Galina Kravchenko is a silent movie star, a famous actress, a representative of the first graduation of the State College of Cinematography (VGIK).
The beginning of an acting career
Galina was born on February 11, 1905 in Kazan. Later she moved with her mother to Moscow, where she was noticed by a novice director Vladimir Pudovkin. Fascinated by the spontaneity and beauty of the girl, he persuaded Galina to try herself in the acting field. Considering her his goddaughter, Pudovkin for many years carefully watched the career of the actress, helping in difficult times with a kind word and the right advice.
In 1921, Galina graduated from the Theater and Choreography School in Moscow and for two years she was a ballet soloist in the opera of S. M. Zimin.
In 1922, Kravchenko entered the State College of Cinematography at the acting department, having successfully passed the exams to the director and one of its organizers, Vladimir Gardin, Rostislavovich. In it, the girl studied for 5 years. Mentor of the famous first issue was Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov - a famous teacher, film theorist and director. Together with Galina, an educational institution (now VGIK) graduated from Nina Shaternikova, Evgeny Chernyakov, Andrey Fayt, Ada Voitsik. In parallel with her studies from 1922 to 1924, Galina was the ballerina of the experimental theater.
First steps to the cinema
In the movies, Galina Kravchenko began acting in her student years. The film school regularly sent its students to the crowd, giving them the opportunity to prove themselves on a practical side. For the first time, Galina starred in the film "Aelita." It was a small episode that gave the talented girl an excellent start in the world of cinema. Then there were roles in the film “The Gang of the Old Man's Knight” by A. Razumny and the “Cigarette Box from Mosselprom” by Yu. Zhelyabuzhsky.
The first significant role Galina Kravchenko played in the film "In the heat of NEP" (1924) directed by Boris Svetozarov. The picture talked about the moral decay of a business executive who came under the influence of Nepman's circle. The 18-year-old actress was invited to the role of a 40-year-old woman. To the girl’s perplexed question about why she gets such a great-looking image and whether she can play it, the director answered that the actor’s ability to transform is a real art. With these words, he gave a huge impetus, from which Galina Kravchenko - an actress!
Biography, roles, films of Galina Kravchenko
In 1925, Galina was invited to the studio "Belgoskino". Director Yuri Tarich made the film "Forest Story" based on the work of Mikhail Charota "Swineherd" about the confrontation in 1920 of Belarusian partisans to Polish troops. Galina was approved for the role of the daughter of the Polish landowner Wanda.
Upon completion of her studies, Galina Kravchenko was admitted to the staff of the Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio, which for many years became her home for her. The actress became the brightest star of this film factory: in the 1920-1930s, posters with her portraits were present in all Soviet cities. But nothing is permanent, everything in life is changing. The fashion for movie heroes has also changed. Vigorous Komsomol smiled from the screens into the auditorium, the standards of which Kravchenko did not fit. Probably, the actress, like her colleagues of this role, was expected to be forgotten, if not for Kuleshov.
In 1933, the director invited Galina to the role of Anabel Adams in the sound picture “The Great Comforter”, which was based on the stories of O. Henry. This picture became a kind of confession of the cinema maestro, pierced through with piercing longing for the bright days of silent cinema. Kravchenko wittily and gracefully played a parody of the movie heroine of the 20s, that is, herself.
Galina Kravchenko: filmography
Soviet actresses of the 20s were long forgotten at that time. But this did not affect our heroine. Galina Kravchenko actively starred until the 1980s. True, the roles were completely different (elderly mothers, etc.).
From 1942 to 1943, Galina was an actress of the Russian Drama Theater in Tbilisi, and then - the Theater Studio of the film actor. The career of the actress continued during the Khrushchev thaw. True, she now played the role of aging secular ladies and Soviet mothers.
Kravchenko starred until the very beginning of the 1980s. There were no good roles or even episodes, but the actress always remained in sight. For her, even a new hypostasis was found: the living history of Soviet cinema. This role went to her rightfully, and she was performed by Galina Kravchenko with dignity and brilliance for almost 40 years. She wrote a book of memoirs, spoke a lot on television, at evenings in the Cinema House, was in demand and full until the end of her days.
In 1980, Galina Kravchenko was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
Personal life of Galina Kravchenko
In the life of Galina Kravchenko there were three marriages. The first, with actor Andrei Faith, did not last long and ended in divorce. In 1930, Galina married the military pilot Alexander Kamenev - the son of the famous politician Lev Kamenev. The young family settled in the house of the father-in-law; Galina began to communicate with famous people of that time - Alexandra Kollontai, Sergey Kirov, Leonid Utesov, Sergey Eisenstein. In 1931, the son of Vitaliy was born. Lev Borisovich was shot in 1936, Alexander in 1937, and mother-in-law Olga Kameneva in 1941. For Galina, a family relationship with the Kamenevs turned into a ban on filming a movie.
In 1939, the actress was married to the Georgian director Nikolai Sanishvili, from whom she gave birth to a daughter Karina.
The son of Galina Kravchenko in 1949 was arrested and sent to Karaganda for 25 years. Vitaly was rehabilitated in the mid-50s, allowing him to return home. Link greatly undermined the health of the young man, and he died in 1966. After the Kamenevs were repressed, the road to a big movie for Galina was closed.
March 5, 1996 is the day Galina Kravchenko, an actress with a capital letter, died, who managed, under the influence of the changes that took place, to correctly rebuild and become a legend in Soviet cinema during her lifetime.