Inkijinoff, Valéry


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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 22/06/2022, 21:46

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Valéry Inkijinoff in Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan (1961)

Valéry Inkijinoff was an oriental-looking Russian actor, frequently credited with just his surname. He was active in Russian silent films and in European films, including a number of Italian productions, from 1930 until 1972.

He was born Walerian Iwanowitsch Inkischinow on March 25th 1895 in Irkutsk, Russia.

After having been retired from the Russian army during World War I due to injuries, he started out as a theatre actor, studying acting under theatre pioneer Vsevolod Meyerhold at the Polytechnical institute of St. Petersburg. Valéry has said in an interview that he began his film career in 1917, initially working as a stuntman, and we have found mentions of him as director and actor in a few other unconfirmed early Russian titles, although this part of his history seems to have been largely erased from the records following his defection. He was reportedly the director of several Soviet state-run film studios in Ukraine in the late 1920’s.

In 1928 he appeared in the internationally acclaimed film Potomok Chingis-Khana, which would have brought him to the attention of European audiences. In 1930, while on a European tour, he defected to France, where it would appear he made his home for the rest of his life. He has said that he had a wife in "the west" and a daughter who died.

Between 1930-38 he appeared in a string of French and European productions in leading or featured roles, usually cast as oriental villains who corrupted innocent white women. In 1935 he appeared in the controversial German production Friesennot, which was used as propaganda by the nazis. His career came to a halt after 1938, presumably due to the war.

He resumed film appearances a decade later, after which he worked steadily, but not prolifically, until 1972, usually in smaller supporting roles playing oriental characters. He reportedly also did a lot of work as a theatre actor in France.

Valéry died, aged 78, on September 26th 1973 in Brunoy, France.

His biography has been compiled from various sources, including a 1971 interview with Valery (thanks to Rudy for helping with translations).

For many years he was confused with somewhat-similar-looking Stefano Ceccarelli who at the time was unidentified, a confusion which continues to linger with several mis-identifications on IMDb and Wikipedia.

Filmography

1928
  1. Potomok Chingis-Khana .... Bair, the Mongol (credited)

    1933
  2. La bataille .... Hirata (poster credit as "V. Inkijinoff" / "Inkijinoff" - unconfirmed role)
  3. La tête d'un homme .... Radek (credited as "Inkijinoff")
  4. Polizeiakte 909 .... Dr. Nitobe Tokeramo (poster credit as "Inkischinoff" - unconfirmed role)

    1934
  5. Amok .... Amok et Maté (credited as "V. Inkijinoff")
  6. Volga en flammes .... Silatschoff (credited as "V. Inkijinoff")

    1935
  7. Friesennot .... Kommissar Tschernoff (credited as "V. Infijinoff")

    1936
  8. Die letzten Vier von Santa Cruz .... Reeder Alexis Aika (poster credit - unconfirmed role)
  9. Les bateliers de la Volga .... Kiro (poster credit as "Inkijinoff" - unconfirmed role)

    1937
  10. Wife of General Ling .... General Ling / Mr. Wong (poster credit as "Inkijinoff" - roles unconfirmed)

    1938
  11. La rue sans joie .... Louis Stinner (poster credit as "Inkijinoff" - unconfirmed role)
  12. Le drame de Shanghaï .... Lee Pang (credited as "Inkijinoff")
  13. Les pirates du rail .... Wang (credited as "Inkijinoff")

    1948
  14. La renégate .... Moktar (poster credit as "Inkijinoff" - unconfirmed role)

    1949
  15. Maya .... Cachemire (credited as "Inkijinoff")

    1950
  16. The Black Rose .... Chinese minister (uncredited)

    1954
  17. La figlia di Mata Hari .... Naos (credited)

    1955
  18. Verrat an Deutschland .... Osaki (poster credit as "Inkijinoff" - unconfirmed role)

    1956
  19. Geliebte Corinna .... Chin (credited as "Inkijinoff")
  20. Michel Strogoff .... Féofor Khan (credited as "Inkijinoff")

    1958
  21. Der Arzt von Stalingrad .... Lieutenant colonel Worotilow (credited)

    1959
  22. Il sepolcro indiano .... Yama (credited as "Inkijinoff")
  23. La tigre di Eschnapur .... Yama (credited as "Inkijinoff")

    1960
  24. Il mistero dei tre continenti .... Priest (credited as "Inkijinoff")

    1961
  25. Il trionfo di Michele Strogoff .... Amektal (credited as "Inkijinoff")
  26. Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan .... Taoist High Priest (credited)

    1962
  27. Mon oncle du Texas .... Big Nose (credited)

    1964
  28. Die Todesstrahlen des Dr. Mabuse / I raggi mortali del Dr. Mabuse .... Dr. Krishna (credited)
  29. Nick Carter va tout casser .... Li-Hang (credited as "Inkijinoff")

    1965
  30. L'uomo di Hong Kong .... Mr. Goh (credited)

    1966
  31. Atout coeur à Tokyo pour OSS 117 .... Yekota (credited)
  32. Il faut que je tue Monsieur Rumann (TV movie) .... M. Ruhmann (credited)

    1967
  33. La bionda di Pechino .... Fang Ho Kung (credited as "Inkijinoff")
  34. Les aventuriers .... (credited as "Valery Inkiginoff", but not found)
  35. Les chevaliers du ciel (TV series) S. 1, Eps. 1-4 .... Mr. X (credited in all episodes)

    1968
  36. Les chevaliers du ciel (TV series) S. 2, Eps. 1-3 .... Le Képala (credited)

    1971
  37. Le pistolere .... Spitring Bull (credited)
  38. Tang (TV series) unknown episodes .... Tang (credited)

    1972
  39. Le fils du ciel (TV series) unknown episodes .... Minh (no credit info - unconfirmed role)

Titles to check
  • Sortilèges d'Ondine (1917) This title is mentioned in a 1971 interview as being his film debut. As best as I can work out from the details provided this must be the French title for Russian production Silnyi chelovek, but I've been unable to confirm this.
  • Rasplata (1926) Kinotv.com as director (reportedly lost)
  • Vor (1927) Kinotv.com as director (reportedly lost)
  • Kometa (1929) Notrecinema.com as actor and director (reportedly lost)
  • Le capitaine jaune (1930) IMDb as Maitre'd in the Mongol hotel. (note that the images on the Unifrance website entry for this film actually come from Potomok Chingis-Khana)
  • Journey to the Lost City (1960) IMDb as Yama. This was a combination of Il sepolcro indiano and La tigre di Eschnapur, cut down and edited together for the American market. Beware that the title purporting to be this film on rarefilm is actually an English-dubbed print of Il sepolcro indiano.
  • Les hommes veulent vivre (1961) IMDb

No Valéry!
Titles where Valéry is listed as appearing somewhere online, but cannot be found. There always has to be one.
  • Ursus gladiatore ribelle (1962) IMDb as Torturer. He is mis-identified in the role played by Stefano Ceccarelli.
  • Matchless (1967) IMDb as Hypnotist. It is not Valery in this role.
  • The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968) IMDb as Mafia guy in sauna. Once again mis-identified in the role played by Stefano Ceccarelli.
Last edited by FatmanDan on 19/02/2023, 22:51, edited 23 times in total.

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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 22/06/2022, 21:47

Potomok Chingis-Khana (1928) credited, as Bair, the Mongol.

This is Valéry's only confirmed appearance in a Russian film - it could be possible, given his subsequent defection and the mention in an interview of making his debut in 1917, that his name was latterly removed from documentation of other productions. This film was released internationally to much acclaim, appearing in English-speaking countries as Storm Over Asia, and is today regarded as a classic of world cinema. According to the "trivia" on IMDb, Valéry was a friend and classmate of director Vsevolod Pudovkin at Moscow film school and the film was conceived with him in the lead role.
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Last edited by PeplumParadise on 23/06/2022, 18:11, edited 2 times in total.

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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 23/06/2022, 12:30

La bataille (The Battle) (1933) credited on posters as both "V. Inkijinoff" and "Inkijinoff", as Hirata (role to be confirmed, the image here was found online).

This was a French-British co-production.
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Last edited by PeplumParadise on 23/06/2022, 12:45, edited 2 times in total.

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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 23/06/2022, 12:33

La tête d'un homme (1933) credited as "Inkijinoff", as Radek
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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 23/06/2022, 12:38

Polizeiakte 909 (1933) credited on the curious mixed-language poster as "Inkischinoff" and pictured on the German programme, as Dr. Nitobe Tokeramo (role to be confirmed).

This was a German production.
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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 23/06/2022, 12:49

Amok (1934) credited as "V. Inkijinoff". as Amok et Maté
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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 23/06/2022, 12:53

Volga en flammes (1934) credited as "V. Inkijinoff", as Silatschoff.

This time it was a French-Czech co-production.
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Last edited by PeplumParadise on 23/06/2022, 15:40, edited 1 time in total.

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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 23/06/2022, 13:18

Friesennot (1935) credited as "V. Infijinoff", as Kommissar Tschernoff.

This was another German production, which contains a strong pro-German anti-communist message, which was reportedly used as Nazi propaganda. "Dorf im roten Sturm" was the German re-issue title from 1941, after the Germans had declared war on Russia.
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Last edited by PeplumParadise on 23/06/2022, 15:35, edited 2 times in total.

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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 23/06/2022, 13:23

Die letzten Vier von Santa Cruz (1936) credited and pictured on German publicity both under his full name and as "V. Inkischinoff", as Reeder Alexis Aika (role to be confirmed).

Another German production.
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Inkijinoff, Valéry

Post by PeplumParadise » 23/06/2022, 13:28

Les bateliers de la Volga (1936) credited and pictured (I think) on the poster as "Inkijinoff", as Kiro (role to be confirmed)
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