Vera Kholodnaya

Acting

Vera Kholodnaya

Born 1893-08-05 · Poltava, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]

Vera Vasilyevna Kholodnaya (née Levchenko) was a Ukrainian-born actress of the silent film era. She was the first star of Imperial Russian cinema. Only eight of her films have survived, in part or in whole, and the total number she acted in is unknown, with speculation ranging from 50 to 100.

Acting credits

The Moon Beauty poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Moon Beauty

1916

Children of the Age poster
4.8

The picture tells the story of Maria, a devoted wife of a bank employee. The couple has a cozy life; they have a baby but he is cared for by their maid so Maria can spend her time doing terrific things like going shopping. During one of these consumer afternoons, Maria meets by chance an old friend, Lidia, who will introduce her to exclusive idle class social circles. Soon Maria's beauty attracts the interest of Lebedev, a rich old libertine. From that point on Maria suffers continual sexual harassment which she resists for a time. In the end, however, she falls into his bourgeois claws.

Children of the Age

1915

The Woman Who Invented Love poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

The Woman Who Invented Love

1918

A Life for a Life poster
5.7

Wealthy Mrs. Khromova has a natural daughter, Musya, and an adopted daughter, Nata. The merchant Zhurov is in love with Nata, and hopes to marry her, but she is non-committal.

A Life for a Life

1916

Song of Triumphant Love poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Song of Triumphant Love

1915

Forget the Fireplace; the Lights Went out in It ... poster
NR

Continuation of Chardynin's drama By the Fireplace. Lost film.

Forget the Fireplace; the Lights Went out in It ...

1917

Anna Karenina poster
NR

In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.

Anna Karenina

1914

By the Fireplace poster
NR

Lost film.

By the Fireplace

1917

Tortured Souls poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Tortured Souls

1917

Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent poster
6.0

Paula is a circus performer married to the alcoholic clown-acrobat Lorio. Lorio's heavy drinking leads to him being severely injured during a performance. This forces Paula and the now-crippled Lorio to become street musicians. This film formerly ran to 81 minutes – regrettably, the second half is considered lost.

Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent

1918

Cinema in Russia poster
4.0

Documentary film about early years of Russian cinema: its first directors, cameramen, producers and actors. Includes rare fragments of pre-revolutionary feature films, newsreels and Starewicz's animation.

Cinema in Russia

1979

The Beast in Man poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Beast in Man

1917

No artwork available
6.7

The Island of the Dead is a film about the demise of the Russian Epocha Modern. The symbol of this culture was the legendary Russian film star Vera Kholodnaya, who evoked a poetic image of the young urban woman on the silver screen. Her death in 1919, shrouded in tragedy and mystery, put a symbolic end to the pre-Revolutionary period. The Island of the Dead is composed of fragments from numerous films from this period, juxtaposed with other contemporary artistic expressions such as music and painting. Kovalov shows convincingly how the fragile beauty of the Russian Epocha Modern had to make way for the pressure of Futurism, Constructivism and other 'progressive trends', and how these '-isms' were then also relegated to the melting pot to be remoulded by totalitarian norms.

Island of the Dead

1993

The Last Tango poster
NR

The film is based on the words of a song performed by Iza Kremer in Odessa.

The Last Tango

1918

At The Beauty's Altar poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

At The Beauty's Altar

1917

A Corpse Living poster
9.5

"The Living Corpse" - Fedor Protasov is tormented by the thought that his wife Liza never really made a clear choice between him and Victor Karenin, a more conventional rival for her hand. He wants to kill himself, but doesn't have the nerve. Running away from his life, he falls in with Gypsies, and into a sexual relationship with a Gypsy singer Mascha. Meanwhile, his wife Liza, presuming him dead, marries the other man, Victor.

A Corpse Living

1918

Mirages poster
6.7

Marianna advertises for work as a reader and is employed by the reclusive millionaire Dymov. Appreciative of her sensitive, artistic nature, and of her youthful innocence and purity, Dymov is protective of Marianna and shields her from the attentions of his philandering playboy son. Marianna confesses to her fiancé Sergei that, at times, she feels deeply conflicted, drawn by the seductive lure of wealth and luxury. When her protector Dymov dies, his son begins to pursue her. Can Marianna resist her attraction to the opulent lifestyle that Dymov's son offers?

Mirages

1916

How They Lie poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

How They Lie

1917

No artwork available
NR

This film records the vast public response to the early death of Vera Kholodnaya, the first star of Russian cinema.

The Funeral of Vera Kholodnaya

1919

No artwork available
NR

Filming of the collection of donations during the cinematic film week "To a Soldier in the trenches" in Moscow at the A. Khanzhonkov Theater on November 30, 1915.

Cinema — for the Soldier

1915

Metropolitan Poison poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Metropolitan Poison

1917

Vanyushin's Children poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Vanyushin's Children

1915