Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series? Part II

[Kalafrana]

Small point about the Sipyagin murder. I don't think the sentry would open the package himself. He would summon the duty NCO (probably a Corporal), who would take the visitor into the guardroom and open the package (probably with another soldier present).  You could also include a brief view of sleeping soldiers on bunks in the neighbouring room.

Ann

[edubs31]

Thank you all. I'll have more this weekend. Am nearing the end of what I would consider to be "Part 1". That is the events between the death of Alexander III and just prior to Alexei's birth (1894-1904) with several flashback scenes included of course...

Ann, thanks as always and I'll make that small correction in the second draft. What's the deal with the sleeping soldiers? Are they to be shown as asleep at their post, or was Mariinski Palace some type of makeshift barracks?

[blessOTMA]

Ann, you can" paint"  a scene very vividly with just a few works and details. I could "see" the opening of the package

[Kalafrana]

In the British Army at any rate, a soldier's guard duty lasts 24 hours. In that time he won't be continuously at his sentry post, and in his off spells he is allowed to sleep, so the guardroom has beds, on which soldiers stretch out fully clothed except for boots.

I think the sentries at places like Buckingham Palace are only on for an hour at a time, so they will have several spells on and off over a 24 hour period. In charge of the guard there will be an NCO, normally a Corporal, and from time to time there will be visits from the Orderly Officer, whose job is basically to be available in case there is anything the guardroom staff can't deal with themselves. He should also be present at the initial guard-mounting, visit the cookhouse at mealtimes and inspect the armoury and see that all weapons and ammunition are accounted for at least once during his tour of duty. Normally there will be a Warrant Officer in charge of the armoury who will be there when the armoury is open.

The guardroom may also have cells, so if you want to include a defaulter in your vignette, you can.

Ann

[edubs31]

December, 1901 – Spala, Poland

For the next scene we shift to a tension filled conversation between the Imperial couple who have recently been given official word that Grand Duke Ernest of Hesse and Princess Victoria Melita will be seeking a divorce. We catch up with them during a stay in Spala in the fall of 1901…

Nicholas (angry): I don’t understand it. It’s reprehensible! Royals do not divorce. How could Ernie have allowed things to get so out of hand?
Alexandra (staring into space): I knew they were having problems. Nothing from Ducky of course…but I know when Ernie is hiding his true feelings. His letters are shorter and less frequent, and he fills the space telling us about things other than himself and family. He even omits little Ella.
Nicholas (pacing around the room): Well this is shocking. I could have helped him, but he did not seek my council. Ernie knows he is a brother to me.
Alexandra (looking up): I’m not sure what could have been done. Their marriage has been in a tailspin ever since the stillbirth of that little baby boy. Ducky was clearly unsatisfied and needed more.
Nicholas: But she has a wonderful husband and a beautiful little girl. She’s wealthy and well cared for. What more does a woman need?
Alexandra: Nicky you know as well as I that Ernie was…oh how do I say it…preoccupied with thoughts unsuitable for a man married to a woman.
Nicholas: There is more to happiness than that and no marriage is perfect. Ernie is not the only male member of our family to engage in such behavior.
Alexandra: Yes I know. The Supreme Court of Hesse will have the final say but that won’t stop anything.
Nicholas: There's nothing left to be done. I will write mother now. I’m quite certain that she will be horrified…the loss of someone near is preferable to the public disgrace of divorce.
Alexandra: And I’m going to write Xenia. We need to work through this as a family. Put a stop to any and all nasty gossip for their sakes and ours. They parted as their characters could not possibly get on together…that is enough for the public.

[JamesAPrattIII]

Princess Catacuzene wrote 3 books on her experiences which should provide alot of first hand material for the last days of the Tsars. Other American women in Russia include the Countess Magdalenia (lilly) Nostis whose first husband was German abd second husband was Maj Gen G.I. Nostis of the Imperial Suit. She was real popular on the "Peter" social scene. The book "The Foe Within" has one of her lovers a Cpt Pavel V Benson of the 5th Hussars (one of Alexandras Regiments) as a swindler and a german spy. Result her husband was retired from his post and she is accussed of also being a German spy. I believe the book "The End of Chivaly" has a daughter of a Russian father and American mother going from a party girl to a medal winning battlefield nurse. Note; its been awhile but in the 1800s relations between the US and Russia were usually fairly good. If relations between between Russia and france and/or England were bad the Russians made strong efforts to maintain good relations with the US. Al least thats what I think I read on the subject. Looking back St Petersburg was such a cosmopolitan place before Lenin and Co seized power.
 As for the actresses that played OTMA in the movie Romanovy they could have done with a number wigs to wear as in real life their hair grew back during the 1917-18 period. Then a few weeks before their murder they cut it short again and judging from the reconstructions of OTA heads they didn't do a very professional job in cutting it. There are pictures of this on this site somewhere. Nicholas also trimmed his beard about this same time. If a mini series on N&A ever gets made the actresses who play OTMA besides having their heads shaved will have to put up with the following: wearing corsets ("I can't breath! get me out of this!"), sleeping on camp bed ("you want me to sleep on this!?"), learning how to sew and knit ("what are these pointy things?") among other things.  On the other hand some will definetly like the clothes and hats as well as quoting what they actually wrote and said in it.

[JamesAPrattIII]

Scene a group of mid level japanese Army and Navy officers are having an informal meeting relaxing and drinking tea sometime during the period late 1903/early 1904.
Naval officer no1: It looks like there will definatly be a war with Russia. Is the army ready?
Army officer no1: The army is as ready as it will ever be. We also have the Japanese people behind us, well most of them. I am confident with Field Marshall Oyama in Command he will lead our army to victory against the Russians like he did the Chinese.
Naval Officer no1: Field marshall Oyama preformed excellently against the Chinese but he is getting old and the Russians will be a much tougher enemy.
Army Officer no 2:The Field Marshall has General Kodma as chief of Staff
Navy Officer no 2: Is this the man they call "the rivet in the fan', who spent 30 days in his office planning for any contigency in this war, and prides himself in his ruthlessness.
Army Officer no 2: All true without "the rivet" the army would fall apart. It also appears the Russians think our army cannot put as many men into the field as we actually can so they will be in  for a big surprize. How is the navy.
Naval Officer no1: The fleet is ready for war as well. The Russians have 7 battleships to our 6 but we have more cruisers and destroyers. We have fought a larger enemy the Chinese navy before and won and we will do the same against the Russians even though they are a tougher enemy. The problem is Japan does not have the ability to build large warships so if we lose a battleship or armored cruiser we will not be able to replace it.
From "The Tide At Sunrise":
"The Combined Fleet sailed out of Sasebo and thousands of womaen and children carrying lanterns came out in rowboats to bid farewell. The Sasebo Adminestration naval band on board a steamboat cruised in and out between the departing vessels plying "the Warship march" crowds lined the shores to shout parting Banzais"
Note: the japanese Army was trained by the Germans and as in the German Army the chief of staff has as much authority and power as the army commander. So in the Russo-japanese war Oyama and Kodma were like Hindenburg and luddendorf in WW I.

[JamesAPrattIII]

Early February 1904 at a fashonable salon in St Petersburg a group of officers in dress uniforms with lots of medals and ladies in low cut gowns with lots of jewels are drinking champagne while discussing current events:
Lady no1: The Japanese Ambastor has left. I have heard their is war fever in japan. Do you think they will start a war with us?
Army officer no1 I don't think so but, if there is it will not be necessary for the russian army to fire a single shot.
Army officer no2: As the peasants say we will just throw our caps at those monkies (laughter)
Army officer no3: I don't think it will be that easy manchuria is thousands of versts away and the transiberian railroad is incomplete. Supplying a large army would difficult.
Army officer no1: you sound like a staff officer who thinks too much! No Asian nation has ever defeated a European power in battle. One russian soldier is equal to 3 of those Japanese Monkies and they can't put a very large army into the field.
Lady no1: and what does the navy think?
Naval officer no1: Our pacific Squadron is about the same size as the japanese navy and we havew more ships on the way. We can also send more ships from the Baltic fleet. I have also heard the Japanese navy is poorly trained . So we should have no problem sweeping those monkies from the seas.
Naval officer no2: I am not so sure the Pacific Squadron is split between Port Arthur and Vladivostok. We have no drydocks at Arthur to repair damaged ships and it's not a good harbor anyway. We also don't have that much information on the Japanese anyway.
Officer no1:Another staff who thinks too much! what we need are fighting admirals in command of our navy!
Lady 1: like the grand Admiral Alexi Alexandrovich?
Lady 2: A man known for fast woma and slow ships1 (laughter)
Lady 3: who knows more about boudoirs than battleships1 (more laughter)
Naval officer no2: It would also help if the army had some fighting generals in command of the army and replace the idiot of a martinet Stossel they have in command at Arthur. He is so hated it is said if war comes he will be shot in the back by his own men.
Lady no3: from what I have read japan is fair book sort of place filled with facinating little people who live in paper houses. For them to go to war against a great empire like our would be folly.

[JamesAPrattIII]

Part 2 at the fashonable salon early feb 1904
Lady1: well we have both Cyril and Boris Vladimorovich with the Pacific Squadron. This should help our navy (laughter). I wonder how they are doing?
Naval officer no2: Having just got back from their I can say Cyril brought a cabaret singer with him so he won't be too lonely. As for boris there are plenty of women for him to choose from.
Lady 1: i guess you are glad to be back.
Naval Officer no 2: definately serving with the Pacific Squadron is like being sent into exile!
Ladies no 1 and 2 go off to one side:
Lady no1: well the empress is pregnent again.
Lady no 2: I hope to god its a boy! The Empire needs a male heir all this stupid German woman gives us is girls!
Lady no 1: I agree, she is such a prude and a bore. Have you seen her up close at public events she looks like she wants to get out of their as soon as possible! I wish the dowager Empress was back in St Petersburg I so loved her balls ect .
Lady no 2: thank heavens for Maria Pavelonva otherwise we would be pored to death.

Note: The Russians routinely reffered to the japanese as monkies during this period in speech and corespondence. This includes Nicholas II who was wounded by a assassin in japan which is probably why he wasn't to well disposed to them.  Also note : many Europeans and Americans were same way at the time.

[edubs31]

Wow James, talk about stepping up to the plate! Thanks so much for this and what an excellent job you've done on what is a complex topic. I had a loose outline of how I wanted to introduce the war but nothing solid other than the scene I have with Nicholas and ministers talking about the seizing of Korea which helped provoke Japan's aggression.

I like how you even went so far as to show the Japanese masses giving their navy the proper send off...Id like to couple that with the Russia people sending their well wishes and exuding total confidence in their military on the eve of war.

I'm planning on spending some time tomorrow taking notes and I also have a couple more small scenes to post before I bring a close to the domestic events surrounding the family Pre-Alexei's birth (and you even gave me a nice lead in on that to work with!)

More later, thanks again!

[Kalafrana]

Couple of nitpicking points (as usual!).

May be useful to mention somewhere that the Japanese modelled their navy on the Royal Navy, which was much the largest and most prestigious in the world at the time (though resting somewhat on its laurels).

For me as a Brit, Alexandra's final sentences in Ed's latest scene sound far to modern and American. 'I'm going to write Xenia' - surely she would say, 'I'm going to write TO Xenia.' And 'We need to work through this as a family sounds like 2012 psychobabble! 'We all need to stick together,' or 'We all need to present a united front,' might be more 1900s.

Finally, was Boris actually with the Pacific Squadron, as distinct from going to the operational zone by other means? I've always seen him as the kind of soldier who campaigned only in St Petersburg!

Ann
 

[JamesAPrattIII]

I am really happy you all liked my research this mostly from the book "Tide at Sunrise"
Ann: Boris was there I will have more on him later lets just say he did not distingush himself.
The Russian American battlefield nurse in "The End Of Chivalry" was names Helen Ivanenko
back to N&A:
Scene port Arthur night of 8/9 Feb 1904 Japanese torpedos start exploding against Russian ships. Total confusion among the Russians. On ships Officers,men and women (they were allowed on board for officers) are all running around in all stages of undress. Ashore men come tumbling out of the bars on Pushkin street and out of brothels one of which was called "The American Legation".
 back in St Petersberg Nicholas II is handed a telegram while returning from the theater It reads:
"About midnight Japanese destroyers made a sudden attack on the squadron anchored in the outer harbor of Port Arthur. The battleships Tsarevich, Retvizan,and the crusier Pallada were torpedoed the importance of the damage is being asertained." the stunned Nicholas writes this in his diary when he gets home and adds "This is without a declaration of war. May god come to our aid."

[edubs31]

So glad you stepped in to assist James and your timing couldn't have been better. I have three books on loan that I'm taking notes from and it's a bit of a drawn out process since there is so much valuable information. I'll have another small scene to post tomorrow or Wednesday but it's a little bit of a slow period for me. It'd be awesome if you took the lead on the the war and I (or others) can chip in with some notes.

[Kalafrana]

Oh yes, I love the idea of everyone running round the ships in various states of undress! And perhaps a lady refusing to budge from her chap's cabin until she has put her hair up and pinned on her hat?

Definitely make use of Boris - being pompous and getting in the way?

Ann

[edubs31]

Oh yes, I love the idea of everyone running round the ships in various states of undress! And perhaps a lady refusing to budge from her chap's cabin until she has put her hair up and pinned on her hat?

Definitely make use of Boris - being pompous and getting in the way?

Ann

Exactly. It's that sort of detail that I either don't think of or am able to do justice. With me it's more about the straight up dialogue, pacing and merging scenes together. I guess the director would be in charge of many of the additional details though, yes? That and for an historical epic such as this you'd want to have some real experts on the set.