The Lost Letter (1945 film)

The Lost Letter (Russian: Пропа́вшая гра́мота, Propavshaya gramota), or A Disappeared Diploma, is a 1945 Soviet animated film directed by the "grandmothers of the Russian animation", Brumberg sisters, and Lamis Bredis. It is the first Soviet cel-animated feature film. It was produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow and is based on the story with the same name by Nikolai Gogol. The creators of the film managed to convey national Ukrainian color and to recreate the magical, fantastic atmosphere peculiar to works of the writer. Also, for a more realistic style of dance in the Zaporozhets and the Cossack, Igor Moiseyev was involved.

For the short story by Nikolai Gogol, see The Lost Letter: A Tale Told by the Sexton of the N...Church. For the Ukrainian film by Borys Ivchenko based on Gogol's story, see Propala Hramota.
The Lost Letter
Directed byLamis Bredis
Zinaida Brumberg
Valentina Brumberg
Produced bySoyuzmultfilm
Written byNikolai Gogol (story)
Zinoviy Kalik
StarringSergei Martinson
Leonid Pirogov
Mikhail Yanshin
Boris Livanov
Narrated byVasiliy Kachalov
Music bySerafim Vasilenko
Release date
  • January 1, 1945 (January 1, 1945)
Running time
43 minutes
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

Plot

On a hot August day, a messenger sends the Cossack to the capital with the diploma, meant for the queen, tucked away under his hat. On the road he strikes up an acquaintanceship with a loose Zaporozhet. During a break in their journey, the new friend told the Cossack that he sold his soul to a devil and waits for payment. At night the Cossack didn't go to bed, deciding to take the role of lookout. As the night darkened, the place they rested grew progressively as the devil came, took away the cossack's horse, and the queen's diploma with her. It was necessary to look for to the devil in order to retrieve the Cossack's items, but the devil was lost in the wood, Furthermore, it became clear that these woods were overflowing with evil spirits. Soon the Cossack found himself in the presence of many minor devil spirits and the evil witch-like entity who was controlling them. He challenged her to a card game in order to get his horse and the queen's diploma back. Despite the queen's cheating, he caught her and beat her, winning in the end, being able to leave with all of his things. In the morning the Cossack said goodbye to the acquaintance and, without further stops, rushed off to St. Petersburg.

Creators
EnglishRussian
Directors Lamis Bredis
Zinaida Brumberg
Valentina Brumberg		 Ламис Бредис
Зинаида Брумберг
Валентина Брумберг
Directors' assistants K. Apestina
Ye. Novosel'skaya
Ye. Golovanova
T. Fyodorova
I. Kul'neva
Ye. Shilova		 К. Апестина
Вы. Новосельская
Вы. Голованова
Т. Федорова
И. Кульнева
Вы. Шилова
Scenario Zinoviy Kalik
Zinaida Brumberg
Valentina Brumberg		 Зиновий Калик
Зинаида Брумберг
Валентина Брумберг
Art Directors Yevgeniy Migunov
Anatoliy Sazonov		 Евгений Мигунов
Анатолий Сазонов
Decorative artists B. Suteyeva
G. Nevzorova
V. Valeryanova
I. Troyanova
O. Gemmerling
V. Rodzhero		 Б. Сутеева
Г. Невзорова
В. Валерйанова
И. Троянова
О. Геммерлинг
В. Роджеро
Animators Pyotr Repkin
Y. Popov
Aleksandr Belyakov
Tatyana Fyodorova
Boris Dyozhkin
Nina Mindovskaya
Nadezhda Privalova
Tatyana Basmanova
Gennadiy Filippov
Lamis Bredis
N. Fyodorova
Roman Davydov
Faina Yepifanova		 Пётр Репкин
Ю. Попов
Александр Беляков
Татьяна Фёдорова
Борис Дёжкин
Нина Миндовская
Надежда Привалова
Татьяна Басманова
Геннадий Филиппов
Ламис Бредис
Н. Фёдорова
Роман Давыдов
Фаина Епифанова
Camera Operators Nikolai Voinov
Yelena Petrova		 Николай Воинов
Елена Петрова
Composer Serafim Vasilenko Серафим Василенко
Sound Operator Nikolay Prilutskiy Николай Прилуцкий
Sound Engineer Valeriy Popov Валерий Попов
Artistic Administrator Aleksandr Ptushko Александр Птушко
Voice Actors Sergei Martinson
Leonid Pirogov
Mikhail Yanshin
Boris Livanov		 Сергей Мартинсон
Леонид Пирогов
Михаил Яншин
Борис Ливанов
Narrator Vasiliy Kachalov Василий Качалов

Video

In the mid-nineties, Studio PRO Video (together with the best Soviet animated films) and the Soyuz studio let out videotapes with this animated film.

In the 2000s, the animated film is released on DVD by Soyuz studio.

See also


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