The Diamond Arm (1969)

An ordinary Soviet citizen accidentally intervenes into a huge operation of international criminal group that trades illegally obtained jewelry.

Director:

Leonid Gaidai

Writers:

Moris Slobodskoy (screenplay by), Yakov Kostyukovskiy (screenplay by)

Stars:

Yuriy Nikulin, Nina Grebeshkova, Andrey Mironov

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yuriy Nikulin	...	Semyon Semyonych Gorbunkov / Senya
Nina Grebeshkova	...	Nadezhda Gorbunkova
Andrey Mironov	...	Gennady Kozodoev
Anatoliy Papanov	...	Lyolik
Stanislav Chekan	...	Captain Mikhail Ivanovich
Vladimir Gulyaev	...	Lieutenant Volodya
Nonna Mordyukova	...	Superintendent
Svetlana Svetlichnaya	...	Anna Sergeyevna
Roman Filippov	...	Man in the Restaurant
Grigoriy Shpigel	...	Main Foreign Smuggler
Leonid Kanevskiy	...	Assisstant Foreign Smuggler
Igor Yasulovich	...	Dog Owner
Maksim Nikulin	...	Boy, 'Walking on Water'
Aleksandra Lisyutina	...	Gorbunkov's Daughter (as Sashenka)
Aleksandr Khvylya	...	Weeping Willow' Maitre dHotel

Storyline

Semyon Gorbunkov goes on a cruise. In Istanbul, he slips and breaks his arm. What he didn't know is that this was a signal for a gang of smugglers (a real smuggler - Gena - was also on board the same ship). So his arm gets bandaged with gold and diamonds. After he returns home, the gangsters are trying to get their stuff back, while the police try to catch them using Gorbunkov and his arm.

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Plot Keywords:

umbrella | smuggler | switch | plaster cast | coin | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

The well-known quote of the film, "I won't be surprised if we are to find out your husband is secretly seeing a mistress," was originally, "I won't be surprised if we are to find out your husband is secretly going to synagogue." However, the Communist Party Committee of Ideology banned the phrase, because they felt it was "too anti-Semitic for the USSR". The phrase was re-dubbed, however, the original meaning can be easily spotted by looking at actors lips.

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Goofs

The first part of the film takes place in what is supposed to be Turkey. But the streets are filled with signs in Arabic script, which Turkish does not use.

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Quotes

Lyolik: Come on, get up, let's go to Boss!
Gennady: Oh, no, I can't. I need to have a bath, drink a cup of cofee...
Lyolik: You'll have a bath, you'll have some cofee, you'll have cacao with tea! Let's go!

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Crazy Credits

The summary of the first part of the movie, written in an extremely small and blurry font, races through the screen in a matter of two seconds.

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Connections

Referenced in Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (2014)

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Soundtracks

Pomogi mne!
("Help me!")
Written by Aleksandr Zatsepin and Leonid Derbenyov
Performed by Aida Vedishcheva

User Reviews

The funniest Russian comedy

A regular guy goes on a cruise abroad, gets mistaken for a mafia courier and receives a load of diamonds in the bandage on his broken arm. Mafia tries to return the goods, KGB tries to catch mafia, and our hero struggles in between. Tons of great humor. Many jokes from this absolutely hilarious comedy have made it into everyday language. I would like to invite visitors to see pictures from the movie and watch a detailed trailer at RussArt.com. Those who read Russian can find more materials useful: reviews, actor biographies, articles, etc.

Pictures: http://russart.com/?moviepictures&mid=10

Trailer: http://russart.com/?movietrailer&mid=10

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Diamond Arm

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1