The musical film âWedding in the Robinâ (1967) became one of the most popular Soviet films of that period. Confined to the fiftieth anniversary of the October Revolution, filmed on the operetta of the same name by the Soviet composer and choirmaster Boris Alexandrov, the comedy took the leading second place among other talented and famous films.
Where did you shoot âThe Wedding in Robinâ? What is the story of its creation and television rental? What actors were involved in the filming? This will be discussed in this article.
However, before you find out how the film âThe Wedding in the Robinâ was shot, let's briefly get acquainted with its content.
A little bit about the plot
What time are the events described in the comedy âWedding at the Robinâ? The 1967 film tells of the events of bygone days associated with the brutal fratricidal Civil War. The filmâs actions take the audience in 1919 to an ordinary Ukrainian village, where people who are tired of military and political hardship live.
Everyone is looking forward to the wedding of the local beauty Yarinka and the courageous shepherd Andreika. However, not everything is so simple on the path of lovers.
An enemy gang appears in the village, the chieftain of which feels himself master and lord of not only the village, but also people. He laid eyes on a beautiful girl and wants to make her his wife.
Yarinka escapes from the heartless villain and asks for help from the Red Army spies, whom she accidentally met in the forest. Those agree to help, but with the condition that the girl agreed to the wedding with her unloved, thereby luring the bandits into a trap. Fearless Yarinka agrees. What will come of this - you can find out by watching the TV story to the end. We will return from the plot âWeddings in the Robinâ to our main theme.
Choosing a movie studio
So where did they shoot âThe Wedding in Robinâ? Definitely answering this question is quite difficult. First of all, it should be clarified that landscape shooting of the film was carried out in Ukraine, and pavilion (or interior) - in St. Petersburg, at the Leningrad film studio.
Why did they entrust the shooting to Lenfilm?
The fact is that according to Goskinoâs original plan, the project was to be supervised by the Ukrainian film studio named after Alexander Dovzhenko, geographically located in Kiev. However, the studio management considered the future film unserious and unprofitable, therefore, refused to participate in the filming. And lost it.
The shooting took place at the Lenfilm film studio.
The âWedding in Robinâ captivated the hearts of Soviet citizens so much that it was awarded many prizes and awards, not to mention the long-lasting public recognition and veneration.
Location
Concerning the specific village where the âWedding in the Robinâ was filmed, ambiguous judgments still exist. The fact is that there are two alleged places in which shooting of nature could take place. This is the village of Malinovka, located in the Kharkov region (Chuguevsky district) and the village of Malinovka in the Poltava region (Globinsky district).
Also, a lot of filming was carried out in the Lubensky district of the Poltava region. Here in the small village of Khoroshki, founded on the banks of the Sula River, a manor house was found that is completely similar to the description of an operetta estate. Therefore, the Leningrad film crew âWeddings in the Robinâ went exactly here to take real shots that were included in the picture against the background of the old building.
Not far from the village, on the other side of the river, there is another village - Matskovtsy, where the director and cameramen chose other perspectives for a movie camera. First of all, it was an old mill, a school and other interesting sights preserved from pre-revolutionary years.
So, we found out where we filmed âThe Wedding in the Robinâ. Now let's get acquainted with interesting cases that happened to actors on the set.
Rural life
It is interesting how the actors and the film crew of Lenfilm responded about filming everyday life. Reliable information about this can be obtained from the detailed and enthusiastic stories of Mikhail Pugovkin, which he shared in his frequent interviews with reporters.
For several months, the actors had to plunge into real rural life. They lodged with ordinary villagers - local residents who met with metropolitan artists with hospitality. The village specificity and national identity, with which the actors constantly met, helped them to more easily get used to folk images and to feel life in the village from the inside.
Pugovkin and his wife lived with wealthy peasants, who hospitablely accepted and hosted the star of Soviet cinema. According to the actorâs stories, every evening, the hospitable hosts gathered almost the entire film crew in their garden (and the garden was huge, about a hundred trees) and watered the tired artists with tea with aromatic apple jam. Such gatherings remained pleasant memories in the hearts of not only actors, but also local residents.
Pugovkinâs wife, Alexandra, did not hesitate to help the owners with the housework and often fed their feathered animals (chickens, geese and ducks) in the morning.
Local help
In general, the villagers with feeling met the film crew âWeddings in Robinâ in their homes. They not only hospitably provided the delegates with accommodation, but also provided them with fresh home-made products - fresh milk, lard, eggs.
However, this was not limited to the help of local residents. Poltava residents, struck by unprecedented guests, could stand for days near the set, forgetting about their daily affairs. Such close attention did not interfere with the film studio. Quite the contrary.
Almost all the villagers participated in the crowd, carefully following all the instructions of the director and cameraman. Moreover, sometimes local residents gave advice on how to correctly take a particular shot or how to correctly reproduce a particular situation.
For example, once a film crew didnât manage to beautifully shoot one shot, as one of the characters drinks from a jug. Milk constantly poured, and the scene turned out to be wrong and ugly. One of the locals suggested tying the rope to the neck of the jug, and then the milk flowed as needed - in a thin stream.
And how the local beauties danced! For dance scenes, the metropolitan team âZhokâ was specially written out. However, the city dancers were uncomfortable dancing on their bare feet, as required by the script. But the Poltava women of all ages and complexions incendiaryly performed folk dances on camera.
Pugovkin learns to dance
With regard to folk dances, Mikhail Pugovkin shared in an interview that he had learned to perform specific dance movements specifically for the film for a month and a half. And this despite the fact that the actor had a secondary role, and the dance itself took no more than one or two minutes in the tape!
Regarding the role of Pugovkin, it should be said that the actor, like no other, managed to raise almost an episodic role to the rank of central and beloved by everyone. Thanks to the talent and skill of the actor, as well as his ability to make laugh and improvise, the character of Pugovkin became a popular favorite, and the artist himself received several awards and distinctions.
Actors and roles âWeddings in Robinâ
If you revise the film, it becomes clear that professionals worked on it. The actors and roles of âWeddings in the Robinâ are thought out to the smallest detail. Each artist corresponds to the character he plays. It is as if it merges with the image, realistically conveying the thoughts and feelings of his hero.
Female central role performer
What else can be said about the performers of the legendary film? Very interesting and noteworthy is the story of the choice of the central heroine of the film - the mother of Yarinka. According to the scenario, a woman raising an adult daughter should have a strong-willed character and courageous beauty. Having survived the tragedy, the wife of a revolutionary soldier, she was the main figure of the whole work.
An experienced Leningrad actress was approved for the role of Sophia. However, right before filming, she fell ill and was unable to take part in the production of the film. The director had to whip up to look for another actress.
Among those who came to the casting, Lyudmila Alfimova stood out especially - serious and beautiful, with a smart look and some tragic spark in her eyes. At first, the director didnât like the young woman - which of these young people will turn out Sofia, a life-hardened soldier? However, when Lyudmila Ivanovna was dressed in a national costume and made up (put a shadow under her eyes and deepened wrinkles), it immediately became clear to everyone that this was exactly what the wife of the revolutionary, mother Yarinka, should be.
History of Mikhail Pugovkin
According to the stories of the famous actor, the director of the picture from the very beginning saw him in the Yashka-gunner - Mikhail Ivanovich. However, the assistant for actors for some personal reasons did not want to invite Pugovkin, so she constantly pretended that she could not find the actor and invite him to the role.
Finally, the director was tired of this situation and he personally called Mikhail Ivanovich, after which it turned out that the artist was free and ready to start work. So the Soviet film industry almost lost a bright and comedic character!
What remains behind the scenes
Of course, these are not all interesting and little-known facts regarding the creation of musical comedy. If we list all the intricacies and surprises that occur before and after the filming of the film, then thousands of pages will not be enough.
However, there are such remarkable cases that it is simply impossible not to mention. They are directly related to the main theme of the film - true love. It turns out that on the set of the film several people found their soul mate.
Among them should be mentioned actress Lyudmila Alfimova, whom the chairman from a neighboring collective farm loved. He gallantly courted the artist, and at the end of filming he confessed his feelings. They say that love was mutual and the couple got married. However, this happened twenty years later, since the lovers were not free.
Another chance acquaintance also ended in marriage. The directorâs driver, a young pretty girl, was liked by the local resident Volodya, after which he left for the beloved in the capital, where he offered her a hand and a heart. According to old-timers, the couple had two children.
As you can see, the musical comedy âWedding in the Robinâ has connected more than one loving heart. Isn't this what one should expect from a film with such a beautiful symbolic name ?!