Shot in pieces by the White Russian cinema community during their emigration to France, L'Angoissante Aventure is afascinating hybrid, reflecting the multifaceted talents of the first generations of Russian filmmakers and the path not taken by early Soviet cinema. Director Yakov Protazanov had already made a name for himself through his film versions of the Queen of Spades (1916) and Father Sergius (1917), both notable for their psychologically nuanced treatment of objects and decor as well as the performances of lead actor Ivan Mozzhukhin. Mozzhukhin worked to great acclaim in France as both an actor and a director, but Protazanov would eventually be lured back to Moscow to direct the famous soviet science fiction film Aelita (1924)