BRATYA KOMAROVY (THE KOMAROV BROTHERS)

Loosely based on three short stories by Yuri Nagibin — “Komarov”, “Old Turtle” and “Mad Bull”. Three boys — the three Komarov brothers — open for themselves the poetic world of nature full of miracles and wonders, the world of human relations. This summer has turned out to be a particular one…

The young engineer, Zotov, is appointed a supervisor of the remote 406 outpost of a railroad being constructed in Siberia. The railroad construciton workers, who live in dark and cold mud huts, do not treat the new supervisor too friendly: they are tired of hard labor and poor living conditions. But finally there comes the day when builders move into a new house which they built with their own hands. And this day turned out to be a double holiday for Zotov — his fiance has arrived! But soon again life returns back to its old routine. A new group of workers arrive to the construction site and again the cold hut is filled with people.

Prokhor Lykov is nicknamed the 'water sprite' because of his passion for fishing. He spends all his days sitting by a lake with a fishing rod in his hands.

Each day, he starts fishing at dawn. His wife constantly grumbles and villagers make jokes about him. He might have been regarded as a good-for-nothing all his life. But the collective farm chairman finds a good application for Prokhor's hobby.

532 GORIZONT (THE HORIZON)

1961, 100 min., b/w

Melodrama

Director: Iosif Heifits, screenplay: Grigory Baklanov, camera: Vadim Derbenev, Viktor Karasev, Alexander Chirkov, production designers: Bella Manevich, Isaak Kaplan, misic: Nadezhda Simonyan, sound: Konstantin Lashkov

Cast: Yuri Tolubeyev, Boris Chirkov, Alexander Safonov, Vladimir Nosik, Maya Bulgakova, Geliy Sysoyev, Svetlana Melkova

Twelve youngsters, who have just graduated from school, go to a far away part of the country to cultivate the virgin farm land. Little by little they are getting used to hard labor and hard living conditions. Sergei Novoskoltsev, who always wants to be the leader, comes into conflict with his fellows. The situation is further complicated by the disgraceful way he treats Rimma, the girl who loves him. Problems increase and Sergei considers leaving this place and deserting “the labour front”. However, at the last moment he realizes that his duty is to stay with his comrades.

New neighbours — a father and a daughter — move into a house where Fedya Streltsov lives. Fedya and Nadya became friends, they share the desk at school and do their homework together. Nadya is the first person to whom Fedya confides his poignant secret--- he doubted his father's honesty. Fortunately, all ends well, except that the boy has to part with his friend. Nadya and her father moved to the Far East, to work on a large-scale construction project.

The “Thick Rope” cooperative is entwining three thin ropes to make one thick one, and the “Thin Rope” cooperative uses one thick rope to make three thin ones. As a result there are neither thick nor thin ropes at a local store. A funny story of cooperative swindlers.

Being on holiday, Michel, a famous actor, stopped training himself and nearly ruined the circus performance. It was a little bear Mishutka that saved the day and performed Michel's star turn — the flight under the top of the circus tent.

Film version of the Leningrad State Comedy Theatre production based on comic short stories by Anton Chekhov

Based on a novel of the same title by Nobel Prize winner Mikhail Sholokhov

A Soviet boat is transporting an unusual and very expensive shipment -tigers, lions, and a mischievous monkey. This shipment is accompanied by Shumeikin, a cook working for the trade mission who pretends to be a tamer.

At sea the monkey opens the cages of the wild beasts and this leads to a series of funny adventures.

539 RAZDUMYA… (CONTEMPLATIONS)

1961, 75 min., b/w

Melodrama

Director: Tamara Rodionova, screenplay:Alexei Kiva, Mikhail Krakovsky, camera: Oleg Kukhovarenko, production designer: Georgy Kropachev, misic:Nadezhda Simonyan, sound: Nikolai Kosarev

Cast: Yuri Tolubeyev, Dmitri Barkov, Evgeni Lebedev, Nina Mamayeva, Fiodor Nikitin, Julian Panich

After graduating from school Kostya Migunov goes to work for the same factory where his father has been working for almost 40 years. Yakov Ivanovich treats his son with particular strictness because he is not serious in his approach to work.

Kostya's first day at the factory is full of new impressions. He manages to make some mischief, and also to help elders solve some pressing problem.

540 SAMIYE PERVIYE (THE VERY FIRST ONES)

1961, 95 min., b/w

Melodrama

Director: Anatoly Grannik, screenplay: Alexei Tverskoy, camera: Muzakir Shurukov, production designer: Nikolai Suvorov, misic: Isaac Schwartz, sound: Semyon Shumyacher

Cast: Igor Pushkarev, Nina Drobysheva, Lyudmila Shagalova, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Samoiolv, Oleg Zhakov

Pilot Sergei Sazonov is offered to join a group of astronauts. He keeps his new job in secret from everybody, including his wife Natasha.

He goes with his wife to the reception in the Kremlin in honour of Yuri Gagarin’s flight and there he is told about beginning of a new program to train astronauts for flight to the Moon.

541 STAROZHIL (OLD TIMER)

1961, 72 min., b/w

Melodrama

Director: Iskander Khamrayev, screenplay: Nikodim Gippius, camera:Konstantin Ryzhov, production designer: Semyon Malkin, misic: Nikolai Chervinsky, sound: Rostislav Lapinsky

Cast: Vitya Perevalov, Tolya Arkhipov, Misha Yekimov, Valya Nekhnayeva

Andrei Kutikov was the first child born in a new workers' town and one of the streets of this town has been named after him. As time went on, the town expands and Andrei grows up. He is a liar and always full of mischief. One day a new boy comes to Andrei's class. Unintentionally, Andrei begins to imitate the manner of the serious and reliable Boris and hardly notices that his life is beginning to change.

Based on the adventure fiction novel “The Amphibian Man” by Alexander Belyaev

A small seacoast town is full of rumors about a 'sea devil.' A wealthy merchant, Zurita, who trades in pearls, does not believe in it until he runs into the 'devil' under dramatic circumstances. After that he is eager to get this ‘devil' and use him for his own purposes. The 'devil' is an ordinary, or, to be precise, extraordinary young man. When he was a small child a doctor saved his life by transplanting shark's gills into the boy's body. As a result, the boy, Ichtiander, can live both on land and in water. Ichtiander falls in love with Guttiere, the girl Zurita is going to marry, and becomes Zurita's sworn enemy and prisoner…

543 YAVLENIYE VENERY (THE PHENOMENON OF VENUS)

In 1761 scientists were expecting the planet of Venus to cross the sun's path. Mikhail Lomonosov tried to set up research expedition to Siberia to observe this phenomenon but his request was denied by authorities.

Abbe Chapp is going from Paris to the Siberian town of Tobolsk. The Academy of Sciences sends two Russian expeditions to accompany the French scientist. Lomonosov is observing the Venus in St. Petersburg and makes a discovery that Venus has an atmosphere.

544 GRYESHNY ANGEL (THE SINFUL ANGEL)

1962, 99 min., b/w

Drama

Director: Gennady Kazansky screenplay: Mikhail Berestinsky, camera:Muzakir Shurukov, production designer: Semyon Malkin, misic: Nadezhda Simonyan, sound: Rostislav Lapinsky, Boris Antonov

Cast: Olga Krasina, Nikolai Volkov, Sr., Nina Veselovskaya, Gennady Frolov, Yuri Medvedev, Boris Chirkov, Galina Volchek, Alexei Kozhevnikov

Fourteen-year old Vera Telegina sees the sea for the first time in her life. She happened to come to this place by accident. She had nowhere to go. Police sergeant Stavridi finds out that the girl's parents fell victim to political repressions and places the girl in a boarding school.

Vera had to go through a lot of suffering. Several times she was on the verge despair. It was the support of her friends and the sympathy of adults that helped Vera to survive. In the spring of 1953 she finally receives a telegram from her parents…

545 DIKAYA SOBAKA DINGO (WILD DINGO DOG)

1962, 97 min., b/w

Melodrama

Director: Yuli Karasik, screenplay: Anatoly Grebnev, camera: Vyacheslav Fastovich, production designer: Viktor Volin, music: Isaac Schwarts, sound: Boris Khutpryansky

Cast: Galina Polskikh, Vladimir Osobik, Talas Umurzakov, Anna Rodionova, Inna Kondratyeva, Nikolai Timofeyev, Tamara Loginova

Loosely based on “Wild Dingo Dog or The First Love Story”, a novel by R.Friermann.

Tanya was an unruly and unpredictable girl bent on having things her way. Her nickname was “Wild Dingo Dog”. Tanya's father, who had long time ago left Tanya and her mother, unexpectedly comes to this small seacoast town with his new wife and adopted son Kostya. Tanya falls in love with Kostya, but her first love — deep and tender — turns out to be unhappy.

• 
  The film was awarded “ St. Marcus Golden Lion “ – the Grand Prix of the International Film Festival in Venice (1962) and the “Golden Bough “ Premium of the above Festival.
  

Two old factory workers Sukhov and Solyanov, are old buddies. All their life they have been working at the same factory and living in the same neighborhood. Once Solyanov decides to retire and the two friends quarrel. However, soon Solyanov finds out that it is not easy for him to part with the factory. He realizes that the factory's young workers need his knowledge and his experience. It turns out that his old friend, who reproached him, was right.

Based on a short story by Viktor Konetsky.

Shatalov and ‘Manya' (the nickname of Alexei) became friends in a naval college. Later, their careers developed differently. ’Manya' becomes the commander of a submarine. Shatalov, punished for criminal negligence in the performance of his duties, is transferred to coastal service. As a professional naval officer, he finds this situation unbearable. One day, he receives a telegram from the Russian Far North. His friend ‘Manya' asks him to come there.

548 ZAVTRASHNIYE ZABOTY (TOMORROW'S TROUBLES)

1962, 75 min., b/w

Melodrama

Director: Georgy Aronov, screenplay: Budemir Metalnikov, camera:Konstantin Ryzhov, production designer: Mikhail Ivanov, misic: Andrei Prigozhin, sound: Semyon Shumyacher

Cast: Anatoly Azo, Yelena Dobronravova, Sergei Plotnikov, Vera Titova, Yuri Dedovich

Based on a short story by Viktor Konetsky

It turned out to be a very difficult voyage for captain Gleb Volnov. The crew of the ship consists of naval college students who are going to sea for the first time. The mechanic, Bitov, father of Gleb's late friend, returns to the ship after a long stay on land. Besides the captain is going through a deep personal crisis. He unintentionally hurts a woman very dear to him and it lies heavily on his soul.

It is a long voyage and Gleb has plenty of time to sort it all out.

At the turn of the century two Russians leave for America and a few

years later they send a letter to Lev Tolstoy. Half a century later

Pyotr Lobach, Pavel Okhrimenko and Lev Tolstoy's secretary Nikolai Gusev are recalling these times.

The film consists of fragments of films made by “Lenfilm “.

Fresh from high school, Valerka has to make a decision about his career. He cherishes romantic dreams about travelling to far off places, but fails his exam to enter naval college. Thus he goes to work as a stagehand in a theatre but soon he gives up his job and falls in love with his neighbour, Inga, who dreams of the sweat life. After a series of misfortunes, Valerka finally finds out his path in life. He gets a job at the seaport where his father has been working as a docker all his life, and enters correspondence courses at a college.

A jolly little boy is hurrying up to the skating rink. An old man in the street suddenly falls ill. The boy helps him to get home, goes to the drug store for some medicine and calls the ambulance. The old war veteran is taken to the hospital. He tells the boy that he wishes he had such a messenger on the front. The boy falls asleep and has a dream that he is a soldier, fighting and defeating the enemy. He wakes up to find himself sitting in the hospital ward. The doctor tells him that the old man had been operated on and that the operation was quite successful.

Based on a short story by A. Zilberbort

On the eve of the national championship, players of a football

team are feeling very depressed. Their coach is sick, it has been

raining for several days and no one wants to begin the training.

The sudden appearance of the club's towel boy, who asks the players to take him as goalkeeper, cheers the sportsmen up. They go to the playing field taking the persistent boy with them…

Based on a short story by Sergei Antonov

A young journalist, Sirotkin, visits a timber company in Siberia in

order to write a story about the driver Khromov. After becoming familiar with the work of the company Sirotkin finds out that Khromov is involved in illegal deals with the director of the company. Fearing the disclosure of his crimes the director orders Khromov to kill the journalist on the way back…

• 
  The film was awarded the Silver Prize and the Diploma of the
  
• 
  International Film Festival in Moscow (1963).