Trial on the Road (1971)
"Proverka na dorogakh" (original title)

The Russian POW joins the partisan guerrillas and proves his loyalty fighting the Nazis.

Director:

Aleksey German

Writers:

Yuri German (stories), Eduard Volodarskiy

Stars:

Rolan Bykov, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Vladimir Zamanskiy

Cast

Cast overview:
Rolan Bykov	...	Ivan Egorovich Lokotkov
Anatoliy Solonitsyn	...	Igor Leonidovich Petushkov
Vladimir Zamanskiy	...	Alexander Ivanovich Lazarev
Oleg Borisov	...	Victor Mikhailovich Solomin
Fyodor Odinokov	...	The Old Mine-Layer - Erofeich
Anda Zaice	...	Inga - the partisan-interpreter (as Anda Zaytse)
Gennadi Dyudyayev	...	Dmitry Mit'ka - a young partisan
Mayya Bulgakova	...	An unhopeful woman-villager
Nikolay Burlyaev	...	The young auxiliary policeman
Viktor Pavlov	...	Kutenko - an auxiliary police watchman
Yuri Dubrovin	...	Col. Bolshakov - 'lieutenant Genka'
Igor Klass	...	The Partisan-Estonian
N. Pokorsky

Storyline

Film is set in the winter of 1942 during the Nazi occupation of Russia in WWII. Partisan guerrillas, headed by Ivan Lokotkov, are testing the POW Lazarev, who briefly collaborated with the Nazis for survival. Lazarev is not executed, but instead he is given a chance to prove his loyalty. He has to go back to the Nazi controlled railway station, where everyone knows him, and to hijack a train with food supplies. Lazarev proves himself a hero.

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Plot Keywords:

world war two | eastern front

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian German

Release Date:

October 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Trial on the Road

Filming Locations:

Russia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lenfilm Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vladimir Vysotskiy wanted to play Lazarev. Yet the director chose to shoot less celebrity-like Vladimir Zamanskiy.

User Reviews

also known as 'Trial on the Road'

Good, solid wartime adventure films have (understandably) become anachronisms, but this Russian export, inexplicably shelved for over a decade after its completion, proves to be a rare exception. The film is a tense, realistic drama of the struggles against treachery (both internal and external) in a homeland held captive by enemy soldiers, and is as taut and exciting as it is intelligent and thoughtful. A former traitor, after collaborating with the Nazis to save his own life, surrenders to a partisan brigade operating deep within Fascist-held territory. Scorned and distrusted by his comrades, he must prove his loyalty in a daring daytime hijacking of a German munitions train. The film combines complex characters with exciting action sequences to create a striking and memorable drama, building to an edge-of-seat climax and photographed with crystal-clear, wide-screen black and white imagery.