''An Easy Life'' (russian: Лёгкая жизнь, Lyоgkaya zhizn') is a 1964 satirical

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Veniamin Dorman Veniamin is the Russian version of the name Benjamin, and may refer to: *Veniamin Alexandrov (1937–1991), Soviet professional ice hockey player *Veniamin Belkin (1884–1951), Russian artist and painter *Veniamin Fleishman, (1913–1941), Russia ...

. It was seen by 24.6 million Soviet moviegoers during its initial release.«Операция "Ы" и другие приключения Шурика». Результат
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Plot

A chemist by training, Alexandr Petrovich Bochkin (

Yury Yakovlev Yury Vasilyevich Yakovlev (russian: Ю́рий Васи́льевич Я́ковлев; 25 April 1928 – 30 November 2013) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He was awarded the honorary title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1976. Main works ...

) manages a Moscow dry-cleaning operation, but lives a very comfortable life, taking orders on the side for his speculative "private enterprise," run in conjunction with "Queen Margot" (

Faina Ranevskaya Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya (russian: Фаина Георгиевна Раневская, born Faina Girschevna Feldman, — 19 July 1984), is recognized as one of the greatest Soviet actresses in both tragedy and comedy. She was also famous for ...

). But when his old friend from the chemical institute, Yuri Lebedev (

Vsevolod Safonov Vsevolod Dmitrievich Safonov (russian: Все́волод Дми́триевич Сафо́нов; 9 April 1926 – 6 July 1992) was a Soviet actor of theatre and cinema. He was awarded the title People's Artist of the USSR Prize (1974). Biography ...

) arrives in Moscow from the Siberian city of

Dalnegorsk Dalnegorsk (russian: Дальнего́рск, lit. ''far in the mountains'') is a town in Primorsky Krai, Russia. Population: Name It was formerly known from its founding in 1897 as Tetyukhe (russian: Те́тюхе; ; literally meaning "river ...

, along with a traveling companion, Olga (

Ninel Myshkova Ninel is a given name. It is feminine in the former Soviet Union and masculine in Romania. In many Soviet cases, it is often considered to be derived from reversing the surname Lenin. It may refer to: * Ninel Aladova (born 1934), Belarusian archit ...

), Bochkin becomes uncomfortable with his job title. He decides to tell his friends that he is a scientist working on top-secret experiments for the government, but eventually this cover story backfires, leading to one misunderstanding after the other.

Cast

as Alexander Petrovich Bochkin, underground entrepreneur *

as "Queen Margot", Margarita Ivanovna, profiteer *

Vera Maretskaya Vera Petrovna Maretskaya (Russian: Вера Петровна Марецкая) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress. People's Artist of the USSR (1949) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1976). Early years Vera Petrovna Maretskaya was born ...

as Vasilisa Sergeevna *

Rostislav Plyatt Rostislav Yanovich Plyatt (russian: Ростислав Янович Плятт; — 30 June 1989) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1961 and awarded the USSR State Prize in 1982. Biograph ...

as Vladimir Gavrilovich Muromtsev, Vasilisa's husband *Ninel Myshkova as Olga, Vasilisa's sister *

Nadezhda Rumyantseva Nadezhda Vasilyevna Rumyantseva (russian: Надежда Васильевна Румянцева, 9 September 1930, Potapovo, Smolensk Oblast — 8 April 2008, Moscow) was a popular Soviet and Russian actress. People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1991 ...

as Galya, Bochkin's sister *

as Yuri Lebedev, Bochkin's friend, chief engineer at the plant in Dalnogorsk *

Lyusyena Ovchinnikova Lyusyena Ivanovna Ovchinnikova (russian: Люсье́на Ива́новна Овчи́нникова; 10 September 1931 – 8 January 1999) was a Soviet film actress. She appeared in more than 30 films between 1959 and 1993. She is an Merit ...

as Masha

References

External links

* 1964 films 1964 comedy films Soviet comedy films Russian comedy films Gorky Film Studio films 1960s Russian-language films {{1960s-USSR-film-stub