Chess Fever (1925)

With an international chess tournament in progress, a young man becomes completely obsessed with the game. His fiancée has no interest in it, and becomes frustrated and depressed by his ... See full summary »

Directors:

Vsevolod Pudovkin, Nikolai Shpikovsky

Writer:

Nikolai Shpikovsky

Stars:

José Raúl Capablanca, Vladimir Fogel, Anna Zemtsova

Cast

Complete credited cast:
José Raúl Capablanca	...	The World Champion
Vladimir Fogel	...	The Hero
Anna Zemtsova	...	The Heroine
Natalya Glan
Zakhar Darevsky
Mikhail Zharov	...	House Painter
Anatoli Ktorov	...	Tram Passenger
Yakov Protazanov	...	Chemist
Yuli Raizman	...	Chemist's Assistant
Ivan Koval-Samborsky	...	Policeman
Konstantin Eggert
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernst Grunfeld	...	Self
Fyodor Ivanov	...	(as F. Ivanov)
Sergey Komarov	...	Grandfather
Frank Marshall	...	Self

Storyline

With an international chess tournament in progress, a young man becomes completely obsessed with the game. His fiancée has no interest in it, and becomes frustrated and depressed by his neglect of her, but wherever she goes she finds that she cannot escape chess. On the brink of giving up, she meets the world champion, Capablanca himself, with interesting results.

---

Plot Keywords:

chess | chess tournament | chess player | tournament | absent mindedness | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Short

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Besides José Raúl Capablanca's appearance, the tournament scenes include brief footage of actual games being played in the Moscow 1925 international tournament. Some of the leading chess masters of the era, including Richard Reti, Rudolph Spielmann, Ernst Grunfeld, Frank Marshall, Carlos Torre and F.D. Yates are shown playing their games.

---

Connections

Featured in Fejezetek a film történetéböl: Az orosz és a szovjet némafilm (1989)

User Reviews

Good Fun, Especially If You Like Chess

This is very funny and quite creative, and it's particularly enjoyable if you like to play chess. You'd never expect something this genuinely amusing from a Soviet-era film. The movie makes very good use of a simple plot idea, with a young man's "Chess Fever" causing problems for him and his fiancée, setting up a pretty good variety of gags that work quite well. If you are a chess fan, it is also fun to see the great Capablanca making a film appearance, plus shorter appearances by several other well-known players of the era. It's all good entertainment, and a movie well worth seeing.

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

None

Release Date:

21 December 1925 (Soviet Union)

Also Known As:

Chess Fever

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mezhrabpom-Rus

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1