Dzhentlmeny udachi (1972)

Director:

Aleksandr Seryj

Writers:

Georgi Daneliya (writer)
Viktoriya Tokareva (writer)

Release Date:

6 April 1973 (East Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

A kindergarten director Troshkin is a dead ringer for a criminal nicknamed "Docent" who stole the priceless...

Plot Keywords:

Criminal | Schoolteacher | Disguise | Escape From Prison | Road Trip

Cast

Evgeni Leonov	...	Troshkin / Dotsent / Professor
Georgiy Vitsin	...	Khmyr / Sad Sack
Radner Muratov	...	Vasily Alibabayevich / Ali-Baba
Saveli Kramarov	...	Fedya Yermakov / Cross Eyes
Natalya Fateyeva	...	Lyudmila, archeologist's daughter
Erast Garin	...	Nikolai Grigorevich Maltsev, archeologist
Nikolay Olyalin	...	Colonel Verchenko (as N. Olyalin)
Anatoli Papanov	...	Chess Player in Hotel
Pavel Shpringfeld	...	Cloakroom attendant
Lyubov Sokolova	...	Kindergarten Principal
Oleg Vidov	...	Lieutenant Vladimir Slavin
Aleksei Vanin	...	The old thief
Natalya Vorobyova	...	Elena
Zoya Vasilkova	...	Dvornichikha
Galina Mikeladze		(as G. Mikeladze)

Also Known As:

Джентльмены удачи (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Gentlemen of Fortune (USA) (video title)
Gentlemen of Luck

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-8

Company:

Mosfilm

Trivia:

"Dotsent" is a common Russian academic title, roughly corresponding to "The Professor" in the USA. The plot of a timid ordinary citizen being mistaken for a hardened criminal and becoming involved in catching the crooks goes back in US film history at least to John Ford's The Whole Town's Talking (1935), a comedy-drama that starred Edward G. Robinson in a similar dual role.

Goofs:

Plot holes: When they are playing in the snow in front of the dacha, the fake tattoos come off and smudges of ink are visible on the fake Docent's torso. None of the criminals seem to notice.

Quotes:

Vasily Alibabayevich: [Reading Khmyr's child's letter] Dear dad! When mom and I found out that you were in jail, we got very excited. And mom also got very excited because we thought you were dead. Mom kept telling me that you were a test pilot.
Fedya Yermakov: He's a thief pilot, stole everybody's money and blamed it on a cab driver.

Soundtrack:

Novogodnyaya pesenka

A truly classic Russian comedy

This is my favorite Russian comedy, and although it is 30 years old, people still enjoy it more than most other comedies today. A satiric and witty movie that revolves around an adventurous plot. The plot is basically that a convict (Dotsent) escapes from prison and the militia (Russian police) find the criminal's lookalike, a kindergarten teacher. He goes undercover and pretends to be a criminal to help the militia find the where the real convict has hidden a stolen mask. He makes a phony escape from the prison with two others, who think he is the real Dotsent. He eventually befriends with them and they become attached, but I won't reveal the rest. From my plot review it might seem as a violent movie or something like that, but actually it is good for the entire family. The movie is entertaining throughout and if you want to see a comparison with an American equivalent, it's like a lot like Seinfeld because it's a situational comedy. If you are a fan of Russian cinematography and haven't seen this one, watch it right away because this is a true classic with some of the greatest Russian actors (see cast).