In 1966, the first Soviet detective was released - Watch Out for the Car. The actors who are involved in this film are familiar to every movie fan. Although this story is difficult to name as a detective, because viewers watch the unfolding events on the screen with a smile on their faces, they like both the main villain and the representative of the law in police uniform. The picture is saturated with positive energy from the beginning to the final credits. In which detective can you still see the shy and modest serial car thief who does not part with the volume of Shakespeare, and an experienced, strict investigator playing in a folk theater? All films of Eldar Ryazanov have become classics of cinema.
Short description of the film “Watch Out for the Car”
In the city, prosperous Soviet citizens began to lose cars; they were hijacked by a professional hijacker. In ordinary detective stories, the director does not immediately reveal the main criminal to the audience, but in this film it immediately becomes clear that the hijacker is none other than the usual insurance agent - Yuri Detochkin (I. Smoktunovsky). The investigator - Maxim Podberezovikov (O. Efremov) - must as soon as possible solve this series of crimes and find the thief. The actors of the film “Watch Out for the Car”, who played the investigator and the criminal, were selected by the director as well as possible.
Detochkin is not an ordinary thief, he sends all the proceeds from the sale of cars to children's homes. Thus, he wants to restore justice, Yuri steals only from those who earn money dishonestly. It turns out such a kind of Robin Hood with a portfolio of an insurance agent.
Fate brings the investigator and the criminal on the same stage of an amateur theater, they both love art, love Shakespeare and strive for justice, only each acts by his own methods. Soon, their paths intersect, and an honest, truthful investigator will have to choose between friendship and law.
Watch Out For The Car: actors and roles
The cast of Soviet comedy can be called starry. There is no such person who would not see the film “Watch out for the car”. Actors who played both major and minor roles are also familiar to everyone:
- Innokenty Smoktunovsky - Yuri Detochkin;
- Oleg Efremov - Maxim Podberezovikov;
- Olga Aroseva - Lyuba (bride of Detochkin);
- Lyubov Dobrzhanskaya - mother of Detochkin;
- Andrey Mironov - Dima Semitsvetov;
- Anatoly Papanov - father-in-law of Semitsvetov;
- Tatyana Gavrilova - wife of Semitsvetov;
- Evgeny Evstigneev - director of the amateur theater.
Innokenty Smoktunovsky and Oleg Efremov
The film “Beware of the car” managed to fall in love with more than one generation of viewers, and the leading actors did an excellent job. An interesting fact is that both Smoktunovsky and Efremov were not considered artists of the comedy plan before, so their characters turned out to be dramatic and serious, and the film itself would rather be called tragicomedy.
At first, the role of Detochkin was intended for Yuri Nikulin, but the circumstances were such that he and the circus left for six months in Africa. After Oleg Oleg Efremov tried, the filmmakers saw him not as a modest hijacker, but as a strict investigator, so Efremov played Maxim Podberezovikov, and the role of Yuri Detochkin went to Innokenty Smoktunovsky.
At the time the filming began, Smoktunovsky was treating a very serious disease - eye tuberculosis, but he liked the role so much that he postponed treatment to play Detochkin. Especially for this, he had to learn driving and pass on the license.
Watch Out For The Car: Supporting Actors
Among the supporting actors, I would like to mention everyone beloved Andrei Mironov and Anatoly Papanov. These comedians, with their jokes and constant improvisation in the frame, provided the entire film crew with an excellent cheerful mood, which, of course, was conveyed to the audience. Critics praised the role of Dima Semitsvetov, which Mironov played, as one of the best on the actor’s list. And the catchphrases of Semyon Vasilyevich, a retired colonel and father-in-law Dima, played by Papanov, still remain relevant.
Olga Aroseva, in order to establish herself as Lyubochka, the bride of Detochkin, had to really learn how to drive a trolley bus and even get a driver’s license. Such was the demand of Eldar Ryazanov. Thanks to this approach to creating the film and the excellent work of the actors, the cinema was replenished with such a wonderful picture, which can be watched many times.