''Romance of a Horsethief'' (french: Le roman d'un voleur de chevaux, it, Il romanzo di un ladro di cavalli, hbs, Romansa konjokradice) is a 1971 French-Italian-Yugoslav adventure film directed by

Abraham Polonsky Abraham Lincoln Polonsky (December 5, 1910 – October 26, 1999) was an American film director, screenwriter, essayist and novelist. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for '' Body and Soul'' but in the early 1950s ...

. It is loosely based on the 1917 novel with the same name by

Joseph Opatoshu Joseph Opatoshu () (January 1, 1886 – October 7, 1954) was a Polish-born Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated du ...

Plot summary

In Polish Russia, Stoloff, a Cossack in exile has gained control over a Jewish village. The villagers live by horse-thievery and under the leadership of Kifke. Stoloff's regime is tolerated until he commandeers the village's horses for the Russian army. Naomi has been away in France and gotten ideas of a revolution and inspires the town to resist. This gets Naomi into deep trouble, from which only Kifke and his compatriot Zanvil can rescue her. Zanvil is highly motivated since he is in love with Naomi.

Cast

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...

as Captain Stoloff *

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

as Kifke *

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin, OBE (born 14 December 1946) is an English-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She also had a prolific career ...

as Naomi *

Lainie Kazan Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for ''St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...

as Estusha * David Opatoshu as Schloime Kradnik * Serge Gainsbourg as Sigmund *

Henri Serre Henri Serre (born 26 February 1931) is a French actor who is best known for his role as Jim, a "vivid, melancholy, and finally tragic figure" in François Truffaut's '' Jules and Jim''. Other appearances include ''The Fire Within'', ''Section spé ...

as Mendel (credited as Henri Sera) * Linda Veras as Countess Grabowsky *

Marilù Tolo Marilù Tolo (born Maria Lucia Tolo; 16 January 1944) is an Italian film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1960 and 1985. Life and career Born in Rome, Tolo, at a very young age, worked as an assistant of Mario Riva in the ...

as Manka * Branko Plesa as Lt. Vishinsky * Vladimir Bacic as Gruber * Branko Spoljar as Strugatch * Alenka Rancic as Sura *

Oliver Tobias Oliver Tobias Freitag (born 6 August 1947), known professionally as Oliver Tobias, is a Swiss-born UK-based film, stage, and television actor and director. Biography Born in Zürich, Switzerland, he is the son of the Austrian-Swiss actor Robe ...

as Zanvill Kradnik

Production

Filming began in July 1970 in Yugoslavia. Polonsky called the film "a fairytale, pretending to affect an older style but in fact the contrary."

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called the film "impressive... a rollicking folk tale."Tell Them Brynner Is Here Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times 15 Sep 1971: f9.

References

External links

* French adventure films Italian adventure films Yugoslav adventure films 1970s adventure films Films about Jews and Judaism English-language French films English-language Italian films English-language Yugoslav films Films set in the 1900s Films set in the Russian Empire Films set in Poland Films about horses Films about theft 1970s English-language films 1970s French films 1970s Italian films {{1970s-Italy-film-stub