Tsirk (1936)

Directors:

Grigori Aleksandrov
I. Simkov (co-director)

Writer:

Grigori Aleksandrov (writer)

Release Date:

25 May 1936 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

US - Vaudeville dancer Marion Dixon is with her German manager von Kneischitz on tour - in Moskau. Her act includes a gun shooting her to the trapeze...

Plot Keywords:

Dancer | Manager | Vaudeville | USSR | Trapeze

Cast

Lyubov Orlova	...	Mary (Marion Dixon)
Yevgeniya Melnikova	...	Rayechka (as Ye. Melnikova)
Vladimir Volodin	...	The circus director (as V. Volodin)
Sergei Stolyarov	...	Ivan Petrovich Martynov (as S. Stolyarov)
N. Massalsky	...	Von Kneishitz
Aleksandr Komissarov	...	Skamejkin (as A. Komissarov)
N. Otto	...	The clown 'Charlie Chaplin'
Jim Patterson	...	Mary's little son (as Dzh. Patterson)
Fyodor Kurikhin	...	Captain Borneo, animal tamer (as F. Kurikhin)
Sergei Antimonov	...	Shprekhshtalmejster (as S. Antimonov)
Solomon Mikhoels		(as S. Mikhoels)
Pyotr Geraga		(as P. Geraga)
Lev Sverdlin		(as L. Geraga)
Vladimir Kandelaki		(as V. Kandelaki)

Also Known As:

Цирк (Soviet Union: Russian title)
The Circus

Runtime:

94 min | USA:89 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Mosfilm

Trivia:

In the scene where people sing a lullaby in various languages to the black child, the bit sung in Yiddish by Solomon Mikhoels was cut out of the film for distribution in the USSR, for a time when a state-backed anti-Semitism campaign was unleashed.

Soundtrack:

Hello, Good-Bye

Good, Fun Propaganda

If you are going to make a movie endorsing the actions of one of history's greatest villains, in this case Stalin, at least make it fun to watch! "Tsirk" is a funny, melodramatic, accessible movie that features several entertaining acts, such as the impromptu Lion Tamer, the dance on the cannon, and the communal ending. It is heartwarming to see an entire country represented as they sing a child to sleep, until you realize that the Yiddish Representatives were executed after the production. The running theme of confusion, over translation and ideologies, provided the movie with several humorous moments of error, and provided the movie with an honest subtext.

Also, worth pointing out, is the movie's fearless attitude towards racism. Hollywood would hint at the problem, but rarely delve into it as much as "Tsirk" has.