''Morozko'' is a 1924 Soviet silent

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...

directed by

Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky Yuri Andreyevich Zhelyabuzhsky (; – 24 October 1955) was a Russian and Soviet cinematographer, film director, screenwriter and animator, film theorist and professor at Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, VGIK.Cinema: Encyclopedic Dictionary ...

and based on the Russian

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

Father Frost.

Plot summary

An old woman has a daughter she loves and a stepdaughter; she tells her husband to take the stepdaughter into the forest and leave her there for Father Frost. When Father Frost arrives he takes to her and leaves her riches. When the old man returns to collect the body of the step-daughter he is astonished and relieved to find her still alive. They return to the village where the old woman is horrified that the stepdaughter is not only still alive but rich. She orders the old man to take her beloved daughter to the forest so that Father Frost can bestow wealth on her. When Father Frost arrives, the daughter is rude to him, and Father Frost leaves her to die. The old man returned to the forest and brought the dead girl back to the village and her distressed mother. The stepdaughter marries a neighbor.

Cast

* Boris Livanov *

Varvara Massalitinova Varvara Osipovna Massalitinova (; July 29, 1878 – October 20, 1945) was a Russian and Soviet stage and film actress. Life and career Born at Yelets in Oryol Governorate, she began acting at an amateur theatre club in the Siberia, Siberian city ...

* Vasili Toporkov * Klavdiya Yelenskaya

Music

Frederick Laurence Frederick Laurence (until 1919 Frederick Kessler, 25 May 1884 - 3 May 1942) was a British composer, early film music pioneer and latterly an orchestral manager and administrator. He changed his name mid-career by deed poll in 1919 to avoid the an ...

composed an entirely original film score for ''Morozko'', which was used for live London screenings. According to Julie Brown it represents "the earliest important original score for a film screened in Britain". After this, however, Laurence returned to composing concert music, missing out on the lucrative opportunity that synchronised sound film opened up just three years later.Julie Brown
Notes to ''The Music of Frederick Laurence''
Orchid Classics ORC100284 (2024) The world premiere of the restored musical score was presented at the 14th British Silent Film Festival (2011) at the Barbican in London.David Hudson. British Silent Film Festival, 2011, Mubi.com
/ref>

References

External links

* 1924 films 1920s fantasy films Soviet silent feature films 1920s rediscovered films Rediscovered Soviet films Soviet fantasy films Soviet silent short films Films based on Slavic mythology Films based on Russian folklore Soviet black-and-white films 1920s Soviet films 1920s Russian-language films Russian-language fantasy films Russian-language short films 1924 short films {{1920s-USSR-film-stub