Movies
TV Shows
People

Ivan Mosjoukine

Known For
Acting

Known Credits
85

Gender
Male

Birthday
September 26, 1889 (136 years old)

Place of Birth
Kondol, Saratov Governorate, Russian Empire [now Russia]

Ivan Mosjoukine

Biography

Ivan Ilyich Mozzhukhin, usually billed using the French transliteration Ivan Mosjoukine, was a Russian silent film actor, writer and director.

Born in Kondol, in the Saratov Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Penza Oblast in Russia), Ivan Mozzhukhin was the youngest of four brothers. His mother Rachel Ivanovna Mozzhukhina (née Lastochkina) was the daughter of a Russian Orthodox priest, while his father Ilya Ivanovich Mozzhukhin came from peasants and served as an estate manager for the noble Obolensky family. While all three elder brothers finished seminary, Ivan was sent to the Penza gymnasium for boys and later studied law at the Moscow State University. In 1910, he left academic life to join a troupe of traveling actors from Kiev, with which he toured for a year, gaining experience and a reputation for dynamic stage presence. Upon returning to Moscow, he launched his screen career with the 1911 adaptation of Tolstoy's The Kreutzer Sonata. Mosjoukine's most lasting contribution to the theoretical concept of film as image is the legacy of his own face in recurring representation of illusory reactions seen in Lev Kuleshov's psychological montage experiment which demonstrated the Kuleshov Effect. In 1918, the first full year of the Russian Revolution, Kuleshov assembled his revolutionary illustration of the application of the principles of film editing out of footage from one of Mosjoukine's Tsarist-era films which had been left behind when he, along with his entire film production company, departed for the relative safety of Crimea in 1917.

At the end of 1919, Mosjoukine arrived in Paris and quickly established himself as one of the top stars of the French silent cinema, starring in one successful film after another. Handsome, tall, and possessing a powerful screen presence, he won a considerable following as a mysterious and exotic romantic figure.

Mosjoukine's film stardom was assured and during the 1920s, his face with the trademark hypnotic stare appeared on covers of film magazines all over Europe. He wrote the screenplays for most of his starring vehicles and directed two of them, L'Enfant du carnaval (Child of the Carnival), released on 29 August 1921 and Le Brasier ardent (The Blazing Inferno), released on 2 November 1923. The leading lady in both films was the then-"Madame Mosjoukine", Nathalie Lissenko. Brasier, in particular, was highly praised for its innovative and inventive concepts, but ultimately proved too surreal and bizarre to become financially successful. Ivan Mosjoukine died of tuberculosis in a Neuilly-sur-Seine clinic. All available sources give his age as 49 and year of birth as 1889. However, his gravestone at the Russian cemetery in the Parisian suburb of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois is inscribed with the year 1887.

Known For

Acting

2024What Is Sex?as Mr. Kuleshov
1998Ivan Mosjoukine, or the Carnival Childas Self (archive footage)
1979Cinema in Russiaas Film footage
1936Nitchevoas
1934L'enfant du carnavalas
1934Casanovaas
1933The 1002nd Nightas Tahar
1932Sergeant Xas Jean Renault
1930The White Devilas Hadschi Murat
1929Manolescu, the Prince of Swindlersas Manolescu
1929The Adjutant of the Czaras Prince Boris Kurbski
1928The Secret Courieras Julien Sorel
1928The Presidentas Chico/Pepe Torre, ein Bauer
1927Loves of Casanovaas Casanova
1927Surrenderas Constantine
1926Michel Strogoffas Michael Strogoff
1925The Late Mathias Pascalas Mathias Pascal
1924The Lion of the Mogulsas le prince Roundghito-Sing
1924Les Ombres Qui Passentas Louis Barclay
1924Keanas Edmund Kean
1923The Burning Crucibleas Zed, le détective
1923Member Of Parliamentas Lord Chilcote / Loder, writer
1923The House of Mysteryas Julien Villandrit
1922Tempêtesas Henri
1921The Child of the Carnivalas Marquis Octave de Granier
1921Justice d'abordas
1920A Narrow Escapeas Octave de Granier
1919The Queen's Secretas Paul, lord Verden's son
1919Kuleshov Effectas
1918Father Sergiusas Prince Kasatsky, later Father Sergius
1918Knight's Spiritas Vladek / Stas Marzinkovskiy
1918Little Ellieas Norton, city's mayor
1917Satan Triumphantas Pastor Talnoks / Pastor's son Sandro
1917Behind the Screenas Ivan Mosjoukine
1917The Prosecutoras Eric Olsen, prosecutor
1917Dance of Deathas Mark Galich, music composer
1916Beggar Womanas Poet
1916Panna Merias
1916Sinas Lavrov, engineer
1916And The Song Remained Unfinishedas Doctor Rakitin
1916The Dagger Womanas Sakhovskiy, the painter
1916Life is a Moment, Art is Foreveras Prince Boleslav
1916The Queen of Spadesas Hermann
1916In The Wild Blindness Of Desiresas Nikolay
1916Long Gone are Chrysanthemums in a Gardenas Yuriy Galinskiy
1916А счастье было так возможноas
1915Me And My Conscienceas Gleb Znamenskiy
1915Nikolay Stavroginas Nikolay Stavrogin
1915Vanyushin's Childrenas Aleksey
1915Idolsas Giu Kolman
1915Natasha Rostovaas Anatole Kuragin
1915Petersburg Slumsas
1914Mazepaas Mazepa
1914The Tale of the Sleeping Princess and the Seven Knightsas Prince Elisei
1914Do You Remember?..as Yaron
1914In the Hands of Merciless Fateas Sergey Nevedov, doctor's son
1914Wicked Nightas Georges Vinogradov, a student
1914Mysterious Someoneas Writer
1914Chrysanthemumsas Vladimir
1914Glory to Us, Death to the Enemyas Russian officer
1914Life in Deathas Dr. Renaud
1914Tomboyas Anatoliy, painter
1914Her Heroic Featas Robert
1914Woman of Tomorrowas Nikolay, Anna's husband
1913Khaz-Bulatas Prince
1913The Night Before Christmasas Devil
1913Brothersas Aleksey
1913The Little House in Kolomnaas Hussar / Mavrusha
1913The Precipiceas Rayskiy
1913Sorrows of Sarahas Isaak
1913Uncle's Apartmentas Koko
1913Accession of the Romanov Dynastyas
1913Alcoholism and Its Consequencesas Alcoholic
1913A Terrible Revengeas Petro the wizard
1912The Peasants' Lotas Pyotr
1912The Manas Boris, Barkov's son
1912The Spring's Streamas Albov, the painter
1912The In-Lawas Ivan
1912Worker's Quartersas Surguchyov, factory's clerk
1912The Robber Brothersas Younger brother
1912Scary Corpseas
1911Defence of Sevastopolas Kornilov / associate of the envoy of the Menshkov retinue
1911In A Lively Placeas The coachman
1911The Kreutzer Sonataas Trukhachevskiy
1910At Midnight in the Graveyardas

Production

1934L'enfant du carnaval...Writer
1927Loves of Casanova...Screenplay
1924The Lion of the Moguls...Idea
1924Les Ombres Qui Passent...Scenario Writer
1924Kean...Screenplay
1924Kean...Director of Photography
1923The Burning Crucible...Director
1923The Burning Crucible...Scenario Writer
1923The Burning Crucible...Screenplay
1923The House of Mystery...Writer
1922Nuit de carnaval...Screenplay
1921The Child of the Carnival...Director
1921The Child of the Carnival...Writer
1921Justice d'abord...Writer
1920A Narrow Escape...Screenplay
1916Sin...Writer