"Czterej pancerni i pies" (1966) TV series

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Directors:

Andrzej Czekalski
Konrad Nalecki

Writers:

Maria Przymanowska (writer)
Janusz Przymanowski (novel)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

25 September 1966 (Poland)

Genre:

War | Adventure

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Colonel | Corporal | Tank | WWII

Cast

Janusz Gajos	...	Cpl. / ... (21 episodes, 1966-1970)
Franciszek Pieczka	...	Cpl. / ... (21 episodes, 1966-1970)
Wlodzimierz Press	...	Sgt. Grigorij Saakaszwili (21 episodes, 1966-1970)
Malgorzata Niemirska	...	Sgt. Lidka Wisniewska (17 episodes, 1966-1970)
Witold Pyrkosz	...	Cpl. Franek Wichura (16 episodes, 1966-1970)
Pola Raksa	...	Marusia 'Ogoniok' (14 episodes, 1966-1970)
Wieslaw Golas	...	Pvt. Tomek Czeresniak (13 episodes, 1968-1970)
Tadeusz Kalinowski	...	Col. Tadeusz (13 episodes, 1966-1970)
Janusz Klosinski	...	Sgt. Czernousow (12 episodes, 1966-1970)

Runtime:

55 min (21 episodes)

Country:

Poland

Language:

Russian | Polish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Aleksandrów Lódzki, Poland

Company:

Zespol Filmowy "Syrena"

Trivia:

Bronislaw Pawlik was originally offered the role of Ensign Zenek.

Soundtrack:

Deszcze niespokojne

a cult Polish TV series

This classic TV series has become an instant cult phenomenon in Poland from the moment it first hit the screens in 1966. Entire generations of young Polish boys have been raised on it (including myself), often playing under the tables pretending that it's the ''Rudy'' tank. The Communist propaganda didn't matter and was actually quite weak. In fact, the series felt more pro-Russian (and pro-Georgian) than pro-Communist. And it even contained a few thinly-veiled hints of Stalinist crimes: after all, when we first meet Janek, he lives in the middle of the Siberian taiga forest. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how he got there - he was certainly deported along with 1 or 2 millions other Poles in 1939-1941. There are also various characters in the series who refer to various nasty gossips about the Soviet Red Army - an oblique way of acknowledging that the Soviet ''liberation'' of Poland wasn't perceived as such by many (if not most) Poles.

The series is divided into 21 episodes of 1 hour each. In the first 8 episodes, we follow Janek, Gustlik, Grigorij and their boss Olgierd from Oka (in 1943) to Gdansk (in March 1945). The war is almost over, Olgierd dies, but then the series is resurrected for 13 more episodes that last barely a month (from March to May 1945). Tomek Czeresniak joins the crew that fights German saboteurs on the Pomeranian seacoast and then joins the big offensive across the Odra river all the way to Berlin. Generally speaking, the later episodes are slightly better than the earlier ones - the action scenes are more exciting, and Wieslaw Golas (playing Tomek) is way more fun than Roman Wilhelmi (who plays Olgierd). Particularly exciting is the episode when the tank crew is taken prisoner by the Germans near the Odra river, and the ''Rudy'' tank is used as target practice on an artillery range. The episode when the tank enters the flooded subway tunnels in Berlin is also very impressive.