Beware of the Car

Beware of the Car (Russian: Береги́сь автомоби́ля, translit. Beregis Avtomobilya, US titles Uncommon Thief, or Watch out for the Automobile) is a Soviet 1966 crime comedy-drama film directed by Eldar Ryazanov, based on a screenplay by Emil Braginsky and produced by the Mosfilm. The film stars renowned Soviet actors Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Oleg Yefremov, Anatoli Papanov, Andrei Mironov, Georgiy Zhzhonov, among others.

Beware of the Car
Soviet billboard theatrical poster of the film
Directed byEldar Ryazanov
Written byEmil Braginsky
Eldar Ryazanov
StarringInnokenty Smoktunovsky
Oleg Yefremov
Andrei Mironov
Anatoli Papanov
Georgiy Zhzhonov
Narrated byYury Yakovlev
Music byAndrei Petrov
CinematographyAnatoly Mukasei
Vladimir Nakhabtsev
Edited byYekaterina Ovsyannikova
Production
company
Release date
1966
Running time
94 min.
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

Beregis' Avtomobilya is recognized for its noir genre satire as uncommon part of the Brezhnevist society. It is credited to have given Ryazanov a start in depicting Soviet political structure satire as a class of comedy cult films.

Plot summary

The movie plot evolves around Yuriy Detochkin (Smoktunovsky), a humble Soviet insurance agent suffering from a minor mental disorder.[1] Detochkin applies great resourcefullness and exceptional driving skill to stealing cars from corrupt Soviet officials in a Robin Hood way, disappointed by the Militsiya (Soviet police) being unable to fight them efficiently. One of the Detochkin's un-innocent victims is Dima Semitsvetov (Mironov), a retail embezzler hilariously trolled, but still tolerated by his colourful father-in-law Sokol-Kruzhkin (Papanov), a retired Soviet Army officer.

Detochkin sells the stolen cars and anonymously transfers the money to the accounts of various orphanages. Detective Maxim Podberyozovikov (Yefremov) investigates his crimes and tries to prosecute him, but faces a serious moral problem in doing that, partly because the suspect appears to be his amateur theater mate and friend.

Cast
  • Innokenty Smoktunovsky as Yuriy Detochkin, former taxi driver, now an insurance agent and a fighter for justice
  • Oleg Yefremov as Maxim Podberezovikov, detective, working on Detochkin's Cause
  • Lyubov Dobrzhanskaya as Detochkin's mother
  • Olga Aroseva as Lyuba, a trolley-bus driver, Detochkin's bride
  • Andrei Mironov as Dima Semitsvetov
  • Anatoli Papanov as Sokol-Kruzhkin, father-in-law of Dima Semitsvetov
  • Tatyana Gavrilova as Inna, wife of Dima Semitsvetov
  • Georgiy Zhzhonov as a patrol policeman
  • Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev as an acting coach
  • Donatas Banionis as a priest, buyer of Detochkin's Volga car
  • Lyubov Sokolova as a judge
  • Vyacheslav Nevinny as a car mechanic
  • Gotlib Roninson as Yakov Mihailovich, Senior Insurance Agent, Detochkin's boss
  • Galina Volchek as a customer
  • Sergey Kulagin as Philippe Cartuzov, a pub manager
  • Yakov Lents as Tobacconist's shop salesman
  • Nikolay Parfyonov as a prosecutor
  • Victoria Radunskaya as Tanya, criminalist
  • Boris Runge as a man with suitcases

Voice cast

Interesting facts
Beware of the Car sign was common for Soviet cities
  • In the film, Detochkin and Podberezovikov act together in an amateur theater which rehearses Hamlet. This is a play from Innokenty Smoktunovsky's real-life acting career: he was reputed as the "best Hamlet on the Soviet stage" and starred in a Hamlet film adaptation.
  • The waltz[2] performed in the film is a distinguished melody composed by Andrei Petrov. Sergey Nikitin's repertoire includes a song named Glassy Gentleman (lyrics by Evgeny Evtushenko), which used a waltz from the film.
  • All cars stolen by Detochkin are "Volga"s - the most prestigious Soviet car model of the time. The fact that "Volga" was the standard personal car for Soviet elite is the intentional satire element of the film which Eldar Ryazanov found very hard to get approved.
  • American cars can be spotted in the petrol station scene: a 1955 Buick and a 1955 Oldsmobile. This would have been an extremely rare sighting since the United States had sanctions with the USSR and did not sell cars within the Eastern Bloc.

Famous quotes

Many quotes from the film became catch phrases and are still used today: "Isn't it time to blow at William, at our Shakespeare?", "Here is Grundig tape recorder. Four tracks, stereophonic, elegant design...", "Free Yuriy Detochkin!" and many other (see Wikiquote).

Awards

The film was the leader of Soviet film distribution for 1966 watched by 29 million people (11 place). Innokenty Smoktunovsky was recognized as the Best Actor of 1966.

Awards: Edinburgh-66, Sydney-66, Melbourne-67, Cartagena-69.

See also

References
  1. (the name hints to his childishness)
  2. Waltz - instrumental - MP3 - 3,7 MB - 128 Kbps at Cinema music (1938 - 1985) website (in Russian)
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