Video: "A sultry woman, a poet's dream!": How Natalya Krachkovskaya became the best Madame Gritsatsuyeva, and how it turned out for her
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
November 24 could have turned 78 years old Honored Artist of Russia, famous theater and film actress Natalia Krachkovskaya, but in March 2016 she passed away. Her most striking role was the image Madame Gritsatsuyeva in the film by Leonid Gaidai "Twelve Chairs" … But despite the fact that this role brought Krachkovskaya fame and success, she became a stumbling block in the further development of her film career.
Actress Natalia Krachkovskaya was often called the discovery of director Leonid Gaidai. It was he who noticed in her a huge creative potential and revealed all the facets of her comedic talent. The role of Madame Gritsatsuyeva went to her by chance. The auditions were held by very solid competitors - Gaidai planned to shoot either Nonna Mordyukova or Galina Volchek. Mordyukova seemed to the artistic council too serious for this role, her play did not cause the desired effect - no one laughed. Therefore, preference was given to Galina Volchek.
But then the sound engineer Krachkovsky brought his wife, Natalya, a student of VGIK, to the set. As soon as he saw her, the director exclaimed: “So this is the poet's dream! I need this Gritsatsuyev! " Krachkovskaya was already overjoyed, but when she came home she reread Ilf and Petrov and lost heart. The description of Madame Gritsatsuyeva's appearance terribly hurt the actress: “Madame Gritsatsuyeva is a woman of immense size with watermelon breasts.” “I was just pounding from offense,” Krachkovskaya recalled, “but Gaidai immediately put me in place:“Did you see yourself in the mirror?” After that I stopped thinking about my appearance."
The auditions were not without curiosities: the props dress "size 54" turned out to be a couple of sizes smaller, and Natalia Krachkovskaya could not wear it. Then the dress was cut at the back, and a scarf was thrown on top. During the filming, the handkerchief slipped off just at the moment when the actress turned her back to the camera … The film crew rolled with laughter, and Natalya was burnt with shame. Nevertheless, the tests were successful.
The director also looked for an actor for the role of Ostap Bender for a very long time: Krachkovskaya had to audition the same silent scene with 18 partners. After another take, the actress burst into tears: "Don't take - well, don't!" Later, Gaidai admitted that he approved her for the role of Gritsatsuyeva after the second take, but he wanted to check what she was capable of.
The shooting was quite difficult: the scene of Madame Gritsatsuyeva's chase after Bender was filmed for two weeks, and all this time the actress had to run up and down the stairs and perform all the tricks on her own - she could not find an understudy of such a complexion. Krachkovskaya recalled with horror: “Then I had to fly upside down on a tiny mattress. The director warned: "The head will fit, the rest does not bother us." I jumped. They answered me: “It worked, but our camera was jammed. We need to reshoot … ". In addition to everything, in the scene where Madame Gritsatsuyeva is beating in the doorway, the windows suddenly burst and the actress fell on her face.
Several times Krachkovskaya had to ride on a conveyor belt on hard rollers: “While this episode was being filmed, I counted all my ribs, so then I was bruised for a long time. Moreover, they put a heavy iron structure on me, which almost crushed me!”, - the actress recalled. But all the torment was not in vain - it was this role that brought her incredible popularity and national love.
Krachkovskaya created a new unique type in Soviet cinema, thanks to which she instantly became a popular comedian. But this is precisely what played a cruel joke on her - no director has seen her in a different role. Madame Gritsatsuyeva became a stigma for her, forever securing her image of "a sultry woman, a poet's dream."
The scriptwriter of several films with the participation of Krachkovskaya Arkady Inin said: “When the opportunity arose to play some more serious and voluminous role, she often said:“Well, again the tests are over. They said that everything is fine. And then the director changed his mind: “Still - no. She's Madame Gritsatsuyeva. " It hung over Natasha like a sword of Damocles. On the one hand - glory, and on the other - a certain stamp, brand. This often happens, as was the case with the actors from the "Zucchini" 13 Chairs program. Crazy fame, the whole country adores, but they did not take to the cinema."
Nevertheless, Natalya Krachkovskaya has starred in more than 70 films over 40 years of her film career, and although most of the roles were secondary, this did not affect her popularity and the love of the audience.
And in the life of the author of "The Twelve Chairs" Yevgeny Petrov, one day it happened mystical story: letters from nowhere.
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