Ромм и Е. А. Кузьмина: творческий союз режиссера и актрисы
M. I. Romm and E. A. Kuzmina: The Creative Union of a Director and Actress

Summary/Abstract: The recollections of the well-known couple that united cinema director M. I. Romm and his wife, actress E. A. Kuzmina, form the basis for this article. Mikhail Ilyich Romm (1901–1971) was an outstanding Soviet director who shot films including “Thirteen” (1937), “Lenin in October” (1937), “Russian Question” (1948), “Murder on Dante Street” (1956), and “Nine Days of One Year” (1962). Elena Aleksandrovna Kuzmina (1909–1979) was a student of G. M. Kozintsev and L. Z. Trauberg and played many notable roles in films including “The New Babylon” (1929), “Alone” (1931), “The Dream” (1943), and “The Secret Mission” (1950). The official biography of this pair appears almost unreproachable: important service on the national level, an array of well-known films, and a happy personal life. However, after turning to their literary heritage, it is possible to obtain a considerably more complete idea about the life of creative intelligentsia in 1930–1950. The very nature of the cinematographic arts dictates the way to relate to this pair: they were an expressive medium, accessible to wide audiences, “a weapon of propaganda,” and an emotional vehicle of human feelings. M. I. Romm could probably also be criticized from the perspective of the “post-Perestroika” generation, since “Lenin in October” (1937) and “Lenin in 1918” (1939) figure among his best known films. If we don’t know the special circumstances under which Romm was forced to agree to shoot the first film, it would be possible to think that the director had been honored to enjoy the privilege of directing such a feature film about the leader of the revolution (let us note — in 1937) and successfully completed the task. But after turning to the recollections of Romm and Kuzmina, it’s possible to find many interesting details of their lives together.

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