The Living Corpse (1929 film)

The Living Corpse
The Living Corpse
Directed by	Fyodor Otsep
Written by	Leo Tolstoy (play); Boris Gusman; Anatoli Marienhof; Fyodor Otsep;
Starring	Vsevolod Pudovkin; Maria Jacobini; Viola Garden;
Cinematography	Anatoli Golovnya ; Phil Jutzi ;
Music by	Werner Schmidt-Boelcke
Production; companies	Mezhrabpomfilm; Prometheus-Film;
Distributed by	Prometheus-Film
Release date	26 March 1929;
Running time	82 minutes
Countries	Germany; Soviet Union;
Languages	Silent; German intertitles;

The Living Corpse (German: Der lebende Leichnam, Russian: Живой труп, romanized: Zhivoy trup) is a 1929 German-Soviet silent drama film directed by Fyodor Otsep and starring Vsevolod Pudovkin, Maria Jacobini and Viola Garden.^[1] It is based on the 1911 posthumously debuted play The Living Corpse by Leo Tolstoy. It was made as a co-production between the Russian-based Mezhrabpomfilm and the Communist-backed German company Prometheus Film.^[2]

Plot[edit]

At the center of the action is Fyodor Protassov whose marriage with his wife Liza is largely finished. As the Russian Orthodox Church does not tolerate divorce, he one day fakes his suicide so that his wife can be with her lover Viktor Karenin. While he begins to lead a life of illegality and subterfuge which despite his new companion does not make him content, this decisive step to the fake death which has made him a "living corpse" is no real happiness.

One day it is found out that Fyodor is still alive and that Liza is guilty of bigamy. She is accused and a sentence for her "offense" waits for her, which is in actuality Fyodor's. Protassov, who never wanted to take this so far, decides therefore to one last sacrifice: he now completes the deceived act and actually commits suicide by shooting himself.