Gentlemen of Fortune (1971)
"Dzhentlmeny udachi" (original title)

A kindergarten director Troshkin is a dead ringer for a criminal nicknamed "Docent" who stole the priceless headpiece of Alexander the Great during an archaeological expedition. But after ... See full summary »

Director:

Aleksandr Seryj

Writers:

Georgiy Daneliya, Viktoriya Tokareva

Stars:

Evgeniy Leonov, Georgiy Vitsin, Radner Muratov

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Evgeniy Leonov	...	Evgeni Ivanovich Troshkin; «Dotsent» San Sanich Belyi
Georgiy Vitsin	...	Khmyr / Sad Sack
Radner Muratov	...	Vasily Alibabayevich / Ali-Baba
Saveli Kramarov	...	Fedya Yermakov / Cross Eyes
Natalya Fateeva	...	Lyudmila, archeologist's daughter
Erast Garin	...	Nikolai Grigorevich Maltsev, archeologist
Nikolay Olyalin	...	Colonel Verchenko (as N. Olyalin)
Anatoliy Papanov	...	Chess Player in Hotel
Pavel Shpringfeld	...	Cloakroom attendant
Lyubov Sokolova	...	Kindergarten Principal
Oleg Vidov	...	Lieutenant Vladimir Slavin
Aleksey Vanin	...	The old thief
Natalya Vorobyova	...	Elena
Zoya Vasilkova	...	Dvornichikha
Galina Mikeladze	...	(as G. Mikeladze)

Storyline

A kindergarten director Troshkin is a dead ringer for a criminal nicknamed "Docent" who stole the priceless headpiece of Alexander the Great during an archaeological expedition. But after militia "inputs" Troshkin into the criminal environment he has nothing left to do but to carefully play out the part of his "evil twin".

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Plot Keywords:

criminal | kindergarten | loot | schoolteacher | soviet union | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

13 December 1971 (Soviet Union)

Also Known As:

Gentlemen of Fortune

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Dotsent" is a common Russian academic title, roughly corresponding to "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, a comedy-drama that starred Edward G. Robinson in a similar dual role.

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Goofs

When Troshkin is being hit by Mikola in prison, Troshkin's pants already have a dirt mark in the back, most probably from rehearsals.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Fedya Yermakov: Trrrr. I guess there are snakes here.
Khmyr: What snakes?

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Connections

Remade as Dzhentlmeny, udachi! (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Novogodnyaya pesenka"
("New Year Song")
Music by Gennadiy Gladkov
Lyrics by Igor Shaferan

User Reviews

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).