Transformation of the image of Baba Yaga performed by George Millar in the films of Alexander Rowe

Shumov Maksim Vladimirovich Associate Professor, Department of Directing and Choreography, Dostoevsky Omsk State University 644043, Russia, Omsk region, Omsk, Krasny Put str., 36 mvshumov@mail.ru Other publications by this author

The image of Baba Yaga in the culture of the ancient Slavs. The object of the study

         As an important part of folk culture, Russian folk tales take upon themselves the responsibility to broadcast traditional moral qualities and form the basis of a person's evaluative and emotional attitude to the world. However, the characterization of positive characters is all the more objective and definite when it is given in contrast to negative characters. One of the most striking and memorable negative characters of Russian folk tales is Baba Yaga ^[1].

Not a few works, not only domestic, but also foreign scientists who have considered this character - V.Ya. Propp, Yu.S. Stepanov, N.A. Krinichnaya, A.Jones, A.S. Stemberg, etc. – have been devoted to the research of ambiguity and various interpretations of Baba Yaga images. ^{[2],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7]}.

The image of Baba Yaga is very common in Slavic mythology. Vladimir Dahl, in his explanatory dictionary of the 1991 edition, indicates that "Yagishna is called an evil, abusive woman" ^{[8, p. 672]}.

According to Zhang Zizhui, "this inhabitant of the dense forest lives in a house on chicken legs. She moves with the help of a magic mortar and broom, steals children and eats people. The fence around her house is made of bones, and human skulls are hung on the fence for intimidation. Baba Yaga's companions are a black cat, a raven and a snake. She knows the language of animals and plants" ^[1].

O.V. Yakovleva and O.E. Solyanik note Baba Yaga's connection with the world of the dead "Baba Yaga's connection with the world of deceased ancestors is symbolized by her hut without windows and doors (this is a coffin) and a bone leg as a symbol of maternal ancestors" ^[9], "Portrait extremely specific distinctive features of this character (bone leg, black itself, nose embedded in the ceiling) directly refer to the image of a dead man" ^[10].

Often in scientific articles one can find a connection between the interpretation of the negative image of Baba Yaga and the adoption of Christianity by Slavic peoples. "During the adoption of the Christian faith by the Slavs, the old pagan deities were persecuted, they began to be given evil, demonic features, ugliness of appearance and character, evil intentions. So the image of Baba Yaga in folklore began to be perceived ambiguously. The ambivalence of her perception is connected, firstly, with the image of the mistress of the forest, who needs to be appeased, and secondly, with the image of an evil creature putting children on a shovel for frying. The latter interpretation comes from the function of priestesses to conduct teenagers through the initiation rite" ^[3].

Also, in the studies of many authors, differentiation of the image of Baba Yaga into three hypostases is often found: Yaga the giver, Yaga the abductor and Yaga the warrior.

There are also ideas that "Baba Yaga is a very ancient character, rooted in the era of matriarchy and people's worship of a female ancestor-totem" ^[10].

However, it seems that with all the unambiguous interpretation of the image of Baba Yaga as an absolutely negative character of Slavic folklore, the famous folklorist and founder of the comparative typological method in folklore studies V.Ya. Propp notes: "Yaga is a very difficult character to analyze. Her image consists of a number of details. These details, put together from different fairy tales, sometimes do not correspond to each other, do not combine, do not merge into a single image" ^{[2, p.36]}.

Russian Russian fairy tale tradition confirms the words of V.Y. Propp in his article "The image of a witch and Baba Yaga in the English and Russian fairy tale tradition" by E.V. Ryazanova "In the Russian fairy tale tradition, you can meet a witch in the image of an evil sorceress. However, she has her own national flavor, can look like an old woman or a young beauty, wears clothes according to Slavic traditions, does not wear a hat, but usually has a headscarf on her head. However, these attributes are not always found in fairy tales, appearance is conditional, it is often implied, but not described" ^[11].

Further in the text of the article we will trace the multifaceted image of Baba Yaga, which was created by the People's Artist of the RSFSR Georgy Millar in the films directed by Alexander Rowe.

Collaboration of George Millar and Alexander Rowe. Review

The beginning of the creative and friendly path between Millar and Rowe was marked by a joint work in the film "At the Behest of the Cheek", in which Georgy Frantsevich played the role of the king of Peas. Since then, the actor has starred in almost all of Rowe's films.

George Millar's sixty-year acting career (from 1932 to 1992) includes 125 films. At the same time, he starred in 16 Alexander Rowe movie tales. It is noteworthy that in some films the actor played two or even three roles at once, but Baba Yaga and Koschei the Immortal remain Millar's signature villains.

Georgy Frantsevich invented his characters himself. And this process was no less fascinating than the fairy tales themselves. But to come up with an image is one thing, but to embody it in a film is absolutely another.

"It's not a woman's business to play a witch, a young actress can't be so scary, and an old woman doesn't have the strength to jump like that. Tell me, which actress will allow herself to be so scary on the screen? And I will endure everything," Georgy Frantsevich heroically declared.

Millar's performance in Rowe's films received high marks from experts. "Each of his roles became a small masterpiece," said film critic Igor Gavrikov ^[12].

Millar was a pronounced character actor, a master of the grotesque and buffoonery. His peculiar voice, senile, rattling, breaking into uterine snuffling, could not be better suited for fairy-tale villainous roles, such as Baba Yaga or Koschei the Immortal.

In the cinema, the actor preferred mimicry and plasticity to words. He believed that silent cinema was much more expressive than sound. Millar himself invented the gait, gestures, performed all the tricks in the movies on his own.

The actor himself dreamed of playing serious roles, such as Voltaire, Suvorov, Caesar. "Fairy—tale images are my element, my attachment. But how I want to play a deep, psychological role one day. To dazzle the character is strong, sharp, original. Shakespeare's Caesar, Voltaire, Suvorov — that's what I, a sinner, dream about," he said. However, in a more serious movie, the actor failed to fully show his talent. Nevertheless, the directors were drawn to him, they shot a lot and often in their films, although usually in minor roles ^[13].

"The most charming evil force" - this title was awarded to George Millar by young viewers at one of the children's film festivals. Indeed, Millar entered the consciousness of the audience as the creator of the cinematic images of the forces of darkness ^[14].

         Millar belongs to that rare type of artists who treated their own appearance in the cinema on the principle of "the worse, the better." He was never afraid to disfigure himself for a role, moreover, he came to make-up without hair and eyebrows. He shaved them off to make it easier for the masters to work with him. Sometimes he was more interested in the process of turning himself into another hero than the artists and the director. Or the heroine, which happened more often. 

Actress Natalia Sedykh, the performer of the role of Nastenka from the film "Morozko" recalls: "Georgy Frantsevich had an enchanting temperament and some absolutely irrepressible imagination. On the set, he amazed everyone, amazed with his inventions, different voices, unexpected plasticity, gaits, and backup dances. But what is amazing, after leaving the set, he continued to play. He played all the time in his life, moving from image to image. He was changing masks all the time. And, to be honest, I can't even tell you what Millar is in life. I haven't seen him outside of the image."

George Millar tried on the role of Baba Yaga in the films of Alexander Rowe 4 times:

1939 — Vasilisa the Beautiful

1964 — Morozko

1967 — Fire, water and... copper pipes

1972 — Golden Horns

It is noteworthy that in these films, Georgy Frantsevich played not only Baba Yaga, but also 6 other characters.

He will analyze the multifaceted images of Baba Yaga that Millar created in these fairy tales.

Transformation of the image of Baba Yaga performed by George Millar. Study

Over the years, Millar became the main Baba Yaga of Soviet cinema. But every time he tried to make this image different, it was never repeated. 

So Baba Yaga from the fairy tale "Vasilisa the Beautiful" turned out to be the darkest in the career of George Millar. This image is collective. He took the character from a neighbor in a communal apartment. She was a very grumpy woman. Millar called her a squabbler. She always wanted someone to quarrel with each other. The image was complemented by an old Greek woman whom Millar met in Yalta. The actor recalled that the elderly woman was hunched over, she had a crooked nose and an unkind look, and in her hands was a short stick. Having put all the puzzles together, Millar brought Baba Yaga to life on the screen. The image realized by the actor became the canonical image of Baba Yaga.

Baba Yaga lives in this movie in a dense forest, in a hut. He always moves on foot, leaning on a stick, which emphasizes the presence of a bone leg. At the same time, the old woman is very flexible and nimble, all the time resembling some kind of animal, then a bird of prey.

Turning to the appearance of the character from the film, it is worth noting not just a hunched old woman, but almost bent to the ground, and looking sideways all the time, as if from under her body. Several warts are pronounced on the dirty face, two large fangs protrude from the mouth. Baba Yaga is dressed in dirty rags, dirty hair in the form of tow hangs from under a dirty cap.

The character of the image is quite flat. Baba Yaga gives the impression of a strong, intimidating and quite domineering old woman (viciously "So you won't marry a Snake Gorynych?!", waving a stick as if he wants to hit "WHOO", "You'll be locked up, darling! You'll reduce the honor!", throwing Vasilisa on the floor "Where is he hiding? Tell me!", "Are you wet?! I'll get it out anyway! In the meantime, the fire will untie your tongue! You'll probably start talking when it smells like burning!"), suspicious ("You're painfully submissive, you don't look like yourself!)". However, this image is not the Lord, but only the servant of the Serpent Gorynych (gives Vasilisa a dress "Put it on! Tomorrow is your wedding with the Serpent Gorynych").

The character's facial expression is always malicious and leaves no room for ambiguity of the image.

In another fairy tale "Morozko" Millar co-ordinally reworked the image of Baba Yaga created in the 30s. This time she came out more human and even cute. She gets tired like an ordinary old lady, complains about sciatica, grabbing at the lower back. Of course, she remains the same vindictive, sometimes malicious, but, like all old ladies, naive.

Surprisingly, if in "Vasilisa the Beautiful", played by Millar, Baba Yaga became canonical, then the villain from the fairy tale "Morozko" "went to the people." It is with this old lady that the actor is associated. It was not easy for an actor to create an image for a fairy tale. He worked on every detail for a long time. For example, in order for Baba Yaga to fly plausibly on a broom, Georgy Frantsevich trained hard with a pole. The training was not in vain. Shots with Baba Yaga decorated the main New Year's tale of the country.

In this film, the image of Baba Yaga is revealed much more. Baba Yaga also lives in a dense forest, in a hut on chicken legs. However, this time he moves in a mortar with a broom.

The character's appearance has also undergone changes. The image is more humanized than in the last fairy tale. Walks in full height, not crouching. The stick-cane is missing. Since the film is colored, unlike the previous one, we can already notice a red torn skirt under the rags of clothes, which is combined with a red dirty cap on the head. The hair is also dirty, but it does not resemble tow like last time. At the same time, two large fangs remained in the mouth from the last fairy tale.

The character is also undergoing changes. In front of us is a tired and sick old woman (grabbing the small of her back, "Turned the hut, woke up the old lady", "Tired, tired. Sciatica tormented"), angry (threatening Ivan "Don't expect help from me. Take your feet away soon!", conjuring "Don't rely on your strength. You are by nature, and I am by witchcraft!", "Here he is, my dear, for a roast after soup!", "You are trying in vain, Ivan, with your legs resting. I'll have lunch with you anyway", "Oh, I feel bad! Oh, and it's bad! I don't have a fever, I don't have a cold! It is not the poor old woman who is ruining, it is the evil malice that is ruining, strangling the orphan! Oh, I can't even sleep! I can't even eat!"), naive (sitting down on a shovel, "Oh, the youth went. What are you being taught? There is nothing tricky here"), insidious ("I gave him a good pig!", "You help me, cat, run straight through the snow. Destroy Ivanov's bride!", "Ivan the widow's son and his bride will pass through this place now. They need to be grabbed, twisted, tied up, tortured!"), polite ("Be healthy, don't catch a cold!"), generous ("Here's a sheepskin coat for you, my dear", "Here's a bowl of sour cream for you, pussy", "And you're well done. Here's a jelly for you"), pathetic ("Spare me, Ivanushka, I'm fried, I'm steamed!", "I wanted to eat it, but I didn't eat it, I sat down on a shovel like a fool", "Ruined the old lady, parasites!", "Spare grandma!"), cheerful (dancing and singing "They go themselves, they rule themselves, they will deliver themselves to Nastenka"), flattering ("You are my cat, a warm tummy, a black back, a silk wool"), vindictive ("Put up, Ivan! Otherwise, there will be a reckoning for the shovel!").

            The third time he played Baba Yaga in the movie "Fire, water and ... copper pipes". This time Millar's Baba Yaga appeared before us in a new role. She is a loving mother who wishes well for her child. In this fairy tale, we are faced not with an insidious, not malicious, not envious old woman, but an elderly loving mother who is ready to help the main character for nothing. In this fairy tale, an old woman with a broomstick in her hands is on the side of loving hearts.

            Baba Yaga's place of residence is not indicated in the film. Only at the end of the film does she meet the main character somewhere in the forest among the stones. He also moves on a mortar with a broom.

      The appearance from the last fairy tale has not changed much. But the character with clearly negative traits is transformed into a benevolent one. Here she is quite cheerful (smiling and dancing, she sings: "I am the bride's mother, I have an Immortal son-in-law!"), polite (addressing Lesh: "Your health!", "Dear man...", "Mercy!", addressing the guards: "Hello!"), cautious ("I would not let those who are invisible, they can take away the mortar or replace the broom"), caring (calming the daughter: "Don't cry, don't cry", "My unreasonable child ..."), vindictive (angrily Koscheyu: "You still remember us, Koshchei the Deathbed!"), vindictive (angrily Koshchei: "Well, villain, the tears of a girl will flow to you!"), benevolent (helping Ivan: "As you cross the border of the enchanted forest, the evil spirits of the forest will hiss and grate – do not be afraid! And you will go forward and forward backwards and as you hit the cherished oak - take six steps to the left – Koshchei's death is buried there. Don't look back. If you look back, you'll be petrified!"

            The last time Georgy Millyar reincarnated as Baba Yaga was in 1972, playing in the fairy tale "Golden Horns". In this film, Baba Yaga very much resembles today's pensioners who are getting younger in "Tik-Tok". The old lady sings songs, plays dominoes. In this fairy tale, Baba Yaga is waiting for love and a second youth. It's not for nothing that Vodyanoi calls her an actress. For the first time, this heroine flaunts herself in front of the mirror for a long time and calls herself a lady. This is the most non-canonical, but the most charming pensioner of Russian folk tales.

            Baba Yaga lives again in a dense forest, in a hut on chicken legs. Moves on foot.

            The greatest changes in the image of the character occurred in appearance: Baba Yaga is dressed in a dress and furs, a lace shawl is on her head, beads are on her neck, rings with jewelry on her fingers, ladies' boots on her feet, her hair is painted in a bright color, her lips are also painted, a fly is on her cheek. At the end of the film, she is wearing armor with a cape over her dress, holding a sword.

           Transformations in appearance emphasize changes in the character of the character. Now she is flirtatious (embarrassed by the Devil: "I couldn't give a lady pleasure – lose a nickel?!", "And everyone says I have a young soul!", powdering up: "Kapitonych has returned in any way?!", "You're probably bored, you fool, you'll come running soon, you'll ask for forgiveness! Anyway ... (smiling) I'll forgive you!"), self–loving ("And you are still too bold, nasty girls!"), vindictive ("Punish the impudent girls - turn them into a forest creature"), evil ("Shout, yell! No one will hear you! No one will find you!", angrily to the raven: "Hush, shut up, don't interfere!", "You'll bake, you'll fry and you won't collect bones!", angrily to the boy "For being such a liar, I'll have breakfast with you", "Here I'll swallow you together with your fantasies!"), pathetic (crying: "I don't even want to see him, damned! He upsets all my machinations, throws traps, spoils traps"), flattering ("I would like Carp in sour cream. Can you catch it? Please!", "I misspoke, I'm a cook", "Don't leave me, cook!"), imperious ("What else is this?! Without asking without permission in my forest?!". Further, Baba Yaga's song reveals such qualities of her character as cheerful, harmful, evil, amorous, self-loving, uneducated (sings "I'm only three hundred years old, I want to live to be naughty, to destroy many innocent souls, to love Satan from hell. I can't get enough of the beautiful Yaga! Who is my beloved?! I am! Me! Me! I can't stand girls and boys, I don't read newspapers or books, I wander through the dense forest, I look at myself with a dense gaze"), boastful ("Yes, I danced with the robber nightingale on Bald Mountain at the wake! We sat at the table together"), a moralist ("Children and teenagers are not supposed to lie! Not good!"), cowardly (waving a white handkerchief "Hey, Kapitonych, I capitulate!")

Typology of Baba Yaga images. Conclusion of the study

         In the course of the research, we analyzed the images of Baba Yaga performed by George Millar in four films by Alexander Rowe - "Vasilisa the Beautiful" (1939), "Morozko" (1964), "Fire, Water and ... copper Pipes" (1967) and "Golden Horns" (1972).

     In all four films, this image was revealed in different ways. Based on the results of the study, we will compile tables with the characteristics of these images. For the comparison criteria, we take the appearance, character traits, place of residence and method of movement of the character. Based on a comparative analysis, we will deduce the typology of images that are inherent in these features of the criteria.

Table 1. Characteristics of the image of Baba Yaga in the film "Vasilisa the Beautiful"

Table 2. Characteristics of the image of Baba Yaga in the film "Morozko"

Table 3. Characteristics of the image of Baba Yaga in the film "Fire, water and ... copper pipes"

Table 4. Characteristics of the image of Baba Yaga in the film "Golden Horns"

             Over the years, Georgy Millar became rightfully considered the main Baba-Yaga of Soviet cinema. But with all this, every time he tried to make this image different, unique. So, in the course of our research, we identified four different images of the same character performed by Georgy Millar – Baba Yaga "Witch", Baba Yaga "Old Housewife", Baba Yaga "Mother" and Baba Yaga "Lady". Only the first one is more or less canonical. The other three images are the personal merit of the People's Artist of the RSFSR Georgy Frantsevich Millar.