The Day the Earth Froze (1959) Sampo (original title)

Director:

Aleksandr Ptushko

Writers:

Viktor Vitkovich &
Grigori Yagdfeld ...
(more)

Release Date:

April 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

The Most Chilling Terror Ever Experienced

Plot:

Based on Finnish mythology, this movie traces the exploits of Lemminkainen as he woos the fair Annikki and battles the evil witch Louhi...

Plot Keywords:

Mythology | Magic | Kalevala | Narrator | Karelia

Cast

Urho Somersalmi	...	Väinämöinen
Anna Orochko	...	Louhi (as Anna Orotshko)
Ivan Voronov	...	Ilmarinen
Andris Oshin	...	Lemminkäinen (as Andris Oshin)
Ada Vojtsik	...	Mother of Lemminkäinen (as Ada Voitsik)
Eve Kivi	...	Annikki
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nina Anderson	...	Annikki (voice: English version)
Anatoli Barantsev		(as A. Barantsev)
Vladimir Boriskin		(as V. Boriskin)
Valentin Bryleyev		(as Valentin Brylejev)
Ingrid Elhardt	...	Loukhy the Witch (voice: English version)
E. Hippeläinen		(as Emma Hippeläinen)
D. Karpova
N. Kollen
Lennart Lauramaa		(as L. Lauramaa)
A. Lenskaya		(as A. Lenskaja)
Aleksandr Macheret		(as A. Matsheret)
Marvin Miller	...	Narrator (voice: English version)
Georgiy Millyar	...	Sorcerer (as Georgij Miljar)
P. Modnikov
John 'Shorty' Powers	...	Lemminkainen (voice: English version) (as Colonel John 'Shorty' Powers)
T. Romppainen
Peter Sorenson	...	Ilmarinen (voice: English version)
Mikhail Troyanovsky	...	Soothsayer (as Mihail Trojanovskij)
Viktor Uralskiy		(as Viktor Uralskij)
Lea Venkula

Directed by
Aleksandr Ptushko

Writing credits
Viktor Vitkovich		(as Viktor Vitkovitsh) &
Grigori Yagdfeld		(as Grigori Jagdfeld)
Elias Lönnrot		(book "Kalevala") uncredited
Väinö Kaukonen		(Finnish dialogue editor) (as V. Kaukonen)

Produced by
G. Kusnetsov	....	producer (as Georgi Kuznetsov)
Risto Orko	....	producer

Original Music by
Igor Morozov		(as Otto Strode)

Cinematography by
Gennadi Tsekavyj		(as G. Tsekavyj)
Viktor Yakushev		(as V. Yakushev)

Film Editing by
Holger Harrivirta

Art Direction by
Lev Milchin		(as L. Milchin)

Set Decoration by
Aleksandr Makarov		(as A. Makarov)

Makeup Department
M. Rozhkov	....	makeup designer

Production Management
A. Stefanskii	....	production manager (as A. Stefanski)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
B. Evgenev	....	assistant director (as B. Jevgenev)
Holger Harrivirta	....	assistant director (as H. Harrivirta)
A. Vanitshkin	....	assistant director

Art Department
V. Smirnov	....	set designer

Sound Department
Mariya Blyakhina	....	sound recordist (as M. Bljahina)

Special Effects by
L. Dovgvillo	....	special effects cinematographer (as L. Dovgvilo)
Z. Moryakova	....	special effect artist (as Z. Morjakova)
Aleksandr Renkov	....	special effects (as A. Renkov)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ritva Karpio	....	costumer

Music Department
S. Sakharov	....	conductor
Martti Turunen	....	choir leader

Other crew
Erkki Ala-Könni	....	expert
Väinö Kaukonen	....	expert
Lennart Lauramaa	....	location manager: Finland
Jorma Leppäaho	....	expert
I. Rostovtsev	....	publicist
Kustaa Vilkuna	....	expert

Production Companies

• Suomi-Filmi
• Mosfilm

Distributors

• Suomi-Filmi (1959) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV) (1979) (Finland) (TV)
• Nordic Video (198?) (Finland) (VHS)
• Retromedia Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• YLE Teema (2009) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1999) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Kalevala Koru  jewelry
• Kinostudiya "Mosfilm"  production unit

Also Known As:

"Sampo" - Finland (original title)

Runtime:

Argentina:90 min | Finland:90 min | Soviet Union:91 min | USA:67 min

Country:

Finland | Soviet Union

Language:

Finnish

Color:

Color (Sovcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (English version) | 4-Track Stereo (original version)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8

Filming Locations:

Jalta, Crimea, Ukraine

Company:

Suomi-Filmi

Trivia:

This was the only Finnish film that had a 4-track stereo soundtrack.

Quotes:

Troll:[Ilmarinen hammers a viking ship out of molten iron, greatly distressing Louhi's trolls] What is to become of us?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Day the Earth Froze (#5.22)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Nouse sotka soutimilta, alli airoilta ylene

My kingdom for a Sampo!

Sampo......who can get that word out of their head??? It seems to be an infernal machine that makes gold, or salt, or flour, or something but whatever it does, everybody wants it and will go to any lengths to build one. This Scandanavian film has an unusual look to it but it appears that the print is faded, hence the washed out look. Or maybe it's because of all the snow and ice. But I must admit that I found it rather fascinating.

The lead actors play it pretty much without emotion except for the witch who is a total pain in the butt. It took me a while to figure out if it was a man or a woman; regardless he/she was irritating. It moves along pretty slowly and there are times when it is difficult to figure out exactly what is going on.....that may be due to the terrible dubbing. I hate dubbing.....give me sub-titles anytime.

The ending with the harps is insane. We should advise our military that harp music can be deadly and is a lot less messy than live ammunition. However, there is something rather endearing about this film that makes it worth watching. Of course, you need to see the MST3K version.... it is a lot more fun. Can you say Sampo?