The Tsar's Courier (1956)

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Movie
German title The tsar's courier
Original title Michel Strogoff / Michael Strogoff
Country of production France , Italy , Yugoslavia
original language French , Italian
Publishing year 1956
length 111, 113 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Carmine gallon
script Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon
production Emile Natan
music Norbert Glanzberg
camera Robert Lefebvre
cut Armand Ridel
occupation

The Czar's Courier is a French-Italian-Yugoslav film adaptation of the Jules Verne classic of the same name (1876) from 1956 with Curd Jürgens in the title role.

action

The plot follows the story of the novel:

The battle-hardened Lieutenant Michael Strogoff is ordered to the Winter Palace and entrusted by the Tsar with an important assignment. He is supposed to bring the tsarist deployment plans to the Siberian city of Irkutsk , which is threatened by insurgent forces . Strogoff knows that on this long, arduous and dangerous journey he will be exposed to numerous dangers and that under no circumstances should his message fall into the hands of the enemy. Already on his departure from Saint Petersburg the first danger lurks in the form of the seductive Sangarre, the lover of the Russian ex-Colonel Ivan Ogareff, who supports the rebellious Tatars under the leadership of Feofar Khan. Sangarre follows Strogoff's heels with the intention of getting hold of the top secret plans. Nadja Fedorovna, who wants to visit her father, who lives in Irkutsk, is placed at his side as camouflage. She is supposed to play his wife, the wife of a cloth merchant named Korparov. On the train ride to the east, the tsar's courier met the French reporter Jolivet and his British colleague Henry Blount, who wanted to travel east as reporters.

Little does Michael Strogoff suspect that his equally powerful and cruel opponent Ogareff is on his way to Irkutsk to lead the Tatar forces to storm the city. Both meet without knowing each other and immediately have their first violent argument when it comes to a fresh team of horses that both need for themselves. In order not to blow his camouflage, the tsar's courier endures the brutal manners of the brutal Ogareff. Later on, Strogoff and Nadja are attacked by Tatars while crossing a river on a ferry. Only Michael Strogoff can escape the enemy attackers, the others are gutted or taken prisoner. Meanwhile, Ogareff was extremely tough on the conquest of Irkutsk. Even Sangarre is not immune to its brutality. Gradually his lover begins to doubt the correctness of her solidarity with Ogareff. The Wüterich plans no less than the conquest of all of Siberia, leaving behind a trail of devastation with burned-down villages and mutilated residents. Meanwhile, Strogoff and other refugees also fall into the hands of the Tatars. There he meets his mother Marfa and Nadja again. Ogareff knows that Marfa is Michael's mother and wants to flog her violently in order to extract information about her son from her and to lure him out of the possible cover. When Michael sees this, he intervenes and hits Ogareff.

It is now clear to Ogareff that this stranger must be the tsar's courier. The emir, who is in charge of law and order, is supposed to punish Strogoff: The verdict is called blinding . Ogareff rides in the direction of Irkutsk with the Tsar's letter he has taken, while Marfa dies in the arms of her blind son. With Nadja's help, Michael Strogoff reached Irkutsk, overcoming numerous other dangers and obstacles. The city is surrounded by Tatar associations and is under constant fire. Irkutsk cannot hold out much longer. The Grand Duke, who administers the city on behalf of the Tsar, believes that he has the Tsar's courier in front of him in Ogareff, since he is in possession of the Tsar's letter. That is why he also accepts his proposals for an alleged city rescue. When Nadja recognizes Ogareff in the governor's palace, there is a duel between the villain and the blind courier. While Michael is victorious, the Tartars advance into the city center. The Grand Duke, under the leadership of Michael Strogoff, who has in the meantime regained a bit of his eyesight, can fight off the Tatar hordes with the Russian defenders.

Production notes

The Tsar's Courier was shot on several locations in Yugoslavia between June 4 and September 15, 1956. The world premiere took place on December 14, 1956 in Paris, the German premiere was on March 12, 1957 in the Alhambra cinema in Düsseldorf.

Louis Wipf took over the production management. Léon Barsacq created the film structures, Marcel Escoffier the costumes.

Five years later this film was continued with Colonel Strogoff , again with Curd Jürgens in the title role.

Reviews

The film was discussed extremely poorly both nationally and internationally. Here are three examples:

Der Spiegel wrote: “In the cinematographic Jules Verne renaissance ... the Cinemascope remake of the classic adventurer ... became an unexciting by-product. The blue-eyed, flashing and deep-throated officer manhood of Curd Jürgens may indeed offer the femininity of the countries of origin a promising sight, but the "Norman wardrobe" threatens to be quickly worn out below its value in such elaborately produced, but poorly staged wide-wall paintings as a European film piece of furniture. "

Eugene Archer wrote in the New York Times : "For foreign film admirers who may have been convinced by recent fine imports from France and Sweden that overseas production standards are superior to our own," Michael Strogoff should be an educational experience. This never-ending historical saga conclusively proves that, if they concentrate on their work, European filmmakers can make inferior costume spectacles than Hollywood in all its ostentatiousness (...) Carmine Gallone, who staged, leads the rapid journey across the cinema-scope screen at an elephant pace and occasionally stops for a 19th century battle scene on a freshly mown lawn. Mr. Jurgens' attempt to imitate Douglas Fairbanks is awkwardly watched, while Genevieve Page, as his blonde travel companion, is alternately tearful and shy. The rest of the actors have little opportunity to make an impression, and that's lucky for everyone involved. "

In the lexicon of the international film it says: "Historical adventure film that focuses on the visual effects of the multiple filmed material and neglects the tension dramaturgy."

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "The Tsar's Courier" . Criticism in Der Spiegel on April 3, 1957
  2. ↑ Michael Strogoff in The New York Times, May 21, 1960
  3. ↑ The Tsar's Courier. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed July 1, 2020 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 

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