The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
Encyclopedia
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966
) is an American
comedy film
. Based on the Nathaniel Benchley
novel The Off-Islanders, the film was directed by Norman Jewison
and adapted for the screen by William Rose
.
The movie tells the Cold War
story of the comedic chaos which ensues when the Soviet
submarine
Спрут ' onMouseout='HidePop("62501")' href="/topics/Octopus">octopus
") accidentally runs aground near a small US island town. The town is proven US because the air force jets show US symbols on the planes. The all-star cast includes Carl Reiner
, Eva Marie Saint
, Theodore Bikel
, Jonathan Winters
, and in his first film, Alan Arkin
.
, Gloucester. Rather than radio for help and risk an embarrassing international incident, the captain sends a nine-man landing party headed by his second-in-command Lieutenant Yuri Rozanov (Alan Arkin
) to find a motor launch to help free the sub from the bar. The men arrive at the house of Walt Whittaker (Carl Reiner
), a vacationing playwright from New York City. Whittaker is eager to get his wife Elspeth (Eva Marie Saint
) and two children, obnoxious nine and half-year-old Pete (Sheldon Collins) and three-year-old Annie (Cindy Putnam), off the island now that summer is over.
Failing to convince the Whittakers that his group are Norwegians (all of the Russians are conspicuously dressed in sinister all-black clothing), Rozanov draws a gun and promises no harm if the family provides information about military on the island (none) and police force (small), and gives them keys to their car. Walt and Elspeth provide the answers and the keys, and the Russians depart, leaving behind a young sailor, Alexei Kolchin (John Phillip Law
), to guard the Whittakers and, subsequently, their attractive 18-year-old neighbor, Alison Palmer (Andrea Dromm
).
The Whittakers' station wagon quickly runs out of gasoline, forcing the Russians to walk. They steal an old sedan from Muriel Everett (Doro Merande
), the postmistress; she calls Alice Foss (Tessie O'Shea
), the gossipy telephone switchboard operator, and before long, wild rumors throw the entire island into confusion. As level-headed Police Chief Link Mattocks (Brian Keith
) and his bumbling assistant Norman Jonas (Jonathan Winters
) try to squelch the inept vigilante movement of blustering Fendall Hawkins (Paul Ford), Walt, accompanied by a hysterical Elspeth, manages to overpower Kolchin, due to his reluctance to hurt anyone. During the commotion, Kolchin flees, but when Walt and Elspeth leave to find help, he returns. He reassures a scared Alison and offers her his rifle, which she does not accept.
Trying to find the Russians on his own, playwright Walt is re-captured by them. After subduing Mrs. Foss and disabling the island's telephone switchboard, seven of the Russians manage to steal a motorboat and head back to their sub, which is still high and dry. Back at the Whittaker house, Kolchin is by now falling in love with Alison. Walt manages to free himself, and he and Elspeth return to the house and almost shoot Rozanov who arrives there just before they do. With the misunderstandings cleared up, the Whittakers, Rozanov and Kolchin decide to head into town together to clear the air with everyone over just what is going on.
With the rising tide, the submarine frees itself, and the Russian captain (Theodore Bikel
) sets out in search of his missing men. He finds Rozanov and Kolchin in the harbor and threatens to blow up the town unless the other seven are returned to him. Chief Mattocks arrives with the rest of the armed villagers who threaten action against the sub's crew on deck with rifles and pistols. As tension mounts, a small boy (Johnny Whitaker
) falls from his perch on the church steeple and hangs perilously from a gutter. Forgetting their differences, islanders and Russians unite to form a human pyramid
and rescue the child.
Peace and harmony is established between the two parties, but unfortunately an over-eager Hawkins has called in the Air Force. In a joint decision, the submarine heads out of the harbor with a convoy of villagers in small boats protecting it. Kolchin says goodbye to Alison, the boat with the seven Russians reaches the group shortly thereafter, and the seven board the submarine, just before two U.S. Air Force F-101B Voodoo jets arrive. They break off after seeing the convoy, and the submarine is free to sail to safe waters.
Although set on the fictional "Gloucester Island" off the coast of Massachusetts
, the movie was filmed on the coast of Northern California
, mainly in Mendocino
. The harbor scenes were filmed in Noyo Harbor
, a small town south of Fort Bragg
. Because of the filming location on the West Coast, the dawn scene at the beginning of the film was actually filmed at dusk through a pink filter.
The submarine
used was a fabrication. The United States Navy
refused to loan one for the production and barred the studio from bringing a real Russian submarine, forcing the studio to create their own. It was segmented into four parts, each having its own motor to power it.
The planes were actual F-101 Voodoo
Jets from the 84th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, located at the nearby Hamilton Air Force Base
. They were the only Air Force planes that were based near the location of the supposed island.
The title alludes to Paul Revere's
Ride, as does the subplot in which the town drunk (Ben Blue
) rides his horse to warn people of the 'invasion'.
According to Norman Jewison, the film — released at the height of the Cold War
— had considerable impact in both Washington and Moscow
. It was one of the few films to portray the Russians in a positive light. Senator Ernest Gruening
mentioned the film in a speech in Congress, and a copy of it was screened in the Kremlin
. According to Jewison, when screened at the Soviet film writers' union, Sergei Bondarchuk
was moved to tears.
Pablo Ferro created the main title sequence, using the American flag's red, white and blue colors and the Soviet hammer and sickle as transitional elements, zooming into each to create a montage, which ultimately worked to establish the tone of the film. The music in the sequence alternates between the American "Yankee Doodle
" march and a Russian song called "Polyushko Pole
".
Much of the dialog was spoken by the Russian characters, and at the time this movie was made few American actors were proficient in a Russian accent. Musician and character actor Leon Belasco
, who was born in Russia, spoke fluent Russian and specialized in foreign accents during his 60-year career, was the dialog director. John Phillip Law's consistently, magnificently incorrect pronunciation of difficult English phonemes, most notably in his slow, careful, hopeless struggle to master Alison Palmer's name (ah-LYEE-sown PAHL-myerr), was remarkably authentic by the standards of the day.
The film was a hit in its day, and helped introduce two famous stars, Alan Arkin
(who played Rozanov) and Johnny Whitaker
(who did a cameo as the boy who is rescued from the church steeple). After he appeared in the film, Whitaker was sent for by TV producers to audition for the TV show Family Affair
, which also starred Brian Keith
. Another star in the film, Theodore Bikel
, was able to speak Russian so well that he won the role of the sub captain.
Nominations:
1966 in film
The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
. Based on the Nathaniel Benchley
Nathaniel Benchley
Nathaniel Benchley was an American author.Born in Newton, Massachusetts to a literary family, he was the son of Gertrude Darling and Robert Benchley , the noted American writer, humorist, critic, actor, and one of the founders of the Algonquin Round Table in New York City...
novel The Off-Islanders, the film was directed by Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
and adapted for the screen by William Rose
William Rose (screenwriter)
William Rose was an American screenwriter of British and Hollywood films.Although born in Jefferson City, Missouri, after the 1939 outbreak of World War II, Rose lived in Canada and volunteered to fight overseas with the Black Watch...
.
The movie tells the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
story of the comedic chaos which ensues when the Soviet
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
Спрут ' onMouseout='HidePop("62501")' href="/topics/Octopus">octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
") accidentally runs aground near a small US island town. The town is proven US because the air force jets show US symbols on the planes. The all-star cast includes Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
, Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint is an American actress who has starred in films, on Broadway, and on television in a career spanning seven decades. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama film On the Waterfront , and later starred in the thriller film North by...
, Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
, Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
, and in his first film, Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
.
Plot
A Russian submarine draws too close to the US coast when its captain wants to take a good look at America and runs aground on a sandbar near an island off Cape AnnCape Ann
Cape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...
, Gloucester. Rather than radio for help and risk an embarrassing international incident, the captain sends a nine-man landing party headed by his second-in-command Lieutenant Yuri Rozanov (Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
) to find a motor launch to help free the sub from the bar. The men arrive at the house of Walt Whittaker (Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
), a vacationing playwright from New York City. Whittaker is eager to get his wife Elspeth (Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint is an American actress who has starred in films, on Broadway, and on television in a career spanning seven decades. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama film On the Waterfront , and later starred in the thriller film North by...
) and two children, obnoxious nine and half-year-old Pete (Sheldon Collins) and three-year-old Annie (Cindy Putnam), off the island now that summer is over.
Failing to convince the Whittakers that his group are Norwegians (all of the Russians are conspicuously dressed in sinister all-black clothing), Rozanov draws a gun and promises no harm if the family provides information about military on the island (none) and police force (small), and gives them keys to their car. Walt and Elspeth provide the answers and the keys, and the Russians depart, leaving behind a young sailor, Alexei Kolchin (John Phillip Law
John Phillip Law
John Phillip Law was an American film actor with over one hundred movie roles to his credit. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Phyllis Sallee and the brother of actor Thomas Augustus Law .He was best known for his roles as the blind angel Pygar in the science fiction cult...
), to guard the Whittakers and, subsequently, their attractive 18-year-old neighbor, Alison Palmer (Andrea Dromm
Andrea Dromm
Andrea Dromm is an American actress. She is the daughter of an engineer, and attended school in Patchogue and later in Greensburg, Pennsylvania....
).
The Whittakers' station wagon quickly runs out of gasoline, forcing the Russians to walk. They steal an old sedan from Muriel Everett (Doro Merande
Doro Merande
Doro Merande was an American actress who appeared in Hollywood films, onstage and on television. A well-regarded character actress, she frequently portrayed "sour, witchy old women"...
), the postmistress; she calls Alice Foss (Tessie O'Shea
Tessie O'Shea
Teresa Mary "Tessie" O'Shea was a Welsh entertainer and actress.Born in Cardiff to Nellie Theresa and James Peter O'Shea, a soldier who was the son of Irish emigrants, Tessie was reared in the British music hall tradition, appearing on stage as "The Wonder of Wales" as early as the age of six...
), the gossipy telephone switchboard operator, and before long, wild rumors throw the entire island into confusion. As level-headed Police Chief Link Mattocks (Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
) and his bumbling assistant Norman Jonas (Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
) try to squelch the inept vigilante movement of blustering Fendall Hawkins (Paul Ford), Walt, accompanied by a hysterical Elspeth, manages to overpower Kolchin, due to his reluctance to hurt anyone. During the commotion, Kolchin flees, but when Walt and Elspeth leave to find help, he returns. He reassures a scared Alison and offers her his rifle, which she does not accept.
Trying to find the Russians on his own, playwright Walt is re-captured by them. After subduing Mrs. Foss and disabling the island's telephone switchboard, seven of the Russians manage to steal a motorboat and head back to their sub, which is still high and dry. Back at the Whittaker house, Kolchin is by now falling in love with Alison. Walt manages to free himself, and he and Elspeth return to the house and almost shoot Rozanov who arrives there just before they do. With the misunderstandings cleared up, the Whittakers, Rozanov and Kolchin decide to head into town together to clear the air with everyone over just what is going on.
With the rising tide, the submarine frees itself, and the Russian captain (Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
) sets out in search of his missing men. He finds Rozanov and Kolchin in the harbor and threatens to blow up the town unless the other seven are returned to him. Chief Mattocks arrives with the rest of the armed villagers who threaten action against the sub's crew on deck with rifles and pistols. As tension mounts, a small boy (Johnny Whitaker
Johnny Whitaker
Johnny Whitaker is an American actor and singer notable for several performances for film and television during his childhood...
) falls from his perch on the church steeple and hangs perilously from a gutter. Forgetting their differences, islanders and Russians unite to form a human pyramid
Human pyramid
A human pyramid is a type of gymnastic formation in which the participants kneel together in a row or other formation, forming a base for another tier of participants who stand or kneel on their shoulders, backs or thighs. A human pyramid is very difficult to make. In case that the participants...
and rescue the child.
Peace and harmony is established between the two parties, but unfortunately an over-eager Hawkins has called in the Air Force. In a joint decision, the submarine heads out of the harbor with a convoy of villagers in small boats protecting it. Kolchin says goodbye to Alison, the boat with the seven Russians reaches the group shortly thereafter, and the seven board the submarine, just before two U.S. Air Force F-101B Voodoo jets arrive. They break off after seeing the convoy, and the submarine is free to sail to safe waters.
Cast
- Alan ArkinAlan ArkinAlan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
: Lt. Yuri Rozanov - Carl ReinerCarl ReinerCarl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
: Walt Whittaker (aka "Whittaker Walt") - Eva Marie SaintEva Marie SaintEva Marie Saint is an American actress who has starred in films, on Broadway, and on television in a career spanning seven decades. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama film On the Waterfront , and later starred in the thriller film North by...
: Elspeth Whittaker - Brian KeithBrian KeithBrian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
: Police Chief Link Mattocks - Jonathan WintersJonathan Winters-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
: Officer Norman Jonas - Paul Ford : Fendall Hawkins
- Theodore BikelTheodore BikelTheodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
: The Russian Captain - Tessie O'SheaTessie O'SheaTeresa Mary "Tessie" O'Shea was a Welsh entertainer and actress.Born in Cardiff to Nellie Theresa and James Peter O'Shea, a soldier who was the son of Irish emigrants, Tessie was reared in the British music hall tradition, appearing on stage as "The Wonder of Wales" as early as the age of six...
: Alice Foss (telephone operator) - John Phillip LawJohn Phillip LawJohn Phillip Law was an American film actor with over one hundred movie roles to his credit. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Phyllis Sallee and the brother of actor Thomas Augustus Law .He was best known for his roles as the blind angel Pygar in the science fiction cult...
: Alexei Kolchin - Ben BlueBen BlueBen Blue , born Benjamin Bernstein, was a Canadian-American actor and comedian.Born to a Jewish family in Montreal, Quebec, at the age of nine, Blue emigrated to Baltimore in the United States where he won a contest for the best impersonation of Charlie Chaplin...
: Luther Grilk - Don KeeferDon KeeferDonald "Don" H. Keefer is a retired American actor known for the versatility of his roles. He was born in Highspire in Dauphin County near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Keefer's first role was as Bernard in the 1951 film, Death of a Salesman, based on the Arthur Miller play...
: Irving Christiansen - Andrea DrommAndrea DrommAndrea Dromm is an American actress. She is the daughter of an engineer, and attended school in Patchogue and later in Greensburg, Pennsylvania....
: Alison Palmer - Sheldon Collins : Pete Whittaker (as Sheldon Golomb)
- Guy Raymond : Lester Tilly
- Cliff NortonCliff NortonClifford Charles "Cliff" Norton was an American character actor and radio announcer who had appeared in various movies and television series over a career that spanned over 40 years. He was probably best known as the announcer for Dave Garroway's radio program...
: Charlie Hinkson - Michael J. PollardMichael J. Pollard- Early life :Born Michael John Pollack, Jr. in Passaic, New Jersey, he is the son of Sonia and Michael John Pollack. He attended the Montclair Academy and the Actors Studio.- Career :...
: Stanley, the airplane mechanic - Richard SchaalRichard SchaalRichard Schaal is an American television actor.He was married to actress Valerie Harper from 1964 to 1978. His daughter is actress Wendy Schaal by his first marriage to Lois née Treacy....
: Oscar Maxwell - Milos MilosMilos MilosMilos Milos was a Hollywood actor, stunt double, and bodyguard of actor Alain Delon.-Early days:In the 1950s Milos Milosevic and his friend Stevan Markovic were involved in a streetfight in Belgrade. They met Alain Delon, who was filming a movie in Belgrade...
: Lysenko
Production
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, the movie was filmed on the coast of Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, mainly in Mendocino
Mendocino, California
Mendocino is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. Mendocino is located south of Fort Bragg, at an elevation of 154 feet...
. The harbor scenes were filmed in Noyo Harbor
Noyo Harbor
Noyo Harbor is the port and boat docking area for Fort Bragg, California, USA. It is built near the mouth of the Noyo River in the town of Noyo, just south of Fort Bragg. Noyo Harbor is located in Mendocino County northwest of the Port of San Francisco and south-southeast of the port of...
, a small town south of Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, California
Fort Bragg is a city located in coastal Mendocino County, California along State Route 1, the major north-south highway along the Pacific Coast. Fort Bragg is located west of Willits, at an elevation of 85 feet...
. Because of the filming location on the West Coast, the dawn scene at the beginning of the film was actually filmed at dusk through a pink filter.
The submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
used was a fabrication. The United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
refused to loan one for the production and barred the studio from bringing a real Russian submarine, forcing the studio to create their own. It was segmented into four parts, each having its own motor to power it.
The planes were actual F-101 Voodoo
F-101 Voodoo
The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force...
Jets from the 84th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, located at the nearby Hamilton Air Force Base
Hamilton Air Force Base
Hamilton Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located along the western shore of San Pablo Bay, south of Novato, California.-History:...
. They were the only Air Force planes that were based near the location of the supposed island.
The title alludes to Paul Revere's
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
Ride, as does the subplot in which the town drunk (Ben Blue
Ben Blue
Ben Blue , born Benjamin Bernstein, was a Canadian-American actor and comedian.Born to a Jewish family in Montreal, Quebec, at the age of nine, Blue emigrated to Baltimore in the United States where he won a contest for the best impersonation of Charlie Chaplin...
) rides his horse to warn people of the 'invasion'.
According to Norman Jewison, the film — released at the height of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
— had considerable impact in both Washington and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. It was one of the few films to portray the Russians in a positive light. Senator Ernest Gruening
Ernest Gruening
Ernest Henry Gruening was an American journalist and Democrat who was the Governor of the Alaska Territory from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator from Alaska from 1959 until 1969.-Early life:...
mentioned the film in a speech in Congress, and a copy of it was screened in the Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...
. According to Jewison, when screened at the Soviet film writers' union, Sergei Bondarchuk
Sergei Bondarchuk
Sergei Fedorovich Bondarchuk was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, and actor.- Biography :Born in Belozerka, in the Kherson Governorate, Sergei Bondarchuk spent his childhood in the cities of Yeysk and Taganrog, graduating from the Taganrog School Number 4 in 1938. His first performance as an...
was moved to tears.
Pablo Ferro created the main title sequence, using the American flag's red, white and blue colors and the Soviet hammer and sickle as transitional elements, zooming into each to create a montage, which ultimately worked to establish the tone of the film. The music in the sequence alternates between the American "Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle
"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...
" march and a Russian song called "Polyushko Pole
Polyushko Pole
Polyushka Polye is a Soviet Russian-language song.Polye means "field" in Russian, "polyushko" is a diminutive/hypocoristic form for "polye".- Soviet arrangements :...
".
Much of the dialog was spoken by the Russian characters, and at the time this movie was made few American actors were proficient in a Russian accent. Musician and character actor Leon Belasco
Leon Belasco
Leon Belasco was a Russian-American musician and actor who had a 60-year career in film and television from the 1920s to the 1980s, appearing in more than 100 films.-Musical career:Belasco attended St...
, who was born in Russia, spoke fluent Russian and specialized in foreign accents during his 60-year career, was the dialog director. John Phillip Law's consistently, magnificently incorrect pronunciation of difficult English phonemes, most notably in his slow, careful, hopeless struggle to master Alison Palmer's name (ah-LYEE-sown PAHL-myerr), was remarkably authentic by the standards of the day.
The film was a hit in its day, and helped introduce two famous stars, Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
(who played Rozanov) and Johnny Whitaker
Johnny Whitaker
Johnny Whitaker is an American actor and singer notable for several performances for film and television during his childhood...
(who did a cameo as the boy who is rescued from the church steeple). After he appeared in the film, Whitaker was sent for by TV producers to audition for the TV show Family Affair
Family Affair
Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...
, which also starred Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
. Another star in the film, Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
, was able to speak Russian so well that he won the role of the sub captain.
Awards
Wins:- Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
(Alan ArkinAlan ArkinAlan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
) - Writers Guild of America, EastWriters Guild of America, EastWriters Guild of America, East is a labor union representing writers of television and film and employees of television and radio news. The 2006 membership of the guild was 3,770....
- Best Written American Comedy (William RoseWilliam Rose (screenwriter)William Rose was an American screenwriter of British and Hollywood films.Although born in Jefferson City, Missouri, after the 1939 outbreak of World War II, Rose lived in Canada and volunteered to fight overseas with the Black Watch...
)
Nominations:
- Academy Award for Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
- Academy Award for Best ActorAcademy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Alan ArkinAlan ArkinAlan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
) - Academy Award for Film EditingAcademy Award for Film EditingThe Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
(Hal AshbyHal AshbyHal Ashby was an American film director and film editor.-Birth and early years:Born William Hal Ashby in Ogden, Utah, Ashby grew up in a Mormon household and had a tumultuous childhood as part of a dysfunctional family which included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide and his...
& J. Terry Williams) - Academy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
(William RoseWilliam Rose (screenwriter)William Rose was an American screenwriter of British and Hollywood films.Although born in Jefferson City, Missouri, after the 1939 outbreak of World War II, Rose lived in Canada and volunteered to fight overseas with the Black Watch...
) - Golden Globe Award for Best ScreenplayGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
(William Rose) - Directors Guild of AmericaDirectors Guild of AmericaDirectors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
- Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Norman JewisonNorman JewisonNorman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
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