The scenario of the adventure film "The Hussar Ballad" (the leading actors: Larisa Golubkina, Viktor Koltsov, Yuri Yakovlev, Igor Ilyinsky) was based on the comedy play "Pets of Glory" written in the military year 1941 by the playwright-writer Alexander Gladkov. The legendary Eldar Ryazanov didn’t just film her, he, together with Ivan Pyrev, who persistently insisted on the permission of the production, opened for the USSR cinema viewer a subspecies of light adventure cinema. There were no such films (with chases, shootings, stunt tricks) before this creation of Ryazanov in Soviet cinema. The film "Hussar Ballad" (1962) was doomed to success and love of the audience for many years.
About actors and roles
Most of the actors who performed minor and episodic roles were approved for the role for demonstrating the ability to stay in the saddle on circus stallions, which at times became simply mad. A completely different approach was to select lead actors. The outstanding actor Yuri Yakovlev, who embodied on the screen the image of a dashing handsome man - lieutenant Dmitry Rzhevsky, was not a rider, but he conquered the creators of the picture with his charisma. According to the idea, he was engaged in absentia to a young girl - the count's niece, and was not particularly happy about the upcoming marriage with a fashionable woman and a cutesy woman.
The heroine of Larisa Golubkina - Shurochka Azarova - broke the stereotype of a woman heroine prevailing in the cinema. Usually such a character was still in the shadow of his male colleagues, but in the case of the Hussar Ballad, the brilliant Shurochka overshadowed the legendary lieutenant, the rest of the generals, and even the field marshal. Her game can be enjoyed endlessly.
Actor Nikolai Kryuchkov, who played the role of a faithful servant, friend of the Azarovs, Ivan, became so accustomed to the image that he patronized Golubkina even after the shooting.
Actor Viktor Koltsov - Count Azarov, surprised both the film crew and the creators with his innate endurance, discipline and acting.
The role of Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov was entrusted to the actor Igor Ilyinsky. Despite the attacks of the censors, the field marshal turned out to be just wonderful.
Minor, but no less vivid roles
The Hussar Ballad, whose actors for the most part had already gone to another world, was an interesting experiment not only for Ryazanov. Many venerable masters of the Soviet scene tried on unconventional images. For example, Anthony Khodursky incredibly accurately conveyed the essence of the sugary Count Nurin, completely unprepared for military service. The first and only film role of Tatyana Shmyga was the character of the fatal beauty Louise Germont. Actor Lev Polyakov was inimitably good in the role of Pierre Pelymov. And the partisans who performed the song “Once Upon a Time” especially remembered the viewer. It was played by Vladimir Troshin. Actors and roles, the creators of the film "Hussar Ballad" will forever remain in the hearts of domestic viewers - lovers of good cinema.
Patriotic Vaudeville
Ryazanov’s work can be safely described as a patriotic musical picture, which teaches you to be confident, courageous and merciful, teaches you to value true friends and true friendship. The film “The Hussar Ballad” (actors repeatedly emphasized this in an interview) clearly demonstrates several of the most remarkable and correct qualities of a Russian person - true patriotism, mercy for a defeated enemy.
Where and how was the film "Hussar Ballad"
Separate episodes of the picture were supposed to be shot in a poor manor of the landowner. The creators for a long time could not find a suitable mansion. Most tribal estates were destroyed during the revolution. Therefore, having found a grove of centuries-old linden trees and the remains of an old noble estate (overgrown pond and a dilapidated church), the decorators set to work. The church was rebuilt somewhat, making it look like a building of estates, erected sculptures, broke flower beds, erected a fence. Artists Gennady Myasnikov and Mikhail Bogdanov became real wizards, turning century-old ruins into an elegant and beautiful estate. The shooting horses were provided by a group of circus performers led by Mikhail Tuganov. The only thing that overshadowed the director of the film “The Hussar Ballad” was the actors who played partisans. Five meals a day and staying in the fresh air benefited them so much that they looked already very full and satisfied.
The film "Hussar Ballad" became the leader of the national box office in 1962, taking overall attendance 40th place among the paintings of the USSR in the entire history of the Soviet film industry.