The Chess Player

The Chess Player French Le Joueur dchecs is a 1927 French silent film directed by Raymond Bernard and based on a novel by Henry DupuyMazuel. It is a historical drama set in the late 18th century during the Russian domination of Polish Lithuania, and elements of the plot are drawn from the story of the chessplaying automaton known as The Turk.

The Chess Player was the second film which Raymond Bernard made for the Socit des Films Historiques, although on this occasion its subject matter of the Polish struggle for independence from Russia did not correspond with the companys avowed devotion to French history. Some scenes were filmed on location in Poland with the assistance of the Polish army notably the Vilno insurrection and the largescale cavalry charge. For many of the other spectacular locations,sets were created at the studios in Joinville by Robert MalletStevens and Jean Perrier the most spectacular was the facade and courtyard of the Winter Palace, which covered some 5000 square metres of land beside the studio. Addditional special effects were provided by the British film designer W. Percy Day. Filming began onMarch 1926 and was completed onOctober, leaving Bernard only two months for its postproduction before the premiere in January 1927. An orchestral score was written for the film by Henri Rabaud.The gala premiere at the Marivaux cinema in Paris was a huge success and the film went on to have a first run of three months at that cinema before its general release in the summer of 1927. Audiences were particularly impressed by the spectacular cavalry charge imagined by Sophie as she sings the Polish hymn of independence. The press reception in France was generally enthusiastic . The film was released in the UK in early 1928, and in the USA in 1930 where however the reviewer for The New York Times was unimpressed. ........

Source: Wikipedia