The Lady and the Hooligan () is a 1918 Russian silent film co-directed by Vladimir Mayakovsky and Yevgeni Slavinsky. The script, written by Mayakovsky, is based on the story La maestrina degli operai (The Workers' Young Schoolmistress) by Edmondo De Amicis.
Plot summary A young schoolmistress arrives in a small village to teach reading and writing to boys and men. A hooligan sees her on the street and falls in love with her. Soon he begins to attend her classes. When one lesson is disturbed by one of the students, he beats him. The student seeks revenge with the help of his father and some of his friends. The hooligan is stabbed to death in a fight. Before dying, he asks his mother to call the schoolmistress. After the schoolmistress has kissed him on the lips, he closes his eyes and dies.
Cast Vladimir Mayakovsky—Lava, the hooligan Aleksandra Rebikova—the schoolmistress Fyodor Dunaev—the director of the school Yan Nevinskiy—the hooligan's classmate
Distribution On 1 May (May Day), 1919, the film was shown in mass viewings in Moscow and Leningrad.Marina Burke, "Mayakovsky: Film: Futurism," in Avant-garde Film by Alexander Graf and Dietrich Scheunemann (Rodopi, 2007), p. 141.
Analysis and Significance The film includes "fast-paced editing and (limited) shot-reverse-shot editing patterns."
References
External links
Lady and the Hooligan available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An852TsSmV0