Abram Room (1894-1976)
Abram Room was born on June 28, 1894 in Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania). Previously having worked as a dentist, a journalist and a stage actor and theatre director, Room made a career switch to filmmaking in 1924. He joined the State Film School where he studied under Lev Kuleshov.
In 1926, Room directed his first feature film, Predatel (The Traitor), a drama starring Mariya Parshina. A year later, he would make the film for which he is best remembered today.
Bed and Sofa (1927) became a cause célèbre in the Soviet Union: it was at once revered for its technical merits (excellent editing, acting and cinematography) and reviled for the way in which is portrays its male leads (usually considered petit bourgeois, which is made clear by the Russian title) as amoral cads. It opened in Moscow on March 15, 1927, and was promptly dumped from the city’s first run theatres by the end of the month.
Despite this reaction at the time of its release, and the fact that he continued to direct films into the early 1970s, Bed and Sofa remains Room’s most enduring contribution to Soviet cinema.
Abram Room died in Moscow on July 26, 1976.
Sources
In 1926, Room directed his first feature film, Predatel (The Traitor), a drama starring Mariya Parshina. A year later, he would make the film for which he is best remembered today.
Bed and Sofa (1927) became a cause célèbre in the Soviet Union: it was at once revered for its technical merits (excellent editing, acting and cinematography) and reviled for the way in which is portrays its male leads (usually considered petit bourgeois, which is made clear by the Russian title) as amoral cads. It opened in Moscow on March 15, 1927, and was promptly dumped from the city’s first run theatres by the end of the month.
Despite this reaction at the time of its release, and the fact that he continued to direct films into the early 1970s, Bed and Sofa remains Room’s most enduring contribution to Soviet cinema.
Abram Room died in Moscow on July 26, 1976.
Sources
ESSENTIAL FILMOGRAPHY
