Fate and Craft

Alexei Batalov (1928–2017) was born into a theatrical family. He found his calling from the very first roles in films ("The Big Family" and "The Case of Rumyantsev"). True fame came after the film "The Cranes Are Flying". Since then, Batalov's name became a kind of guarantee of success for any film he starred in: "My Dear Man", "The Lady with the Dog", "Nine Days of One Year", "No Return". It is even impossible to imagine that another actor could have played the role of Gosha in the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears". The audience loved the openness, warmth, and kindness in Batalov's characters. In this book, the author talks about cinema, about working on the radio, and about the secrets of his craft. He narrates about directors and actors. Among them are I. Khaifits, M. Romm, V. Maretskaya, I. Smoktunovsky, R. Bykov, I. Savvina. And of course, he remembers the legendary house on Ordynka, where great Moscow Art Theater actors — B. Livanov, O. Androvskaya, V. Stanitsyn — visited his parents, and where famous writers often came and Anna Akhmatova lived for a long time. The book is organically complemented by a foreword and stories from his daughter, Gitana-Maria Batalova.