Ekaterina Savinova is one of the brightest actresses in Soviet cinema. Her role in the film "Come Tomorrow" was so memorable that the audience unwittingly associated her with the main character. But the fate of the actress was very tragic.
Childhood and career of Ekaterina Savinova
Ekaterina Savinova is a famous Soviet actress who played the iconic lead role in the film Come Tomorrow. Many viewers called her after her heroine Frosya Burlakova. Perhaps one of the components of the deafening success was that the image of Frosya was understandable and close to Catherine. She herself came from the provinces to conquer Moscow.
Ekaterina Savinova was born on December 26, 1926 in the village of Yeltsovka, Altai Territory. During the Stolypin reform, Catherine's family moved to Altai from the Penza province. The Burlakov family lived next door to them. The future actress borrowed this surname to create a favorite image for everyone. Savinova's parents were simple peasants. The family had four children. In 1944, Catherine graduated from high school and firmly decided to go to Moscow to conquer the capital.
From the first time she did not enter VGIK. She studied for some time at the Land Management Institute, but she did not lose the desire to go to study as an actress. On the second attempt, she managed to become a student at one of the most prestigious educational institutions.
The bright and charismatic girl was noticed immediately and already during her studies she was invited to study at the Moscow Art Theater, but Catherine refused, since she saw herself only as an actress in cinema. Already at the age of 22, the talented student was approved for one of the roles in the film "Kuban Cossacks". It was a great success, but Ekaterina Savinova did not know then that participation in the filming would become fatal for her. The film was shot by the head of "Mosfilm" Ivan Pyriev, who was known for his weakness for beautiful young actresses. The director tried to show signs of attention to Savinova, and after receiving a refusal he put her on an unspoken "black list".
Due to falling out of favor with the director, she was almost never filmed in the period from 1950 to 1963. At this time, Savinova had to be content with only passing episodic roles. In 1951, Catherine found female happiness - she married classmate Yevgeny Tashkov. Son Andrei was born only in 1957.
In 1959, the actress entered the evening vocal department at the Institute. Gnesins. She was tired of being unrealized in the cinema and graduated from the institute with honors. Her unique voice was appreciated by many. Catherine was invited to the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater, but she refused, dreaming of a movie.
Come back tomorrow
By the age of 33, Savinova had not managed to get a single bright role. Her husband Yevgeny Tashkov at that time had already become a well-known director and decided to write a script for a film, the main character of which was to be Catherine. The script was written specifically for her, which is why the fate of Frosya Burlakova so strongly echoes the fate of the actress.
The film was shot in Odessa to get around the "Pyriev ban", but the director had to face a number of difficulties. Inspectors from the capital wanted to ban the film for screening, declaring Savinova mediocrity. The director had to go for a trick. He wrote an appeal to high bosses and reported that the picture had already been removed and the ban on its showing would mean that all the money that was allocated for the shooting was wasted. This move turned out to be correct and Tashkov managed to convince everyone that it was necessary to show the film to the viewer. In 1963, the picture appeared on the big screen and received the Grand Prix of the All-Union Film Festival, and Ekaterina Savinova was recognized as the best film actress of the year.
Devastating disease
After the release of the film "Come Tomorrow" Ekaterina Savinova finally became recognizable, the long-awaited fame came to her. The actress has many opportunities. Now she was no longer considered mediocrity, as Pyryev had previously tried to present her. But grandiose plans for a further brilliant career were not destined to come true.
Even during the filming of Come Tomorrow, Catherine began to feel bad. She tried not to show her face and hid her condition even from her husband. But after a while, the husband noticed some oddities in the behavior of the actress and she was admitted to the hospital. For a very long time, the doctors could not give her the correct diagnosis. Psychiatrists agreed that there were deviations in Savinova's behavior, but stated that she was not their patient.
Only after some time, experts suggested that mental abnormalities could be the result of infection and the actress was diagnosed with brusellosis. Shortly before filming in the most important film of her life, Ekaterina starred in episodes of "The Village Doctor". To do this, she had to go to Crimea, where she often drank raw milk. Most likely, there she contracted a terrible disease.
The shooting of "Come Tomorrow" had to be suspended, but the film was still shot to the end. After that, Catherine starred in several more films:
- "The Marriage of Balzaminov" - 1964;
- "To me, Mukhtar" - 1964;
- "The Road to the Sea" - 1965;
- "Zigzag of Fortune" - 1968
Ekaterina Savinova underwent treatment several times, but the time was lost. The infection led to brain damage, so the actress at times did not recognize her relatives, behaved strangely. However, she starred in episodic roles. Even in 1970, shortly before her death, she took part in the filming, although her role in the film "Reckoning" was quite insignificant.
Savinova was awarded several awards:
- Honored Artist of the RSFSR - 1965;
- Laureate of the All-Union Film Festival. The award was given in the category "Prizes to Actors" in 1964;
- Laureate of the Cannes Film Festival. The award was given in the nomination "Best ensemble cast" for his role in the film "Big Family" in 1955.
The death of Ekaterina Savinova
In the last months of Savinova's life, it became worse and worse. She said that she was tormented by some voices and "devils came" for her. The actress often forgot about where she was, sometimes she did not recognize her loved ones and spoke to strangers. Her husband at that time was a very popular director and was forced to travel to the shooting. He could not be constantly with his wife and son.
Ill-wishers began to talk about the actress drinking, but that was a lie. The blame for this behavior was the disease and developed against the background of infection with schizophrenia.
Savinova, shortly before her death, was treated in a clinic, but she was released and looked after by a nurse. On April 25, 1970, the actress deceived the nurse and went to her sister in Novosibirsk. Catherine thought it over carefully. Recently, she realized that she had become a burden to those around her.
At her sister's house, she tidied up, washed the floors and wrote a suicide note. And then she went to the station and threw herself under the train. It is symbolic that at the entrance exams Catherine read Anna Karenina's monologue and her life ended in the same way as the life of this heroine. In a note, she asked for forgiveness from all those close to her, and especially from her son. The boy at that time was only 13 years old. The reason for the death of Savinova called fatigue and unwillingness to be a burden for her people. The actress decided that it would be better this way, but it is not clear how adequate she was at that moment.
Those close to Savinova recalled that in the last years of her life, the actress was very sorry that she had abandoned theatrical roles and the singer's career. She said that "the cinema took her soul like the devil." Perhaps, if she had not shown perseverance and did not begin to resist fate at such moments, her life would have been happier.
