Eisenstein shot Dnevnik Glumova in April 1923 for his stage adaptation of Alexander Ostrovskij’s classic comedy Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man at the Proletkult theatre, marking his debut as both theatre and film director. The play ridicules a careerist who flatters his patrons to their faces while ruthlessly mocking them in his diary. When the diary is stolen, a public scandal ensues. Eisenstein transformed Ostrovskij’s play into a modern political farce in which all the characters were depicted as clowns. The dialogue was combined with circus tricks and music-hall songs – and filmed inserts. Glumov’s acerbic diary entries were reimagined in a style reminiscent of Georges Méliès. The prologue (depicting the theft of the diary) parodied adventure films of the time, and the film in general seemed to send up contemporary newsreels and Dziga Vertov’s notion of “film truth”. Ironically, it was Vertov who came to Eisenstein’s aid by sending cameraman Boris Francisson with equipment and film stock. Vertov would subsequently include the film in his Kino-Pravda No. 16 released in May 1923.

Naum Kleiman