{{Short description|1958 film directed by Yuli Khmelnitsky}} {{Other uses|Mister X (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox film | name = Mister Iks | native_name = {{langx|ru|Мистер Икс|link=no}} | image = Mister X (1958 film).jpg | caption = | director = {{ill|Yuli Khmelnitsky|ru|Юлий Хмельницкий}} | producer = | writer = Yuli Khmelnitsky <br />Nora Rubinstein | based_on = {{based on|''Die Zirkusprinzessin''|Emmerich Kálmán}} | starring = Georg Ots | music = Emmerich Kálmán | cinematography = Yuli Khmelnitsky | editing = N. Razumova | studio = Lenfilm | distributor = | released = {{Film date|1958}} | runtime = 95 minutes | country = Soviet Union | language = Russian | budget = | gross = }} '''Mister Iks''' ({{langx|ru|Мистер Икс|link=no}}) or '''''Mister X''''' is a Soviet Russian-language black-and-white musical comedy film directed by {{ill|Yuli Khmelnitsky|ru|Юлий Хмельницкий}}. It is based on the Leningrad Theatre of Musical Comedy operetta of the same name from 1956. The operetta itself was a Russian adaptation of Emmerich Kálmán's ''Die Zirkusprinzessin (The Circus Princess)''.<ref>[http://mkrf.ru/registr/detail.php?ID=110131424&ganr=&strana=&year_from=1&year_to=106&kateg=&color=&nud=&firm_z=&keywords=&q=%CC%E8%F1%F2%E5%F0+%C8%EA%F1 Государственный регистр фильмов {{Bracket|State Register of Films}}], Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation (in Russian) {{dead link|date=June 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://fb.ru/article/233011/aktrisa-zoya-vinogradova-biografiya-tvorchestvo Зоя Виноградова: биография и творчество {{Bracket|Actress Zoya Vinogradova: biography, creativity}}], fb.ru (in Russian)</ref>
Filming began in 1957, with many of the actors and artists from the Leningrad Theatre working on the film. It premiered in the Soviet Union and other countries on May 2, 1958.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://afisha.mail.ru/cinema/movies/713049_mister_iks/|title=Мистер Икс|trans-title=Mister Iks|website=kino.mail.ru|access-date=9 October 2022}}</ref><ref>[https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/46655/dates/ Мистер Икс] on KinoPoisk</ref>
==Plot== A mysterious circus performer known as "Mister X" captivates audiences with his breathtaking acts, including playing the violin while seated on a chair suspended in midair by ropes. His hauntingly beautiful melodies reflect his inner turmoil, stemming from his forbidden love for a noblewoman. Their romance is deemed unacceptable by society, which regards circus performers as third-class citizens.
The enigmatic nature of Mister X intrigues Théodora Verdier, a young widow who has consistently rejected marriage proposals from a nobleman, the Baron. Seeking revenge, the Baron hatches a devious scheme to humiliate her by introducing her to Mister X under a false identity. Théodora and Mister X develop a deep emotional connection, but the Baron's plot exposes Mister X's true identity, leading Théodora to feel betrayed and reject him.
Parallel to this story is the romance between Tony, the son of the owner of the "Green Parrot" hotel, and Marie, a circus performer. Despite his mother's disapproval, their love endures.
The film, set in France rather than Tsarist Russia as in the original operetta by Emmerich Kálmán, concludes with a happy ending. Tony's mother accepts his relationship with Marie, and Théodora ultimately forgives Mister X, choosing love over societal expectations.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://old.tvkultura.ru/news.html?id=22416&cid=1484 |title = Мистер Икс |work = Теле- и художественные фильмы |publisher = Russia-K |accessdate = 2013-12-30 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234734/http://old.tvkultura.ru/news.html?id=22416&cid=1484 |archive-date = 2013-12-30 |url-status = dead }}</ref>
==Cast== * Georg Ots as Mister X * {{interlanguage link|Marina Yurasova|ru|Юрасова, Марина Андреевна}} as Theodora Verdier (Princess Fedora Palinska in the operetta, vocals by Tamara Bogdanova)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://old.spbvedomosti.ru/article.htm?id=10284742@SV_Articles |title=Санкт-Петербургские Ведомости |access-date=2016-11-10 |archive-date=2016-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110235400/http://old.spbvedomosti.ru/article.htm?id=10284742@SV_Articles |url-status=dead }}</ref> * Glikeriya Bogdanova-Chesnokova as Karolina (Carla Schlumberger in the operetta) * {{interlanguage link|Grigoriy Yarhon|ru|Ярон, Григорий Маркович}} as Pelican (Samuel Pressburger in the operetta) * {{interlanguage link|Zoya Vinogradova|ru|Виноградова, Зоя Акимовна}} as Marie Latouche (Miss Mabel Gibson in the operetta) * {{interlanguage link|Nikolay Kashirsky|ru|Каширский, Николай Кузьмич}} as Toni (Toni Schlumberger in the operetta) * {{interlanguage link|Anatoly Korolkevich|ru|Королькевич, Анатолий Викентьевич}} as Baron de Kreveliyak (Prinz Sergius Wladimir in the operetta) * {{interlanguage link|Oskar Lints|ru|Линд, Оскар Оттович}} (or Lintz) as Poisson (Count Sakusin in the operetta) * {{interlanguage link|David Volosov|ru|Волосов-Мериин, Давид Львович}} as Director of the circus (Director Stanislawski in the operetta) * Yefim Kopelyan as a Theodora's fan (uncredited) * Georgy Kuhlbush as a Theodora's fan (uncredited) * {{interlanguage link|Gennady Khudyakov|ru|Худяков, Геннадий Иванович}} as boy servant (uncredited)
==Crew== *Script writers: Nora Rubinstein, Yuli Khmelnitsky *Lyrics: {{interlanguage link|Olga Fadeeva (writer)|ru|Фадеева, Ольга Яковлевна|lt=Olga Fadeeva}} (Kálmán's music was used, but all Russian text for songs was changed by Olga Fadeeva). *Director: Yuliy Khmelnitsky *Operator: {{interlanguage link|Vladimir Burykin|ru|Бурыкин, Владимир Александрович}} *Designers: {{interlanguage link|Abram Veksler|ru|Векслер, Абрам Соломонович}}, {{interlanguage link|Yevgeniy Yeney|ru|Евгений Еней}} *Stage manager: {{interlanguage link|Viktor Sadovsky|ru|Садовский, Виктор Александрович}} *Soundman: Rostislav Lapinsky *Costume designer: Tamara Levitskaya *Film editor: N. Razumova *Circus consultant: Georgy Venetsianov *Editors: Isaac Glikman, Andrey Donatov *Trick filming: **Operator: B. Dudov **Designers: Maria Kandat, Marina Bologovskaya *Orchestra of the {{interlanguage link|Leningrad Theatre of Musical Comedy|ru|Санкт-Петербургский театр музыкальной комедии}} **Conductor: {{interlanguage link|Mikhail Volovats|ru|Воловац, Михаил Петрович}} *Choreographer: Leonid Travinin *Film directors: {{interlanguage link|Pyotr Nikashin|ru|Никашин, Пётр Евдокимович}}, A. Dombrovsky
==Changes from the operetta== Although the film was based on Emmerich Kálmán's ''Die Zirkusprinzessin,'' which had premiered at Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 26 March 1926, significant changes had to be made because the operetta was set in Tsarist Russia and as such had many themes which were unacceptable to the censors.<ref>Traubner, Richard (2003) p. 271.{{incomplete short citation|date=June 2020}}</ref> The film was set in Paris, rather than Saint Petersburg, the characters became French, and Mister Iks's Hussar's aria was replaced by a marine aria.<ref>[https://www.kinofilms.ua/movie/6024_Mister_Iks/facts/ Интересные факты о фильме «Мистер Икс» (1958)]</ref> The actor {{ill|Grigory Yaron|ru|Ярон, Григорий Маркович}} who played Pelican wrote:
"No Kalman operetta made in the Soviet Union had as many different variants as ''The Circus Princess.'' For example, when it first premiered in the Soviet Union, the operetta had one embodiment in Moscow, and another in Leningrad. In Moscow, the troupe's "first comedian" portrayed the Russian Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich in exile in Paris; in Leningrad, he was replaced by a rich American, and Pelican, the restaurant's lackey, turned out to be a Russian general, a White émigré. In further versions of this operetta, the émigrés disappeared."<ref>Grigory Yaron: [https://sunny-genre.narod.ru/books/olzj/11.html О любимом жанре]</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0177002|Mister Iks}}
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Category:1958 Soviet films Category:1958 Russian-language films Category:1958 musical comedy films Category:1950s romantic musical films Category:1958 romantic comedy films Category:1958 films Category:Circus films Category:Cold War Soviet intelligence films Category:Lenfilm films Category:Operetta films Category:Soviet black-and-white films Category:Soviet musical comedy films Category:Soviet romantic comedy films Category:Russian-language romantic musical films Category:Russian-language musical comedy films Category:Russian-language romantic comedy films Category:Films based on works by Alfred Grünwald (librettist)