The legendary meter of Soviet cinema Eldar Ryazanov presented his viewers with more than one wonderful movie. But, probably, one of the most beloved is the legendary comedy “Watch Out for the Car”.
Plot
In this picture, Ryazanov tells the story of an unremarkable Gosstrakh employee named Yuri Detochkin.
Despite the apparent dullness, he manages to live a double life. He works diligently during the day in the service, and steals cars at night . Soon, the police became seriously interested in his activities and the investigation was entrusted to investigator Maxim Podberezovikov. Looking for a clever hijacker, the investigator does not even suspect that he is very close. Indeed, in his free time, Maxim and Yuri play in an amateur theater. And it recently decided to stage Shakespeare's play Hamlet and the main roles went to Detochkin and Podberezovikov. Working together on the play, the hijacker and investigator become friends. After some time, the investigator begins to suspect Detochkin and he manages to find evidence of his guilt. However, before arresting his friend, he decides to talk heart to heart with him. During the conversation, it turns out that Yuri stole cars only from crooks, and sent the proceeds from their sale to orphanages. Pitying his friend, Podberezikov released him and, hiding all the evidence, refused to conduct the case, but soon Detochkin nevertheless fell under arrest. He is tried and sent to prison, but taking into account his noble deeds, the term is shorter than it should be in such cases. The film ends with Yuri returning home after prison.
Who is Yuri Detochkin: the story of the appearance of the character
Ryazanov came up with the idea of making a film about modern Robin Hood when he heard the legend of an unknown car thief stealing cars from people living on money from bribes, dishonest deals and other “unearned incomes”.
Interested in this story, the director made inquiries at the police, but this story did not find real confirmation. However, Ryazanov still decided to make a film based on it. After writing the script with
Emil Braginsky, he created an amazing character named Yuri Detochkin (photo from the film below).
From the very beginning, the authors of the script decided to abandon the traditional image of a brave hero, who does not care at all and who easily steals cars. Instead, they tried to make their Yuri Detochkin evoke double feelings: both condemnation and compassion. On the one hand, he is a criminal who systematically violates the law and deceives everyone, even his family. But on the other hand,
this is a sincere, vulnerable person, incredibly inventive and with a
heightened sense of justice. Encountering daily people who use their position for personal enrichment, and suffering from such entities themselves, at some point Yuri Detochkin decides to rebuff social injustice and "punish" these bloodsuckers with his own strength.
In the mid-sixties, when the film “Watch Out for the Car” was shot, there was an unwritten tradition that the main positive character should be an exemplary family man and serve as an example to follow. However, Ryazanov and Braginsky decided to make their character more realistic and complex, because, as we all know, in most cases people actively care about the public good, rarely have strong families and children. In this regard, the family of Detochkin in the film was his mother and beloved woman.
Yuri Detochkin: the actor who played him is Innokenty Smoktunovsky
At first, the script of the film and the image of the main character were purposefully written for the popular film actor and circus Yuri Nikulin, which is probably why the hero was named Yuri (there are legends that it was Nikulin who threw Ryazanov the idea of this film). However, the circumstances were such that Nikulin could not take part in the filming, so he had to look for a replacement. Among the contenders for the role of a noble hijacker was Oleg Efremov, who later played in the picture of the investigator and best friend of Detochkin. As a result, the role was given to Innokenty Smoktunovsky. It was thanks to him that the image of the protagonist turned out to be so sincere and multi-layered. Yuri Detochkin caused the viewer a whole range of feelings: sympathy, empathy, pity, condemnation, fear, shame and many others.
Thanks to the skill of this actor, his hero from a brave cowboy, as they say in urban legends, has turned into an ordinary tired intelligent man with an unsettled personal life, who does not know how to adapt and get out.
It is interesting that, to participate in the film, Innocent, at the insistence of the director, passed on his rights and, although the understudy participated in many scenes, the actor was quite confident in driving.
It is worth saying that Innokenty Smoktunovsky a few years before this project played Hamlet in the television movie of the same name.
So his Prince of Denmark in his amateur performance in the television movie “Watch Out for the Car” caused the audience a slight “deja vu” effect.
Noteworthy Facts About the Watch Out For Car TV Movie
The name “Watch Out for the Car” was given to the film later; the working title of this project was “Car Stolen” at first.
In addition to Smoktunovsky, the actress Olga Aroseeva, who played the beloved of the protagonist, also had to hand over her rights.
True, she had to drive a trolley bus.
The investigator Podberezovikov was originally supposed to play Yuri Yakovlev, but, in the end, the role went to Efremov.
To show how much his character loves the theater, a portrait of Stanislavsky was hung in his office, instead of the traditional portraits of leaders.
The long-suffering car that Yuri Detochkin tried to steal for so long has starred in several more films. It was he who was the “taxi to Dubrovka” in “The Diamond Arm” and the taxi in the television movie “Three Poplars on Plyushchikha” (it is noteworthy that Oleg Efremov played the driver role in this picture).
The main character of the picture gained such popularity that he was even erected a monument in Samara. Here, Yuri Detochkin (photo below) is depicted at the time of his return after serving his term in prison.
Also the name of the Detective is the Moscow Museum of theft, which opened at the beginning of the two thousandth.
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the picture “Watch Out for the Car”. During this long period, much has changed in the life of its viewers. That's just the problems that were raised in the film, remain all the same close. And today, many people secretly dream of a noble Robin Hood or Yuri Detochkin, who will come and punish the lying thieves and bribe takers, as well as return stolen to honest people.