An actress that doubled as a Nazi spy, a celebrity rumored to have been poisoned, Hollywood's highest earner - Russian heroines defined silent cinema as we know it today.

Yesterday, collector Didier Hanson sent me these scans of Russian film postcards from the pre-Soviet era. I liked them so much that I wanted to present them today to you. So, here are incredibly rare postcards of silent stars like Vera Karalli, Nathalie Kovanko, Vitold Polonsky, Ossip Runitsch, Vladimir Maximov and of course the greatest Russian diva of that era, Vera Kholodnaya. Thanks for sharing, Didier! Vera Kholodnaya. Russian postcard, no. 24, 1918. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vera Kholodnaya. Russian postcard, no. 141, 1918. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vera Kholodnaya. Russian postcard, no. 30. Collection: Didier Hanson. A Strong Infrastructure The Cinema of the Russian Empire roughly spans the period 1907-1920, during which time a strong infrastructure was created. From the over 2,700 art films created in Russia before 1920, around 300 remain to this day. In 1908, Alexander Drankov produced the first Russian narrative film, Stenka Razin, based on events told in a popular folk song and directed by Vladimir Romashkov. At the same time, the Moscow cinema entrepreneur Aleksandr Khanzhonkov began to operate. In 1912, the Khanzhonkov film studio was operational. The same year, a German concern filming in Russia introduced the director Yakov Protazanov to the world with its Ukhod Velikovo Startsa/Departure of the Grand Old Man, a biographical film about Lev Tolstoy. From 1911 to 1914 Ivan Mozzhukhin worked in the silent films of Khanzhonkov. Mozzhukhin shot to fame after his leading role as violinist Trukhachevsky in Kreitzerova sonata/The Kreutzer Sonata (Pyotr Chardynin, 1911), based on the eponymous story by Leo Tolstoy. He starred as Admiral Kornilov in Oborona Sevastopolya/Defence of Sevastopol (Vasili Goncharov, Aleksandr Khanzhonkov, 1911), a feature film of 2000 meters. This was the first film ever that was shot by two cameras. Next he appeared in the delightful comedy Domik v Kolomne/The Kolomna House (Pyotr Chardynin, 1913) after a poem by Alexander Pushkin. By the mid-1910s Ivan Mozzhukhin had become the most important male star of the Cinema of the Russian Empire. Nathalie Kovanko. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Alexandra Balashova and Mikhail Mortkin. Russian postcard, no. 30. Collection: Didier Hanson. Alexandra Balashova and Mikhail Mortkin. Russian postcard, no. 144. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vitold Polonsky and Vera Karalli. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Photo: publicity still for Vozmezdie/Retribution (Yevgeni Bauer, 1916). Change The arrival of World War I in Russia in 1914 sparked a change in the Cinema of the Russian Empire. In 1916, Russia produced 499 films, over three times the number of just three years earlier, and more of feature length. Russia's war allies began to import some of the more striking product, including films by Yakov Protazanov and Yevgeni Bauer, a specialist in psychological film, who both impacted, among others, the burgeoning American film industry. And then came the Russian Revolution. With audiences turning against the Tsar, film producers began turning out, after the February Revolution, a number of films with anti-Tsarist themes. These, along with the usual retinue of detective films and melodramas, filled theatres. The destruction of the infrastructure in the major cities, the failing war-drained economy, the takeover of rural cinemas by local Soviets, and the aversion of some in the film industry to communism, caused the Russian film industry per se to effectively die out by the time Lenin on 8 November 1917 proclaimed a new country, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The last significant Russian film completed, Otets Sergiy/Father Sergius (Yakov Protazanov, Alexandre Volkoff, 1917) featuring Ivan Mozzhukhin would become the first new film release a year later, in the new country of the Soviets. Vitold Polonsky, no. 141. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vitold Polonsky. Russian postcard, no. 133. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vitold Polonsky. Russian postcard, no. 124. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vera Kholodnaya One of the first stars of the Cinema of the Russian Empire was Vera Kholodnaya (1893-1919). Her film debut was a minor role in a grand production of Anna Karenina (Vladimir Gardin, 1914) with Mariya Germanova in the title role. Then director Yevgeni Bauer was looking for a woman of outstanding beauty for a new film. When Kholodnaya was introduced to him, Bauer reportedly was spellbound of the small, intense woman with her commanding grey eyes and mop of black hair. Bauer at once approved her for the part, the lead role in the Ivan Turgenev adaptation Pesn torzhestvuyushchey lyubvi/The Song of the Triumphant Love (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915). This mystical love drama was a major box-office hit, and she signed a three-years contract with the Khanzhonkov studio. The impatient Bauer immediately made another film with his new discovery, Plamya Neba/Flame of the Sky (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915). Four years later, the ‘Queen of the Screen’ died of the Spanish flu during the pandemic of 1919. There were also rumours about a Mata Hari-like intrigue. Her death should be attributed to poisoning following a love story with the Spanish Ambassador... Although the 26-years old actress had worked only three years for the cinema, she must have made between fifty and hundred short films. The Soviet authorities ordered to destroy many of the Kholodnaya features in 1924, and only five of her films still exist. Vera Kholodnaya and Vladimir Maximov. Russian postcard, no. 79. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vera Kholodnaya and Ossip Runitsch. Russian postcard, no. 30. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vera Kholodnaya and Ossip Runitsch. Russian postcard, no. 173. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vera Kholodnaya. Russian postcard, no. 149. Collection: Didier Hanson. Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

Russian postcard, no. 86. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vera Kholodnaya (1893-1919) was the first star of the Russian silent cinema. Only 26, the ‘Queen of Screen’ died of the Spanish flu during the pandemic of 1919. Although she worked only three years for the cinema, she must have made between fifty and hundred short films. The Soviet authorities ordered to destroy many of the Kholodnaya features in 1924, and only five of her films still exist. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.

Russian postcard, no. 131, 1914. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vera Kholodnaya (1893-1919) was the first star of the Russian silent cinema. Only 26, the ‘Queen of Screen’ died of the Spanish flu during the pandemic of 1919. Although she worked only three years for the cinema, she must have made between fifty and hundred short films. The Soviet authorities ordered to destroy many of the Kholodnaya features in 1924, and only five of her films still exist. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards Already over 3 million views! Or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.

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Vera Kholodnaya (1893-1919) was the first star of the Russian silent cinema. Only 26, the ‘Queen of Screen’ died of the Spanish flu during the pandemic of 1919. Although she worked only three years for the cinema, she must have made between fifty and a hundred short films. The Soviet authorities ordered to destroy the Kholodnaya features in 1924, and only five of her films still exist. Russian postcard, no. 111. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Russian postcard, no. 134. A woman of outstanding beauty Vera Kholodnaya (Russian: Вера Холодная, and also romanised as Vera Kholodnaia and Vira Kholodna) was originally named Vera Vasilyevna Levchenko. She was born into a respectable well-to-do family in Poltava, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) in 1893. Her whole family enjoyed acting in plays. At the age of ten, she was sent to Moscow to live with her widowed grandmother. There she attended the elite Perepelkina Grammar school. The girl dreamed of a career in classical ballet and even enrolled at the Bolshoi Theatre ballet school. That changed in 1908, when Vera attended a performance of the film Francesca da Rimini, with ballerina Vera Komissarzhevskaya in the title role. She was deeply impressed with Komissarzhevskaya's artistry and now was set on becoming an actress. In 1910, the 17-years old Vera married student Vladimir Kholodny, one of the first Russian car racers. Later he became the editor of the magazine AVTO. Vera would often accompany him in races which resulted in road accidents. She also adopted his surname, which translates as ‘the cold one’. Their daughter Eugenia Kholodnaya was born in 1912, and they adopted another daughter, Nonna Kholodnaya, a year later. After her husband was drafted to fight in World War I, she decided to venture into film acting. She first approached Vladimir Gardin, a leading Russian film director, who cast her in a minor role in his grand production of Anna Karenina (Vladimir Gardin, 1914) with Mariya Germanova in the title role. Then director Yevgeni Bauer was looking for a woman of outstanding beauty for a new film. When Kholodnaya was introduced to him, Bauer reportedly was spellbound by the small, intense woman with her commanding grey eyes and mop of black hair. Bauer at once approved her for the part, the lead role in the Ivan Turgenev adaptation Pesn torzhestvuyushchey lyubvi/The Song of the Triumphant Love (1915, Yevgeni Bauer). This mystical love drama was a major box-office hit, and Kholodnaya signed a three-year contract with the Khanzhonkov studio. The impatient Bauer immediately made another film with his new discovery, Plamya Neba/Flame of the Sky (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915). It was a typical melodrama about the guilty love of a young woman married off to an old widower and his son. In the end, the lovers perish from a thunderbolt. Her next picture was Deti veka/The Children of the Age (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915), a drama with pretensions to reveal social problems. Bauer’s death in 1917 robbed the Russian cinema of one of its great talents, and Kholodnaya of her discoverer. Soon followed more films for her which were made by other directors. At first, Kholodnaya imitated the acting of Asta Nielsen, but gradually she developed her own style. Another tremendous success was the tragic melodrama Mirazhi/The Mirages (Pyotr Chardynin, 1915). Her extravagant costumes and large grey eyes made her an enigmatic screen presence which fascinated audiences all over Russia. Russian postcard, no. 108. Collection: Didier Hanson. A Who is Who of the Russian silent cinema. In a circle from left: actor Vladimir Maksimov (with bear), actress Vera Kholodnaya, actor Vitold Polonsky, actor Ivan Khudoleyev, actor Ivan Mozzhukhin, director Petr Cardynin and actor Ossip Runitsch. Russian postcard, no. 75. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918) with Ossip Runitsch. Russian postcard, no. 120. Photo: Ossip Runitsch and Vera Kholodnaya in Na altar krasoty/To the Altar of Beauty (Pyotr Chardynin, 1917). Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 132. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918) with Ossip Runitsch. Only about 10 minutes of this film are known to exist. The rest of the film is believed to be lost. Russian postcard, no. 143. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Сказка любви дорогой/Tale of dear love (?, ?) with Vladimir Maksimov. Russian postcard, no. 145. Photo: Ivan Khudoleyev, Ossip Runitsch and Vera Kholodnaya in Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918). Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 146. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918) with Ossip Runitsch. The Queen of Screen The melodrama Zhizn za zhizn/A Life for a Life (Yevgeni Bauer, 1916) became one of the most popular films in Vera Kholodnaya’s career. After this film, she was called ‘the Queen of Screen’. The author of this title was the famous singer Alexander Vertinsky who venerated the actress and frequented her house. In 1916 Khanzhonkov’s company started making the film Pierrot with Vertinsky and Kholodnaya playing the leads. Unfortunately, the film was never completed. By the time of the Russian Revolution, a new Kholodnaya film was released every third week. U kamina/By the Fireplace (1917), based on a popular romance, was another resounding commercial success. The film ran in cinemas until 1924 when the Soviet authorities ordered to destroy the Kholodnaya features. During the Russian Civil War, the Bolshevik authorities requested film companies to produce less melodrama and more adaptations of classics. Accordingly, Kholodnaya was cast in a screen version of Tolstoy's Zhivoy trup/The Living Corpse (Cheslav Sabinsky, 1917). Her acting abilities in this film were applauded by Stanislavsky, who welcomed Vera to join the troupe of the Moscow Art Theatre. Her last box-office sensation was Molchi, grust... molchi/Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent (Pyotr Chardynin, Cheslav Sabinsky, 1918). Like many of her films, it was based on a Russian traditional love song. By that time, Kholodnaya turned from just a popular and admired actress into a legend of the Russian cinema. She decided to move with her film company to Odessa. There she died at the age of 25 in the 1918 flu pandemic. A director with whom she had worked for several years filmed her grand funeral. Ironically, this seems to be her best-known film today. The other five extant films with Vera Kholodnaya are Deti veka/The Children of the Age (1915), Mirazhi/The Mirages (1915), Zhizn za zhizn/A Life for a Life (1916), Zhivoy trup/The Living Corpse (1918), and Molchi, grust... molchi/Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent (1918). Official Russian records state that Vera Kholodnaya died of the Spanish flu. While that seems quite likely, there is much speculation about her death. Оther stories claim she was poisoned by the French ambassador with whom she reportedly had an affair and who believed that she was a spy for the Bolsheviks. Her husband, Vladimir Kholodny, died 2 months after her. Her mother, Yekaterina Sleptsova, also died shortly after her. Her life was dramatised in Nikita Mikhalkov's film Raba lyubvi/A Slave of Love (1975), and director Oleg Kovalov made a documentary on her life, Ostrov Myortvykh/Island of the Dead (1992). A year later, her image was depicted on a postage stamp and in 2003 a life-size bronze statue of her was erected in Odessa, Ukraine, created by the artist Alexander P. Tokarev. Russian postcard distributed in France by BPA, Rueil, no. 140. Vera Kholodnaya in Posledneiye tango/The last tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918). Russian postcard, no. 47. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 93. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 118. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 143. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Sources: Jessica Keaton (Silence is platinum), KinoTV.com (German), Russia-IC, Wikipedia and IMDb. And a special thanks to Didier Hanson for sending us the scans of his postcards!

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You may not have heard of Vera Kholodnaya, but she was Russia’s first major silent movie star. The majority of her movies were destroyed by the Soviet regime and she died under suspicious circumstances aged just 25 but she managed to in a lot of living in her short life! Born in 1893 in Poltava,(...)

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Vera Kholodnaya (1893-1919) was the first star of the Russian silent cinema. Only 26, the ‘Queen of Screen’ died of the Spanish flu during the pandemic of 1919. Although she worked only three years for the cinema, she must have made between fifty and a hundred short films. The Soviet authorities ordered to destroy the Kholodnaya features in 1924, and only five of her films still exist. Russian postcard, no. 111. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Russian postcard, no. 134. A woman of outstanding beauty Vera Kholodnaya (Russian: Вера Холодная, and also romanised as Vera Kholodnaia and Vira Kholodna) was originally named Vera Vasilyevna Levchenko. She was born into a respectable well-to-do family in Poltava, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) in 1893. Her whole family enjoyed acting in plays. At the age of ten, she was sent to Moscow to live with her widowed grandmother. There she attended the elite Perepelkina Grammar school. The girl dreamed of a career in classical ballet and even enrolled at the Bolshoi Theatre ballet school. That changed in 1908, when Vera attended a performance of the film Francesca da Rimini, with ballerina Vera Komissarzhevskaya in the title role. She was deeply impressed with Komissarzhevskaya's artistry and now was set on becoming an actress. In 1910, the 17-years old Vera married student Vladimir Kholodny, one of the first Russian car racers. Later he became the editor of the magazine AVTO. Vera would often accompany him in races which resulted in road accidents. She also adopted his surname, which translates as ‘the cold one’. Their daughter Eugenia Kholodnaya was born in 1912, and they adopted another daughter, Nonna Kholodnaya, a year later. After her husband was drafted to fight in World War I, she decided to venture into film acting. She first approached Vladimir Gardin, a leading Russian film director, who cast her in a minor role in his grand production of Anna Karenina (Vladimir Gardin, 1914) with Mariya Germanova in the title role. Then director Yevgeni Bauer was looking for a woman of outstanding beauty for a new film. When Kholodnaya was introduced to him, Bauer reportedly was spellbound by the small, intense woman with her commanding grey eyes and mop of black hair. Bauer at once approved her for the part, the lead role in the Ivan Turgenev adaptation Pesn torzhestvuyushchey lyubvi/The Song of the Triumphant Love (1915, Yevgeni Bauer). This mystical love drama was a major box-office hit, and Kholodnaya signed a three-year contract with the Khanzhonkov studio. The impatient Bauer immediately made another film with his new discovery, Plamya Neba/Flame of the Sky (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915). It was a typical melodrama about the guilty love of a young woman married off to an old widower and his son. In the end, the lovers perish from a thunderbolt. Her next picture was Deti veka/The Children of the Age (Yevgeni Bauer, 1915), a drama with pretensions to reveal social problems. Bauer’s death in 1917 robbed the Russian cinema of one of its great talents, and Kholodnaya of her discoverer. Soon followed more films for her which were made by other directors. At first, Kholodnaya imitated the acting of Asta Nielsen, but gradually she developed her own style. Another tremendous success was the tragic melodrama Mirazhi/The Mirages (Pyotr Chardynin, 1915). Her extravagant costumes and large grey eyes made her an enigmatic screen presence which fascinated audiences all over Russia. Russian postcard, no. 108. Collection: Didier Hanson. A Who is Who of the Russian silent cinema. In a circle from left: actor Vladimir Maksimov (with bear), actress Vera Kholodnaya, actor Vitold Polonsky, actor Ivan Khudoleyev, actor Ivan Mozzhukhin, director Petr Cardynin and actor Ossip Runitsch. Russian postcard, no. 75. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918) with Ossip Runitsch. Russian postcard, no. 120. Photo: Ossip Runitsch and Vera Kholodnaya in Na altar krasoty/To the Altar of Beauty (Pyotr Chardynin, 1917). Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 132. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918) with Ossip Runitsch. Only about 10 minutes of this film are known to exist. The rest of the film is believed to be lost. Russian postcard, no. 143. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Сказка любви дорогой/Tale of dear love (?, ?) with Vladimir Maksimov. Russian postcard, no. 145. Photo: Ivan Khudoleyev, Ossip Runitsch and Vera Kholodnaya in Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918). Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 146. Collection: Didier Hanson. Publicity still for Posledneiye tango/Last Tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918) with Ossip Runitsch. The Queen of Screen The melodrama Zhizn za zhizn/A Life for a Life (Yevgeni Bauer, 1916) became one of the most popular films in Vera Kholodnaya’s career. After this film, she was called ‘the Queen of Screen’. The author of this title was the famous singer Alexander Vertinsky who venerated the actress and frequented her house. In 1916 Khanzhonkov’s company started making the film Pierrot with Vertinsky and Kholodnaya playing the leads. Unfortunately, the film was never completed. By the time of the Russian Revolution, a new Kholodnaya film was released every third week. U kamina/By the Fireplace (1917), based on a popular romance, was another resounding commercial success. The film ran in cinemas until 1924 when the Soviet authorities ordered to destroy the Kholodnaya features. During the Russian Civil War, the Bolshevik authorities requested film companies to produce less melodrama and more adaptations of classics. Accordingly, Kholodnaya was cast in a screen version of Tolstoy's Zhivoy trup/The Living Corpse (Cheslav Sabinsky, 1917). Her acting abilities in this film were applauded by Stanislavsky, who welcomed Vera to join the troupe of the Moscow Art Theatre. Her last box-office sensation was Molchi, grust... molchi/Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent (Pyotr Chardynin, Cheslav Sabinsky, 1918). Like many of her films, it was based on a Russian traditional love song. By that time, Kholodnaya turned from just a popular and admired actress into a legend of the Russian cinema. She decided to move with her film company to Odessa. There she died at the age of 25 in the 1918 flu pandemic. A director with whom she had worked for several years filmed her grand funeral. Ironically, this seems to be her best-known film today. The other five extant films with Vera Kholodnaya are Deti veka/The Children of the Age (1915), Mirazhi/The Mirages (1915), Zhizn za zhizn/A Life for a Life (1916), Zhivoy trup/The Living Corpse (1918), and Molchi, grust... molchi/Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent (1918). Official Russian records state that Vera Kholodnaya died of the Spanish flu. While that seems quite likely, there is much speculation about her death. Оther stories claim she was poisoned by the French ambassador with whom she reportedly had an affair and who believed that she was a spy for the Bolsheviks. Her husband, Vladimir Kholodny, died 2 months after her. Her mother, Yekaterina Sleptsova, also died shortly after her. Her life was dramatised in Nikita Mikhalkov's film Raba lyubvi/A Slave of Love (1975), and director Oleg Kovalov made a documentary on her life, Ostrov Myortvykh/Island of the Dead (1992). A year later, her image was depicted on a postage stamp and in 2003 a life-size bronze statue of her was erected in Odessa, Ukraine, created by the artist Alexander P. Tokarev. Russian postcard distributed in France by BPA, Rueil, no. 140. Vera Kholodnaya in Posledneiye tango/The last tango (Vyacheslav Viskovsky, 1918). Russian postcard, no. 47. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 93. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 118. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard, no. 143. Collection: Didier Hanson. Russian postcard. Collection: Didier Hanson. Sources: Jessica Keaton (Silence is platinum), KinoTV.com (German), Russia-IC, Wikipedia and IMDb. And a special thanks to Didier Hanson for sending us the scans of his postcards!

This vintage real photo postcard features Russian actress Vera Vasilyevna Kholodnaya (1893-1919). Sometimes she is referred to as Holodnaja). She was the first star of Russian silent film. The numb…

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Родилась 9 августа 1893 года в Полтаве. До замужества - Левченко. Её отец - Василий Андреевич Левченко окончил словесное отделение Московского университета и приехал в Полтаву работать учителем. Мать - Екатерина Сергеевна Слепцова была выпускницей Александро - Мариинского института благородных…

Russian postcard, no. 116. Collection: Didier Hanson. Vera Kholodnaya (1893-1919) was the first star of the Russian silent cinema. Only 26, the ‘Queen of Screen’ died of the Spanish flu during the pandemic of 1919. Although she worked only three years for the cinema, she must have made between fifty and hundred short films. The Soviet authorities ordered to destroy many of the Kholodnaya features in 1924, and only five of her films still exist. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.

В дополнение к этому посту сайт автора работ здесь На фото юная русская пара