The White Eagle (1928)

Directed by Yakov Protazanov; script by Yakov Protazanov and Oleg Leonidov; sets by Isaac Rabinovich; movie poster by Israel Bograd.

The film is based on Leonid Andreyev’s novel The Governor and is set in a Russian town during the 1905 revolution. Incited by agents provocateur, striking workers stone the windows of the governor’s house and attack the governor. The governor receives orders from St Petersburg to open fire on the workers; only later does he learn that there are children among the dead. He suffers constant pangs of conscience, particularly when he learns that he has been awarded the Order of the White Eagle by the government in St Petersburg. One of the downgraded agents provocateur then kills the governor.

The film enjoyed great success due to the performances of such famous Russian actors as Vasily Kachalov, Anna Sten and Vsyevolod Meyerhold