23 Facts About Alexander Drankov

Alexander Osipovich Drankov was a Russian and Soviet photographer, cameraman, film director, and film producer.

Alexander Drankov is considered a pioneer of Russian pre-revolutionary cinematography.

Alexander Drankov's studio was on the cutting edge of technology, owning a Pathe camera and electric lighting.

Alexander Drankov's studio released 17 short documentaries in 1908, one of which captured footage of an active fire.

Alexander Drankov screened his films to Pyotr Stolypin, Maria Feodorovna, and a film exposition in Hamburg, making them the first Russian film exports.

Alexander Drankov convinced Goncharov to let him film additional scenes, covering material intended for the live performance.

Alexander Drankov promoted his version of Stenka Razin as Russia's first feature film, ignoring his incomplete Boris Godunov.

Alexander Drankov followed this success with two comedies, including The Zealous Batman, the first Russian comedy film - which failed commercially, and another filmed play: The Marriage of Krechinsky.

In 1909, Alexander Drankov made a documentary about the assassination and funeral of Mikhail Herzenstein, which was censored in most of Russia.

In 1909 and 1910, Alexander Drankov filmed additional footage of Leo Tolstoy.

Two months after Tolstoy's death, Alexander Drankov released the footage as A Peasant Wedding and claimed that Tolstoy personally wrote and directed it.

Alexander Drankov hired Yevgeni Bauer as a set decorator, which marked Bauer's entry into the film industry.

Between 1914 and 1915, Alexander Drankov created a serial about Sofia Blyuvshtein.

Alexander Drankov followed this success with The Robber Vaska Churkin and other lurid serials, such as The Bloody Fortnight and The Seventh Commandment.

In 1917, the Russian Provisional Government recruited filmmakers, including Alexander Drankov, to make anti-Bolshevik films.

That same year, Alexander Drankov created a film glorifying Catherine Breshkovsky.

Later that year, as film supplies ran low, Alexander Drankov took a break from filmmaking and managed Yekaterina Geltzer on tour.

In 1918, Alexander Drankov left Moscow for Kiev alongside Vlas Doroshevich under the pretense of adapting one of his novels into a film.

Alexander Drankov then fled to Odessa and Crimea, where he briefly resumed making films with fellow refugees.

In 1923, when Mustafa Kemal expelled Russian refugees from Turkey, Alexander Drankov left for the United States, living first in New York and then in Los Angeles.

In 1927, Alexander Drankov attempted to start his own Hollywood studio to produce films on Russian themes but was unsuccessful.

Alexander Drankov is buried in the Jewish Eternal Home cemetery in Colma, California.

Alexander Drankov's films were criticized for their sensationalism and for making light of crime.