The last film of the actress has been shelved because of the “Seventeen moments of spring”. So goes one of the versions why the Lyubov Orlova, and with it the audience never saw the film “Starling and lyre”, which became her farewell.

11 February (new style) – birthday of the great Lyubov Orlova. The life of the actress has always been shrouded in mystery. She loved to repeat: “My work is known to all, my life does not concern anybody.” Artist concealed his age, never loved, never could talk about his childhood and adolescence. Orlov was of the nobility, and after the revolution of 1917, such lineage was not accepted to advertise.

Her father was a descendant of those same eagles, and the mother a relative of Leo Tolstoy. Therefore, Lyubov Orlova knew little, even during his lifetime, and after she died, her life story turned into a legend.

Despite the fact that Orlov was really an idol, an absolute star for several generations of viewers, in her filmography a total of 18 pictures. Most of them took her husband – Director Grigory Alexandrov. Most favorite, the ones that raised her to the top of kinoolimp, is a popular musical Comedy “Jolly fellows”, “Spring”, “Volga-Volga”. Despite the fact that Alexandrov in one of his last interviews said that the arts Council carried for 200 observations in each film, the paintings were really successful – they are constantly spinning in theaters.

But the last film starring Orlova, the screens did not come out.

The script for the film “Starling and lyre” action history of Soviet spies – Aleksandrov wrote himself? after 12 years of inactivity. Story unintelligible or boring. Shooting was given to all difficult. Among those who witnessed the shooting process? – cinema Gleb Skorokhodov. He wrote in his memoirs that the Lyubov Petrovna “was first on the court was capricious, tormented artists, costume designers, they fought with Alexandrov”. Reasons – age and disease. Orlova was already 70, and the scenario she was playing a 25-year-old woman. Walkers claimed that Orlov was forced mercilessly to redraw the plot.

“Alexander came up with that character falls in a large fire that burned and underwent many plastic surgeries. Therefore, they say, it looks like. And in order to “postroynet” Orlov… “killed” is the main character! Just Lyubov Petrovna said, “How good was my “Baroness” in a rich mourning dress, hat and veil…”- And he immediately made her a “widow” – at the end of the film the hero of her husband dies of a heart attack,” said film critic.

In addition, as later confirmed by the owner of private archives Orlova, the lawyer Alexander Dobrovinsky, Lyubov Petrovna during filming, did a special anti-aging treatments – the “burning” of the skin the esthetician. She drank in the morning a pile of cognac, because I heard that it wrinkles. She struggled with age and on the Playground, and behind the scenes. But all in vain.

Chinonachalie not released the film on the big screen. Harshly criticized, on the sidelines renamed the picture to “multiple Sclerosis and menopause” and sent to the shelf. However, the wording of the refusal was selected delicate: “in the context of the international situation deteriorated, the display pattern may provoke a diplomatic scandal”.

But there are two versions of why this moment has not released this picture.

The first of them belongs to film critic Skorokhodov. He writes that Orlov, knowing that the picture may fall, she asked to put the film on the shelf.

And the second sounds like. At the same time to be shown on the big screen was ready series with a similar theme – Pro scout, spy Colonel Maxim Isayev, known as standartenführer Stirlitz. Cincinanti understood against the background of the talented work of Tatiana Lioznova’s film Alexandrov’s just no chance. And even the great Lyubov Orlova can’t save this picture.