Historical detective Real events Investigation Thriller Drama Murder The great playwright Moscow
Application for a feature series (8 episodes of 50 minutes) based on the author's novel of the same name. An extended episode plan is ready.
The drama of the life and love of the Russian playwright Sukhovo-Kobylin, which involved eminent dignitaries and nobles of Russia, and an entire army of officials who had a hand in the sensational case, which is included in the 100 most famous unsolved crimes in the world.The author of the famous "Wedding of Krechinsky", "The Case" and "The Death of Tarelkin", accused in 1850 of murdering his French mistress Louise Simon-Demanche, earned in Russia and Europe a reputation as the "Russian Beaumarchais", a great criminal and a great playwright.
CHARACTERS Alexander Vasilyevich Sukhovo-Kobylin is a young, very rich and noble aristocrat, a famous gambler and Don Juan, Playwright, author of "The Wedding of Krechinsky." AlexeyMikhailovich Liventsov - an ambitious young lawyer who received nobility through his father's merits; State Secretary under Senator Glukhov, later - an official on special assignments in the Ministry of Justice under Count Panin. Hostile to Sukhovo-Kobylin, he dueled with him: he missed, while Kobylin insultingly fired high, declaring that he would not shoot at a man not his equal. Louise Simon-Demanche – a French milliner with whom Sukhovo-Kobylin falls in love in Paris and with whom he lived for eight years in Moscow in a secret love affair. Nadezhda Naryshkina – a socialite beauty, a married aristocrat, pregnant by Sukhovo-Kobylin. Alexander Grigorievich Naryshkin – a famous aristocrat and a passionate card player of advanced years, whose young wife openly cheats on him with Sukhovo-Kobylin. Commits suicide. Zakrevsky – Governor-General of Moscow, who hates Sukhovo-Kobylin for his impudent epigrams and for his love affair with his daughter Lydia, whom Kobylin refused to marry. Lydia – Zakrevsky's daughter, Naryshkina's friend.
SYNOPSIS The playbill at the entrance to the Maly Theater reveals that today—November 28, 1855—is the premiere of the comedy "Krechinsky's Wedding," written by a certain A. Sukhovo-Kobylin. The hall is sold out, and laughter and applause can be heard. The play's finale begins: Lidochka, bursting into tears, gives the moneylender Bek a diamond pin, Krechinsky utters his final line: "It's fallen through!"—and the audience rises in a single impulse. A resounding success! The camera illuminates a gentleman in the stalls. It is Alexei Liventsov, an official on special assignments for the Ministry of Justice. He looks into the author's box, mesmerized, and proclaims: "Brilliant! Could a murderer have written this? Genius and villainy are two things..." – The gazes of Liventsov and the playwright meet: several years ago, Liventsov was cruelly and publicly insulted in a duel by the man the public is now celebrating. Sukhovo-Kobylin, having slipped from his box, leaves the theater through a service entrance. Liventsov follows him. On the street, a small crowd greets the playwright with angry cries of "Criminal! Murderer!" Amid these cries, Sukhovo-Kobylin leaves Theater Square in his approaching carriage. Liventsov, who remains at the theater, watches the carriage depart with a lingering gaze, once again recalling the deadly duel with Sukhovo-Kobylin.
The passion that grips Sukhovo-Kobylin in Paris, where he meets a French milliner, turns into disaster. In November 1850, the Frenchwoman Louise Simon-Demanche, with whom he had lived in Moscow for eight years in a secret love affair, was found brutally murdered in the snowdrifts of Khodynka Field. Robbery is dismissed as the victim was wearing diamond jewelry worth a fortune. The culprit may be a certain Panchulidzev, an official who arrives at the murdered Frenchwoman's apartment the morning after her disappearance. Panchulidzev's flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg only strengthens these suspicions. Suspicion also falls on Sukhovo-Kobylin, a young and wealthy gentleman, gambler, and Don Juan. Not only does he pick up a blood-stained diamond pin at the threshold of an outbuilding on his estate and secretly hide it, but his servant also arrives at the murdered Frenchwoman's apartment to confiscate all his letters to his mistress. In one of them, Sukhovo-Kobylin threatened Louise with a dagger because of her jealousy. This letter falls into the hands of investigators. Louise was jealous of Nadezhda Naryshkina, a married aristocrat with whom Sukhovo-Kobylin began an affair shortly before the murder. It was Naryshkina, who informed Sukhovo-Kobylin a few hours before the murder that she was pregnant by him, who demanded that he break off relations with the Frenchwoman.
Alexei Liventsov learns of the investigation that has begun and that suspicion of the murder falls on Sukhovo-Kobylin. He, an acquaintance from university, is destined to play a role in identifying the Frenchwoman's killer and developing the criminal case. The relationship between Sukhovo-Kobylin and Liventsov, both harsh and arrogant, is hostile. Four years ago, Liventsov was courting Sukhovo-Kobylin's sister, Elizaveta. Then Kobylin cruelly put an end to their affair, declaring that the son of an official of humble origin was no match for a noble and wealthy woman. Liventsov now serves as State Secretary to Senator Glukhov, who, on behalf of the Tsar, oversees criminal cases involving the nobility in Moscow. Glukhov instructs Liventsov to covertly gather information on the Demanche murder case, as he distrusts the investigation, which is personally overseen by Moscow Governor-General Zakrevsky, who hates Sukhovo-Kobylin for his impudent epigrams and his affair with his deceived daughter, whom Sukhovo-Kobylin refused to marry. When Glukhov gave the order, he knew nothing of the long-standing rivalry and feud between Liventsov and Sukhovo-Kobylin.
Zakrevsky and the investigators have reason to suspect not only Kobylin but also Naryshkina of the crime. Her note to a Catholic pastor is intercepted, asking him not to allow Kobylin near the Frenchwoman's coffin, as if afraid her lover would witness the terrible deed he had done. However, Governor-General Zakrevsky and Chief of Police Luzhin are in no hurry to arrest Naryshkina. They sympathize with her husband, Alexander Grigorievich Naryshkin, an aristocrat and sybarite known throughout Moscow, whom his young wife is cheating on with Sukhovo-Kobylin, taking advantage of her elderly husband's obsession with cards. On the other hand, the dignitaries do not want to implicate yet another noble family without firm evidence. Moreover, Naryshkina is close friends with the governor-general's daughter, Lydia. With Zakrevsky's permission, investigators arrest Naryshkina's maid, Polina. But she stubbornly refuses to talk about her mistress's relationship with Sukhovo-Kobylin. A theory arises that the killer is Sukhovo-Kobylin's valet, Makar Lukyanov, who hated the Frenchwoman for complaining about him to the master, who was quick to punish him. The valet is taken into custody. Also suspected are the Frenchwoman's servants, whom she severely punished for their negligence and who disliked her. Doubts about Kobylin's guilt disappear: investigators discover bloodstains in his house. "He killed to get rid of his French mistress, who was interfering with his affair with Naryshkina!" reasons Liventsov, who is collecting materials on the case and uncovering every detail of the investigation. Sukhovo-Kobylin is arrested. The great Russian play "Krechinsky's Wedding" was destined to be born in prison: in the Myasnitskaya police station, in a cell for especially dangerous criminals, accused of murder and threatened with hard labor, Sukhovo-Kobylin begins writing the great comedy between nightly interrogations, sometimes recalling the days of intoxicating love with Louise Simon-Demanche, sometimes tormented by terrible visions in which the bloody image of his dead lover appears to him...
At the same time, Nadezhda Naryshkina leaves for France, which strengthens suspicions of her involvement in the murder. She is pregnant by Sukhovo-Kobylin—a daughter conceived at the height of their affair, shortly before the murder of the Frenchwoman. The affair with Naryshkina began, Kobylin recalls, just when fate brought him together again with Liventsov; they met at the card table. Wanting revenge on Sukhovo-Kobylin for an insulting shot into the air during a duel, Liventsov desperately raises the stakes during a big game at Naryshkin's house. And he loses everything—money, his horse, the estate inherited from his father. When the gambled Liventsov decides to commit suicide by running out into the street and putting a pistol to his temple, Kobylin stops him: "Don't be a fool!" Returning the promissory note, he advises the young official never to gamble with his only estate.
Governor-General Zakrevsky, who harbors a personal grudge against Sukhovo-Kobylin, celebrates his victory. The case has already reached trial, and the court is ready to deliver a guilty verdict. But suddenly, Sukhovo-Kobylin's serfs, enslaved to Louise Simon-Demanche, confess to the murder. The main killer was the cook, Yefim Yegorov. Liventsov doesn't believe the serfs could have committed the crime. He finds numerous contradictions in the servants' testimony and the actual facts of the case. But it's not up to him to decide—he's merely a secret and jealous observer of the investigation. The serfs' unexpected confession changes Sukhovo-Kobylin's fate, and he is released from prison.
Once free, Sukhovo-Kobylin is busy bringing the play he wrote in prison to the stage. During one of his trips, he meets Liventsov at the post office, whom he hasn't seen since the duel and card game in the Naryshkin house. Liventsov is now a special assignment official in the Ministry of Justice and is traveling to serve in St. Petersburg. After a short and tense encounter, the rivals part, believing they will never see each other again.
During a court hearing to sentence the murderous serfs to hard labor, they declare to the judges that they are innocent—their master persuaded them to take the blame for the promise of money and freedom. The case again turns against Sukhovo-Kobylin, and he ends up in prison again. And Liventsov plays his part in this: having reviewed the case materials on behalf of the Minister of Justice, Count Panin, he convinces the dignitary that, based on the evidence and facts, only Sukhovo-Kobylin could have been the murderer.
The case is deliberately confused by investigators who have conspired for the purpose of making a profit. For them, Sukhovo-Kobylin is a "fat piece," the richest landowner in Russia. The investigators are constructing a case that can be used both against Sukhovo-Kobylin and in his favor. But after the Emperor intervenes, having been informed of the investigation's complexity, the case is assigned to a new investigator. This new investigator is Collegiate Councilor Alexei Mikhailovich Liventsov, a special assignment official under the Minister of Justice, Count Panin. Liventsov is sincerely convinced that Sukhovo-Kobylin is the murderer, attempting to evade punishment with the help of money and connections.
Together with Lieutenant Pyotr Guryev of the Gendarme Corps, Liventsov arrives in Moscow from St. Petersburg to investigate. He takes Kobylin into custody. The interrogations begin. Liventsov works persistently and selflessly.
To his own surprise, Liventsov uncovers sensational facts. A young man, Collegiate Registrar Sergeyev, accidentally falls into the hands of the police. A gold watch and promissory notes from the murdered Louise are found on him. It then emerges that Sergeyev owed a large gambling debt to Naryshkin. Naryshkina's maid, Polina, confesses during interrogation that Naryshkin only pretended to overlook his wife's affair, but was in fact fiercely jealous. The maid, in exchange for money, reported their encounters to her master and allowed him to read their correspondence.
Liventsov understands the full picture of the crime. And it becomes even more sinister when Senator Glukhov, who believed in Kobylin's innocence and tried to help Liventsov in Moscow, is found murdered. The true culprit in the murder turns out to be Alexander Grigorievich Naryshkin. It was he, physically frail but intelligent and calculating, desiring revenge on Kobylin, who hired his debtor, Sergeyev, to commit the murder of a Frenchwoman so that all the evidence would point to Kobylin. Liventsov is ready to incriminate Naryshkin, but the murderer, Sergeyev, is eliminated in his prison cell on the orders of Zakrevsky, who wants to conceal the involvement of Naryshkina's daughter, Lydia, a friend, in the criminal affair. Naryshkin, by committing suicide, avoids shame and trial, leaving Kobylin forever under suspicion.
One dawn morning, Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin kneels at the grave of Simon-Demanche... When he rises and turns, he notices a figure walking down the alley. It is Alexey Liventsov; he approaches and bows his head for a few moments. After a pause, he announces that the Senate has closed the case and passed a resolution. He brought a copy of it from St. Petersburg for Sukhovo-Kobylin - he takes a paper out of his briefcase: "Retired titular councilor Sukhovo-Kobylin is to remain under suspicion for participation in the murder of Demanche..."
"We lost," says Liventsov. "And this is not a horse, nor an estate - this is your fate. The stigma of a murderer, I believe, will remain with you for the rest of your life..." - "Fate!" - Kobilin smiles bitterly. "Don't be stupid!" - Liventsov suddenly says, as Sukhovo-Kobylin once said to him, ready to commit suicide after losing... Liventsov hands Sukhovo-Kobylin the briefcase: - "This is for you." - "What is this?" - "Copies of the investigative materials... I think you will need this for the new play. "And I can guess what it will be called..." – Kobylin's silent question... – "The Case..." Kobylin takes the briefcase. The former duelists, the former investigator, and the suspect shake hands.
At this time, the most spectacular scenes from Sukhovo-Kobylin's as-yet-unwritten play, "The Case," are playing in the background. Having gone through all the twists and turns of a case unprecedented in its scale and complexity, Sukhovo-Kobylin becomes the author of brilliant plays.