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 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 byAndrey Petrov
CinematographyAnatoly Mukasei
Vladimir Nakhabtsev
Edited byYekaterina Ovsyannikova
Production
company
Release date
1966
Running time
94 min.
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

Beware of the Car is recognized for being a satire of the film noir genre, which was highly unusual in Brezhnev-era society. It is credited as in launching Soviet political satire as a genre of films, typified by Ryazanov.

Plot summary

The movie plot evolves around Yuri Detochkin (Smoktunovsky), a humble Soviet insurance agent suffering from a minor mental disorder.[1] Detochkin applies great resourcefulness 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 mocked but tolerated by his colorful father-in-law Semyon Vasilyevich (Papanov), a retired Soviet Army officer.

Detochkin sells some 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 so, partly because the suspect appears to be his amateur theatre mate and friend.

Cast

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 Andrey Petrov. Sergey Nikitin's repertoire includes a song named Glassy Gentleman (lyrics by Yevgeny Yevtushenko), 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 catchphrases 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 Yuri 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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