A little over a hundred years ago, on March 27, 1913, the front pages of Kharkiv’s newspapers carried the following:
The New, Grand, and Elegant “Ampir” Movie Theater
Sumskaya Street, 5. D. I. Kharitonov’s house. The grand opening is today, March 27, 1913. Our first series of films will showcase all that is best, most elegant, and most beautiful in the world of cinema…
Indeed, the latest project by the renowned Kharkiv film producer and distributor Dmitry Ivanovich Kharitonov—one of the most influential figures in the film industry across the entire empire at the time—deserved close attention. He was nothing short of a legend, and film scholars continue to write books about his dynamic career to this day. Kharitonov opened his first movie theater, the “Apollo,” in our beloved city on October 20, 1907, at Moskovskaya Street, 8. Then, next to the movie theater, Dmitry Ivanovich opened his own film distribution office bearing the same name. In addition to film distribution, Kharitonov invested money in producing his own films. It was thanks to his financial support that screenwriter and director Oleksandr Alekseenko created the first feature film in the Ukrainian language in our beloved city in 1909. This one-act comedy-vaudeville was titled “How They Got Engaged, or Three Loves in Sacks” and was essentially a film adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s novella “The Night Before Christmas.” Since financial matters were going well, in 1912 the “Apollo” distribution office was reorganized into the “Kharitonov Trading House.” Branches opened in Odesa, Kyiv, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinodar, Ufa, and Sevastopol. So, in addition to his ambitions, Dmitry Kharitonov had the financial resources to develop the new “Ampir” movie theater, which became the largest in our city and one of the best in the empire at that time.
The movie theater, which could seat between 550 and 800 people, was not only exquisitely decorated but also built to the highest standards. Even the fire inspectors and architects couldn’t find anything to criticize.
Even though ticket prices for shows at the “Ampir” were quite high compared to other movie theaters, there were still long lines at the box office, and the auditoriums were packed with moviegoers.
And on January 10, 1916, a distressing report appeared in Kharkiv newspapers stating that the movie theater had closed.
Mr. P. N. Masalsky, Governor of the Province, P. N. Masalsky, the provincial governor, has closed the “Ampir” movie theater—on the grounds of emergency security measures—for the entire duration of such measures, as the provincial governor determined that films of a pornographic nature were being shown there.
So what happened? Could it really be that the theater owner, lured by easy money, decided to destroy his brainchild in such a strange way?
It all began in 1915 with a short story “In the Cellar” by writer Leonid Nikolaevich Andreev, who is considered the founder of Russian expressionism, renowned director Boris Sergeyevich Glagolin filmed the drama “The Story of One Girl.” The film was a modern cinematic play about the inner turmoil of a woman’s soul, presented in four acts:
1. Temptation
2. Confessions of a Fallen Woman
3. Rejected by All
4. The Conspiracy of the Dive’s Inhabitants.
Thanks to its realistic storyline, its abundance of deeply tragic moments, and the magnificent and emotive performances by the actors of the Imperial Alexandrinsky Theater, the film was very popular with audiences and was considered one of the best films of the season.
In early January, along with the comedies *Captive of the Mother-in-Law* and *Chronicle of War*, the film *The Story of One Girl* was screened at the “Ampir.” But it was precisely in *The Story of One Girl*—for which Dmitry Kharitonov had ordered 200 posters to promote it—that the Kharkiv authorities managed to find pornography. According to official reports, the pornography consisted of a “realistic depiction of the seduction of a young high school girl,” which “had a corrupting effect on the young people who regularly attended the theater.” It was for this very reason that the “Ampir” was shut down on January 9.
It goes without saying that the theater owner, Dmitry Ivanovich, had to step in. He sought help and protection through official channels, without resorting to bribes or personal connections. After all, this film had been acquired back in 1915 by the Military Film Department of the Skobelev Committee (a charitable organization that helped soldiers who had lost their ability to work due to war injuries) with the approval of the Moscow and Petrograd censorship authorities. After that, Kharitonov took it on distribution. The most interesting thing is that all proceeds from the film’s screenings in cities across the empire went toward the needs of wounded soldiers. No one complained about pornography.
“We can’t understand why Kharkiv is an exception,” the outraged committee members asked in bewilderment in their documents. A serious scandal was brewing. And on January 11, the governor of Kharkiv received a petition from Dmitry Kharitonov’s representative, Nikolai Komyakov.
As early as January 12, our city’s newspapers joyfully reported:
Opening of the “Ampir” Movie Theater.
On January 9, by order of the provincial governor, P. N. Masalsky, the “Ampir” movie theater, owned by merchant D. I. Kharitonov, was closed for the duration of the heightened security measures. Since the film *The Story of One Girl*, the screening of which led to the closure of the cinema, belongs—as it turned out—to the Military Film Department of the Skobelev Committee, which operates under the Highest Patronage, and has been approved by the censors for screening in the capital and other cities, the cinema owner appealed to the provincial governor with a request to revoke the decree of January 9. Yesterday, Mr. Kharitonov was notified of the provincial governor’s order authorizing the reopening of the “Ampir” movie theater, which had been closed on January 9.
But that’s all in the newspapers. According to archival documents, however, the movie theater was opened “on the condition that it not screen films with pornographic content.”
On May 18, 2013, a modest commemorative plaque was unveiled in honor of Dmitry Kharitonov at Sumska Street, 5. It’s so inconspicuous that even I had never noticed it before.
However, as I was walking past it once again, just think about the intense emotions associated with this building—how the hearts of eight hundred of our fellow townspeople would skip a beat at the dramas shown at the “Ampir,” how much laughter the comedies brought, and all the other feelings evoked by what unfolded there…
