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The Golden Key

Original title: Zolotoy klyuchik
  • 19391939
  • 1h 10m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
199
YOUR RATING
The Golden Key (1939)
  • Family
  • Fantasy
The adventures of a wooden boy.The adventures of a wooden boy.The adventures of a wooden boy.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
199
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Aleksandr Ptushko
  • Writers
    • Carlo Collodi(story "Pinocchio")
    • Nikolay Leshchenko
    • Lyudmila Tolstaya
  • Stars
    • Aleksandr Shchagin
    • Sergey Martinson
    • Olga Shaganova-Obraztsova(voice)
Top credits
  • Director
    • Aleksandr Ptushko
  • Writers
    • Carlo Collodi(story "Pinocchio")
    • Nikolay Leshchenko
    • Lyudmila Tolstaya
  • Stars
    • Aleksandr Shchagin
    • Sergey Martinson
    • Olga Shaganova-Obraztsova(voice)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos18

    Olga Shaganova-Obraztsova in The Golden Key (1939)
    Tamara Adelgeym in The Golden Key (1939)
    Georgiy Uvarov in The Golden Key (1939)
    Olga Shaganova-Obraztsova in The Golden Key (1939)
    Sergey Martinson and Aleksandr Shchagin in The Golden Key (1939)
    Olga Shaganova-Obraztsova and Aleksandr Shchagin in The Golden Key (1939)
    Olga Shaganova-Obraztsova in The Golden Key (1939)
    Sergey Martinson and Aleksandr Shchagin in The Golden Key (1939)
    Sergey Martinson and Aleksandr Shchagin in The Golden Key (1939)
    The Golden Key (1939)
    The Golden Key (1939)
    The Golden Key (1939)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Aleksandr Shchagin
    • Karabas Barabasas Karabas Barabas
    • (as A. Shchagin)
    Sergey Martinson
    Sergey Martinson
    • Duremar, village knaveas Duremar, village knave
    • (as S. Martinson)
    Olga Shaganova-Obraztsova
    • Buratinoas Buratino
    • (voice)
    • (as O. Shaganova-Obraztsova)
    Georgiy Uvarov
    • Papa Carloas Papa Carlo
    • (as G. Uvarov)
    Nikolay Bogolyubov
    Nikolay Bogolyubov
    • Captain of the airshipas Captain of the airship
    • (as N. Bogolyubov)
    Mikhail Dagmarov
    • Giuseppeas Giuseppe
    • (as M. Dogmarov)
    Tamara Adelgeym
    • Malvinaas Malvina
    • (voice)
    • (as T. Adelgeym)
    R. Khairova
    • Pierrotas Pierrot
    • (voice)
    Nikolai Michurin
    • Sandroas Sandro
    • (as N. Michurin)
    Vasiliy Krasnoshchyokov
    Vasiliy Krasnoshchyokov
    • Policemanas Policeman
    • (uncredited)
    Georgiy Millyar
    Georgiy Millyar
    • Clownas Clown
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Aleksandr Ptushko
    • Writers
      • Carlo Collodi(story "Pinocchio") (uncredited)
      • Nikolay Leshchenko
      • Lyudmila Tolstaya
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Pinocchio

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film was restored, with some alterations, in 1959. Both versions are available online.
    • Connections
      Featured in Fisiologiya russkoy zhizni (1995)

    User reviews1

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    The Russian Pinocchio...
    Having really liked all of Ptushko's films, especially Stone Flower and The Tale of Tsar Sultan, I knew I wanted to see The Golden Key. And after seeing it on Youtube, I'm glad I did. The New Gulliver, also directed by Ptushko, is perhaps more historically significant regarding stop-motion animation, but as a piece of storytelling and fantasy I personally prefer the lesser-known The Golden Key. It is a beautiful-looking film, the sets are lavish and shot with simplicity but elegance and atmosphere. The stop-motion is not quite as impressive as it is in The New Gulliver(of which Ray Harryhausen held in high regard), but is done with great detail and care and used very well throughout. I fell in love with the music, the score itself is lushly orchestrated and charming in its lyricism. The very Russian-folk-song-sounding song is just beautiful and not one I'm going to forget in a long while, I also loved how it was sung with a light lyrical tenor voice(like Russia's answer to a slightly richer-sounding John McCormack). The story is told with a real sense of wonder, with charm, with heart and a dose of humour. The more antagonistic elements of the film are appropriately menacing and used in a way that's not too heavy-handed. The climax is exciting and rounds off nicely. The dialogue reflects these qualities and tell the story well, even though I'm not Russian my Russian lessons for my operatic vocal studies degree is helping enormously so I got at least the gist of what was being said. It helped also that the facial expressions of the characters, all of which are compelling and none feel pointless to the storytelling in any way, told a lot. The acting has a command and nobility, if occasionally on the broad side. The voices for the stop-motion characters are appropriate and generally very well done and emotive, though the pitch some of it is voiced in might get on your nerves a bit. Overall, a very good film and underrated. If you like Ptushko, fantasy, stop-motion or all, you'll find plenty to like with The Golden Key. 9/10 Bethany Cox
    helpful•5
    0
    • TheLittleSongbird
    • May 27, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 20, 1939 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Soviet Union
    • Language
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • Zlatan ključić
    • Production company
      • Mosfilm
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 10 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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