. Daniels, and Cortez with John Gilbert.

Selected filmography

Director * '' Anita Jo'' (1919) * '' The Last Hour '' (Germany, 1921) * '' The Experiment of Professor Mithrany'' (Germany, 1921) * '' Country Roads and the Big City'' (Germany 1921) * '' Symphony of Death'' (Germany, 1921) * ''

'' (Germany, 1921) with Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss, and

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt ( , ; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German and British actor. He attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man ...

* ''

'' (Germany, 1921) released by

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...

in the US in 1923 as ''Mad Love'', with

* ''

'' (Germany, 1921) co-director; with Emil Jannings * '' Peter der Große'' (Germany, 1922) with Emil Jannings * ''

'' (Germany, 1922) with Emil Jannings and Werner Krauss * '' The Vice of Gambling'' (1923, Germany) * ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

'' (Sweden, 1923) * '' The Countess of Paris'' (1923) * ''

Men A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...

'' (1924) with Pola Negri * '' Lily of the Dust'' (1924) with Pola Negri * '' The Swan'' (1925) with Frances Howard * '' Graustark'' (1925) with

Norma Talmadge Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...

Norma Talmadge webpage
/ref> * ''

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

'' (1926) with

Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...

* '' The Midnight Sun'' (1926) with

Laura La Plante Laura La Plante (born Laura Laplante; November 1, 1904 – October 14, 1996) was an American film actress, whose more notable performances were in the silent era. Early life La Plante was born in St. Louis, Missouri on November 1, 1904, the daug ...

* '' The Crown of Lies'' (1926) with Pola Negri * '' The Indictment'' (1931) French-language version of ''

Manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

'' (1930) * '' The Night of Decision'' (1931) German-language version of ''

The Virtuous Sin ''The Virtuous Sin'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor and Louis J. Gasnier and starring Walter Huston, Kay Francis, and Kenneth MacKenna. The screenplay by Martin Brown and Louise Long is based on the 19 ...

'' (1930) * '' Woman in the Jungle'' (1931) German-language version of '' The Letter'' (1929) * '' De Sensatie van de Toekomst'' (1931) co-director of Dutch version of Paramount film ''Television'' * ''Magie moderne'' (1931) co-director with Charles de Rochefort of French version of ''Television'' * '' Stamboul'' (UK, 1932), also Spanish-language version ''El hombre que asesino'' Screenwriter * '' The Bull of Olivera'' (1921)

References

External links

* 1885 births 1932 deaths Russian film directors Russian male film actors Russian male silent film actors Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Sweden Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom {{Russia-film-director-stub