Home Museum About Us Events Contact Us Journal Contents Community Arts Corner Links
FROM THE ARCHIVES, Continued.
MADAME MARIA OUSPENSKAYA
Larry's incredulity crumbles under the spell Maleva is casting; a spell which will aid Larry in controlling the beast part of him. Maleva stays in the village after the other gypsies have gone, becoming mother to a new 'son.' When Larry, as the Wolfman, is hunted by villagers, he is caught in a bear trap and in a frenzy of ferocity attempts to extract himself from the iron jaws. It is the soothing sorcery of Maleva that calms the raging werewolf; the old woman intones her magic and returns Larry to his human self. Maria Ouspenskaya dominates scenes she's in with a quiet mysterious presence that nevertheless exudes a commanding power. As poor Larry lies dying at the end of the film, it is again old Maleva who attends to him: "The way you walked was thorny, through no fault of your own. But as the rain enters the soil, the river enters the sea, so tears run to a predestined end. Your suffering is over. Now you will find peace for eternity."
Gypsy sorcerer Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), and the human incarnation of the Wolfman, Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), from the Universal Pictures film The Wolfman, 1941.
Not quite. In 1943, Universal Pictures released Frankenstein meets the Wolfman. Larry is revived from the dead, and in a desperate attempt to end his torture tracks down Maleva, again magnificently portrayed by Maria Ouspenskaya. The old woman agrees to help Talbot, telling him of a doctor who may be able to bring him peace. They set off together in a horse-drawn cart for the town of Vasaria in search of a Dr. Frankenstein. During their travels a full moon comes upon them; Maleva exerts her powers in an effort to compel the Wolfman into staying by her side, but the monster is too caught up in blood lust and races off into the night. Maleva's urging the werewolf to stay with her in the wagon seems to indicate that there are times when she can chaperone the monsters through the metamorphosis with a trance that prevents them from killing anyone. Larry Talbot's wish to die rather than continue life as a killer startles the main characters of the film. It is Maria Ouspenskaya who establishes pathos into the scene when her Maleva, the wise one, tells them, "He simply wants to die." Her eyes are the pain she feels for Talbot.
In the 1945 RKO production Tarzan and the Amazons, Maria Ouspenskaya is the queen of Palmeria, a tribe of Amazons living in a hidden valley near Tarzan and his family. "You need not plead for Tarzan," the old woman ordains. "He is our friend. May the great sun god protect you on your way, Tarzan." The Ape-Man is the only person outside of their village considered a friend and allowed to enter and leave. When criminals traveling with archeologists ask Tarzan for help in locating the ancient city, the Ape-Man refuses.
Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and the queen of the Amazons (Maria Ouspenskaya) barter for Boy's life. Tarzan and the Amazons, 1945, RKO.
Tarzan's son is conned into cooperating, and this is where the trouble begins. Lootings and killings ensue, and the women warriors wipe out most of the villains. Tarzan leaves the rest to sink in quicksand. The old Amazon queen is angry at Boy, sentencing him to drink poison, but grants his freedom in exchange for the return of the stolen treasure. One of the finest thespians on stage and in film, Maria Ouspenskaya also transcends her Pop Culture status rising into the realms of Modern Mythology---werewolves, The Wolfman, Frankenstein, Amazons, Tarzan---and continues the tradition of the goddess, the sorceress, the warrior woman myths laid down thousands of years ago.
Home Museum About Us Events Contact Us Journal Contents Community Arts Corner Links