''A Very English Murder'' (russian: Чисто английское убийство, Chisto angliyskoe ubiystvo) is a 1974
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
teleplay
A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...
directed by
Samson Samsonov
Samson Iosifovich Samsonov (russian: Самсо́н Ио́сифович Самсо́нов; 23 February 1921 – 31 August 2002) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter, he was granted the honorary title of People's Artist of ...
, based on the 1951 novel ''
An English Murder'' by
Cyril Hare.
Plot
The film begins as relatives and friends come to Lord Warbeck's family castle for
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
. Suddenly, during dinner, Robert Warbeck, the only son and heir of the old Lord, dies in front of the guests. Then Lord Warbeck himself dies. And then — one of the ladies guests in the house… Because of snow drifts police can not reach the house; the only police present is the Minister's guard, and not an investigator. Foreigner doctor Bottwink — a historian, invited by Lord Warbeck to work in his old library — is the only one who is able to understand what had happened. However, the investigation is complicated by the fact that almost all those present are connected with each other by strange, unpleasant and sometimes unexpected relationships.
Changes from the novel
Overall, the film closely follows the novel. The introduction is compressed. The excursion undertaken by Sir Julius to a nearby village (Chapter XIV in the novel) has been removed.
Noticeable changes were made to soften the political conflict depicted in the novel.
* In the novel, Doctor Wenceslaus Bottwink, Ph.D., professor of history, is said to be born in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, having
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
blood. Fortunate to escape a
Nazi concentration camp, he found himself on the shores of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
. In the film, neither the first name nor ethnicity of Doctor Bottwink is revealed, although he is mentioned as a citizen of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, then
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, then
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
as the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
progressed.
* In the novel, the League of Liberty and Justice, organized by Robert Warbeck, is a
fascist organization. In the film the League is described only as
extremist
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied share ...
.
* In the novel, Warbeck is clearly
antisemitic. Unable to contain his political leanings even when talking to Lady Camilla, he bursts, "Has your new Jew friend asked you to go back to
Palestine with him yet?" In the film this dialogue has been removed, although the nationalistic character of Robert's organization is established.
* In the novel, Sergeant Rogers asks Bottwink whether the Doctor was in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
during
Dolfuss régime
In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan J ...
, and Bottwink clarifies that he was anti-Dolfuss,
anti-clerical
Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
, and anti-Fascist. This dialog is removed from the film.
* In the novel, Sir Julius identifies himself as
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
. When thinking back about the murders that occurred in Warbeck Hall, he comes to a conclusion that it was him who was targeted, and he was spared only by chance. "Who are the real enemies of
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
today? Why, we are — the
democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...
s of Western Europe!" exclaims Sir Julius, blaming Doctor Bottwink in the murders. This exchange is removed from the film, and Sir Julius is never called a socialist.
* Like the novel, the film reveals that Doctor Bottwink is a communist sympathizer, but omits to mention his
anti-Stalinist
The anti-Stalinist left is an umbrella term for various kinds of left-wing political movements that opposed Joseph Stalin, Stalinism and the actual system of governance Stalin implemented as leader of the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1953. Th ...
stance.
* In the novel, Sir Julius and Mrs. Carstairs argue about the looting of the
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now ...
at Beijing and the suppression of the
Boxer revolt by
Eight-Nation Alliance. This argument is removed from the film.
Cast
*
Aleksey Batalov as Doctor Bottwink
*
Leonid Obolensky as old Lord Thomas Warbeck (voiced by
Andrei Fajt
Andrei Andreyevich Fajt (russian: Андрей Андреевич Файт; 29 August 1903 – 17 January 1976) was a Soviet film actor. He appeared in 44 films between 1925 and 1976. He was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia and died in Moscow ...
)
*
Georgy Taratorkin
Georgy Georgievich Taratorkin (russian: Георгий Георгиевич Тараторкин; 11 January 1945 – 4 February 2017) was a Soviet-Russian film and stage actor who appeared in over 70 films between 1967 and 2017. He was the Se ...
as Robert Warbeck
*
Boris Ivanov as Sir Julius Warbeck
*
Ivan Pereverzev
Ivan Fyodorovich Pereverzev (russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Переве́рзев; 3 September 1914 – 23 April 1978) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1975).
Filmography
* '' The Convey ...
as Briggs (voiced by
Yevgeny Vesnik
Yevgeny Yakovlevich Vesnik (russian: Евге́ний Я́ковлевич Ве́сник; 15 January 1923 in Petrograd – 10 April 2009 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian actor. The son of Yakov Vesnik, the first director of the Kryvorizhstal p ...
)
*
Irina Muravyova as Susan (voiced by
Alla Budnitskaya
Alla Zinovievna Budnitskaya (russian: Алла Зиновьевна Будницкая; born 1937, Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian actress of theater and cinema.
Biography
Born July 5, 1937, in the family of the builder Zinovy Lazarevich Budnits ...
)
*
Faime Jürno as Lady Camilla Prendergast (voiced by
Irina Kartashyova
Irina (Cyrillic: Ирина) is a feminine given name of Ancient Greek origin, commonly borne by followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is derived from Eirene (Ancient Greek: Εἰρήνη), an ancient Greek goddess, personification of pe ...
)
*
Eugenija Pleškytė
Eugenija Pleškytė (6 January 1938 – 3 November 2012) was a Lithuanian actress.
In 2009, she was awarded the Special Golden Crane in Sidabrinė gervė awards by the Lithuanian Film Academy for her contributions to Lithuanian cinema.
Refe ...
as Mrs. Carstairs
*
Einari Koppel as sergeant Rogers
References
External links
*
1974 films
1974 crime drama films
Mosfilm films
Films directed by Samson Samsonov
Films based on British novels
Films scored by Eduard Artemyev
Soviet crime drama films
{{1970s-USSR-film-stub