by Hal Erickson
synopsis
The story of Dubrovsky was inspired by a folk legend that was (presumably) well known to every Russian schoolchild in the 1930s. A young nobleman whose land was usurped by a greedy robber baron, Alexei Dubrovsky (E. Samarin-Elsky) re-invents himself as a Soviet Robin Hood. Gathering together a band of downtrodden serfs, Dubrovsky robs from the rich and gives to the poor (an uneven distribution indeed, considering how many poor there were!) When he falls in love with the daughter of his bitterest enemy, Dubrovsky foolishly lets down his guard, with tragic results. Based on a novel by Alexander Pushkin, Dubrovsky was clearly influenced by the Hollywood swashbuckler school.
