O. Henry’s Full House

a film by Henry Koster, Henry Hathaway, Jean Negulesco, Howard Hawks and Henry King
based on short stories by O. Henry

Yesterday, we went to see this film screened as a special “literary” session organised by Asociación de Cine Vértigo. I found it thoroughly enjoyable, bar the completely unnecessary interventions by John Steinbeck. But why Cuatro páginas de la vida (“Four pages of life”) if there are five films in the anthology?

According to Wikipedia,

When the film was first premiered in September 1952 in Los Angeles, it consisted of five parts, including Howard Hawks’ “The Ransom of Red Chief”.

The Hawks short was so poorly received that the studio removed it before the film opened in New York that October, leading some outlets to describe the film as O. Henry’s Four of a Kind.

Remarkable, given that the Red Chief is arguably the funniest part. For me, it is not even “arguably”. It remains a mystery why the Spanish title still refers to the “four”.

One of the films we grew up on, Strictly Business (Деловые люди) by Leonid Gaidai, also includes a brilliant adaptation of The Ransom of Red Chief, starring the great Georgy Vitsin and Aleksei Smirnov. Imprinting and stuff notwithstanding, I think I prefer the Hawks’s version. Kathleen Freeman and Irving Bacon as the parents of J.B. are the best.

And another Soviet cinema connection: the opening scene of The Cop and the Anthem reminded us the final of 1975 Hello, I’m Your Aunt! (Здравствуйте, я ваша тётя!). Considering that the latter movie quotes many classic American comedies, I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

“Was that union blessed with any issue?” “Er... What did you say?” “Have they got any children?” “Well...” “You know, those little objects people get after they’re married.” “Yeah. Well, I reckon you could say they have in a way.” “Yeah.” “May I ask what you mean by that foggy response?” “Well, I reckon you could call J.B. a child, if you wanted to.” “J.B.?” “J.B.” “That’s what they call him.” “Oh, it’s a boy.” “I reckon you might, uh, call him a boy.” “Yeah.” “How old is he?” “J.B. is nigh on to 10 now.” “What a lovable age in a boy.” “Where did you say the Dorsets were living now?” “Didn’t say.” “Down the road a piece. A little white house with broken windows.” “You ain’t told us why did you wanna buy the land for.” “You know, I find your conversation rather limited, but very stimulating. Thank you.”

Бриллиантовая рука

a film by Leonid Gaidai

Yes, we all knew that there was no sex in USSR, years before one Ms. Ivanova blurted out that infamous maxim; and yet, here it was, on screens big and small. In his film “from the life of smugglers” (smuggling = bad, West = decaying, abroad = dangerous, jazz = bourgeois), Gaidai himself masterfully smuggled some forbidden fruit for our domestic consumption. The top-grossing Soviet blockbuster of 1969 and one of the most successful Soviet films of all time, The Diamond Arm contained as much sex (and provocatively jazzy soundtrack) as any viewer in our country could possibly dream about, or more:

• A prostitute (Viktoriya Ostrovskaya) in a foreign city, whose inhabitants speak in a kind of Channel 9 lingo, with her wonderful catch-the-client-phrase «Цигель, цигель, ай-лю-лю!»
• Models on the (Soviet!) catwalk demonstrating the collection “Mini-bikini ’69”
• The femme fatale Anna Sergeyevna (Svetlana Svetlichnaya) working to seduce the naïve Mr. Gorbunkov (Yuri Nikulin) with probably the first ever striptease to grace the Soviet screens

This latter scene is accompanied by the tango Помоги мне (Help Me) performed by Aida Vedishcheva, who also provided the voice for the “song about bears” in Кавказская пленница. This obvious parody, most probablly inspired by ¿Quién será? (Sway), features incredibly silly lyrics. In its turn, the line «Вы называли меня умницей, милою девочкой» is practically begging for being parodied further, for instance

Вы называли меня девочкой, мальчиком-с-пальчиком...
Вы называли меня белочкой, зайчиком, кошечкой...
Ты называла меня слесарем, токарем, мастером...
Ты называла меня Штирлицем, Мюллером, Борманом...
Я называла тебя Винтиком, Шпунтиком, Гаечкой

and so on. The long winter evenings, as well as calima-dominated weekends, must just fly by.

Кавказская пленница, или Новые приключения Шурика

a film by Leonid Gaidai

The subtitle “The New Adventures of Shurik” implies that the “old” adventures of Shurik in Операция «Ы» (1965) somehow precede the events of Кавказская пленница (1967). This is not exactly the case, as Shurik (Aleksandr Demyanenko) is now an ethnography student and has no recollection of previous encounters with the famous trio of Nikulin, Vitsin and Morgunov. It matters not. This film has got almost everything: Gaidai’s signature slapstick; iconic phrases like «Птичку жалко», «Короче, Склифосовский!» and «Бамбарбия киргуду»; Natalya Varley, the new sex symbol of Soviet cinema; and even twist. Our teddy bears do approve.

Иван Васильевич меняет профессию

a film by Leonid Gaidai

Yet again, watching this film, I can’t help thinking... it’s nothing short of a miracle that it was released at all in that time and place. As if the Thaw wasn’t long over. As if the sixties were still swinging. A play by Bulgakov? A song by Vysotsky? Impossible. Не может быть! (No, that would be the name of the next Gaidai’s movie, not even remotely as successful as Иван Васильевич. The era of slapstick comedy was coming to an end.) But here you are: a genuine Soviet blockbuster. Forty years later, still funny, still immensely popular.

The song Кап-кап-кап (Маруся) became a hit in its own right.

Операция «Ы» и другие приключения Шурика

a film by Leonid Gaidai

Back in the USSR, Операция «Ы» (1965) was a film we all were growing with. Often plain silly and occasionally embarrassing (like when Shurik was reciting a poem), but never dull.