''The Diamond Arm'' (russian: Бриллиантовая рука ''Brilliantovaya ruka'') is a
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 ...
crime comedy film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
made by
Mosfilm
Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's film monopoly, its output inclu ...
and first released in 1969. The film was directed by director
Leonid Gaidai
Leonid Iovich Gaidai (russian: Леонид Иович Гайдай; 30 January 1923 – 19 November 1993) was a Soviet and Russian comedy film director, screenwriter and actor who enjoyed immense popularity and broad public recognition in the fo ...
and starred several famous Soviet actors, including
Yuri Nikulin
Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (russian: Юрий Владимирович Никулин; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles in Leonid ...
,
Andrei Mironov,
Anatoli Papanov
Anatoli Dmitrievich Papanov (russian: Анатолий Дмитриевич Папанов, links=https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Папанов,_Анатолий_Дмитриевич, translit=Anatoliy Dmitriyevich Papanov, label=; 31 October 1 ...
,
Nonna Mordyukova
Noyabrina Viktorovna Mordyukova (Russian: Но́нна (Ноябри́на) Ви́кторовна Мордюко́ва; 25 November 1925 – 6 July 2008) was a Soviet and Russian actress and People's Artist of the USSR (1974). She was the star ...
and
Svetlana Svetlichnaya. ''The Diamond Arm'' has become a Russian
cult film and is considered by many Russian contemporaries to be one of the finest comedies of all time. It was also one of
the all-time leaders at the Soviet box office with over 76,700,000 theatre admissions in the
Soviet era
The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...
. The plot of the film was based on a real-life news item about Swiss smugglers who tried to transport jewels in an orthopedic cast.
Plot
The boss of a
black market ring (known only as "The Chief") wants to smuggle a batch of jewelry from a foreign state into the Soviet Union by hiding it inside the
orthopedic cast
An orthopedic cast, or simply cast, is a shell, frequently made from plaster or fiberglass, that encases a limb (or, in some cases, large portions of the body) to stabilize and hold anatomical structures—most often a broken bone (or bones), in ...
of a courier. The Chief sends a minor henchman named Gennadiy 'Gesha' Kozodoyev (played by Mironov) to serve as the courier. Kozodoyev travels to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
via a tourist cruise ship. The local co-conspirators do not know what the courier looks like; they only know that he is supposed to say a code word to identify himself. Due to a mix-up, they mistake Kozodoyev's fellow passenger from the cruise ship, the "ordinary Soviet citizen" Semyon Gorbunkov (played by Nikulin) for the courier. They place a cast around his arm and put the contraband jewels inside the cast. Upon the cruise ship's return to the Soviet Union, Gorbunkov lets the police know what happened, and the police captain, who is working undercover as a taxi driver, uses Gorbunkov as bait to catch the criminals. Gesha and Lyolik (another of Chief's henchmen, played by Papanov) attempt to lure Gorbunkov into situations where they can quietly, without a
wetwork
Wetwork ( rus, мокрое дело, mokroye delo) is a euphemism for murder or assassination that alludes to spilling blood. The expression and the similar ''wet job'', ''wet affair'', or ''wet operation'' are all calques of Russian terms for su ...
, remove the cast and reclaim the contraband jewels.
On one such occasion, Gesha invites Gorbunkov to a fancy restaurant with the intention of getting Gorbunkov drunk enough for Lyolik to subdue him. However, both Gesha and Gorbunkov become drunk and Gorbunkov is taken home by the police after he and Gesha cause a scene. Gorbunkov's wife begins to suspect either that he has been recruited by foreign intelligence after finding a large amount of money and a gun loaded with
blanks in Gorbunkov's possession (previously given to him by the police), or that he is having an affair. Gorbunkov explains that he is working with the Soviet police on a secret mission, but cannot divulge any details. The Chief sends Anna Sergeyevna, a female operative, to help retrieve the cast. Anna Sergeyevna invites Gorbunkov to her hotel room under the pretense of wanting to sell Gorbunkov a gown and spikes his drink with a sleeping pill. As Gorbunkov is about to pass out, his building's nosy superintendent who had followed Gorbunkov brings his wife into the hotel room before either Lyolik or the police can get to him.
Gorbunkov awakens the next morning to find that his wife has assumed that his story was all a cover up for an
affair, and has left with the children. The police in the meantime have deduced that Gesha is involved with the smuggling scheme surrounding the cast, and ask Gorbunkov to mention to Gesha that he is planning to travel to another city and will have his cast removed there. Gesha reports this to the Chief, who sends Lyolik disguised as a taxi driver to pick up Gorbunkov. Gorbunkov assumes that Lyolik is also an undercover policeman, and gives away the fact that he has been in contact with the police the entire time. Lyolik plays along and tells Gorbunkov that he has been authorized to remove the cast a day early at a safehouse along the way to Dubrovka. As Lyolik is about to remove the cast, Gorbunkov deduces that Lyolik is actually a criminal and attempts to escape. Lyolik and Gesha chase Gorbunkov and with the help of the Chief himself, they capture Gorbunkov. Upon removing Gorbunkov's cast, they realize that the police had removed the diamonds in the cast a long time ago. The criminals kidnap Gorbunkov and attempt to flee as the police track them down in a helicopter and capture them. Gorbunkov is reunited with his family, with the police having explained the situation to his wife. Gorbunkov goes on vacation with his family, albeit now with a broken leg as a result of the kidnapping.
Cast
*
Yuri Nikulin
Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (russian: Юрий Владимирович Никулин; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles in Leonid ...
, Semyon Semyonovich Gorbunkov, an economist at the State Institute for the Planning of Fisheries
*
Nina Grebeshkova
Nina Pavlovna Grebeshkova (russian: Нина Павловна Гребешкова; born 29 November 1930) is a Russian actress. Since 1953 she has performed in more than thirty films. She was married to film director Leonid Gaidai.
In 1954 gradu ...
, Nadia, Gorbunkov's wife
*
Andrei Mironov, Gennadiy Kozodoyev, aka Gesha, a model, Chief's assistant
*
Anatoli Papanov
Anatoli Dmitrievich Papanov (russian: Анатолий Дмитриевич Папанов, links=https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Папанов,_Анатолий_Дмитриевич, translit=Anatoliy Dmitriyevich Papanov, label=; 31 October 1 ...
, Lyolik, Chief's assistant, an auto mechanic and a tough guy with Belarusian accent
*
Nonna Mordyukova
Noyabrina Viktorovna Mordyukova (Russian: Но́нна (Ноябри́на) Ви́кторовна Мордюко́ва; 25 November 1925 – 6 July 2008) was a Soviet and Russian actress and People's Artist of the USSR (1974). She was the star ...
, Varvara Pliushch, upravdom (building superintendent)
*
Svetlana Svetlichnaya, Anna Sergeyevna, a
femme fatale
*
Stanislav Chekan, Mikhail Ivanovich, Captain, then Major of
militsiya
*
Vladimir Gulyaev
Vladimir Leonidovich Gulyaev (russian: Влади́мир Леони́дович Гуля́ев; 30 October 1924, Yekaterinburg, RSFSR — 3 October 1997, Moscow) was a Soviet actor of theater and cinema.
Biography
He was born October 30, 1924 ...
, Volodya, Lieutenant of
militsiya/Volodya's twin
*
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 ...
, salesman of lottery tickets, visitor of the restaurant "Weeping willow"
*
Nikolay Trofimov, Colonel of
militsiya
* Nikolay Romanov, Chief of crime gang
*
Alexander Khvylya, Boris Savelyevich, maitre d'hotel of the restaurant "Weeping Willow"
* Tatyana Nikulina, tour guide
* Maksim Nikulin, boy with a net (not credited)
*
Grigory Shpigel
Grigory Oyzerovich Spiegel (russian: Григо́рий О́йзерович Шпи́гель; 24 July 1914 — 28 April 1981) was a Soviet and Russian actor and voice actor. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1974).
Biography
He worked as a pleater at ...
, head smuggler in Turkey
*
Leonid Kanevsky, head smuggler's assistant
*
Leonid Gaidai
Leonid Iovich Gaidai (russian: Леонид Иович Гайдай; 30 January 1923 – 19 November 1993) was a Soviet and Russian comedy film director, screenwriter and actor who enjoyed immense popularity and broad public recognition in the fo ...
, alcoholic's voice and the hand that chokes Kozodoyev in his dream (uncredited)
*
Igor Yasulovich
Igor Nikolayevich Yasulovich (russian: Игорь Николаевич Ясулович; born 24 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, film director and pedagogue.
Biography
Yasulovich was born in the village of Reinsfe ...
, dog owner
*
Roman Filippov
Roman Sergeyevich Filippov (russian: Рома́н Серге́евич Фили́ппов; January 24, 1936 — February 18, 1992) was a Soviet theater and film actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1987).
Selected filmography
* ''World Ch ...
, visitor from
Kolyma
* Viktoria Ostrovskaya, prostitute
Production
American cars can be spotted in the Oriental city street scenes (which were actually shot in
Baku,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
, USSR): a 1954
Chevrolet 210
The Chevrolet 210 or Two-Ten is a midrange car from Chevrolet that was marketed from 1953 until 1957. It took its name by shortening the production series number 2100 by one digit in order to capitalize on the 1950s trend toward numerical auto na ...
, a 1955
Buick and a 1951
Oldsmobile Super 88
In the West or non-Asian countries, an Asian supermarket largely describes a category of grocery stores that focuses and stocks items and products imported from countries located in the Far East (e.g. East, Southeast and South Asia).
These stor ...
. This would have been an extremely rare sighting because the United States had sanctions on the USSR and did not sell cars within the
Eastern Bloc.
Soundtrack
;The Island of Bad Luck
The ironic "The Island of Bad Luck" ("Остров невезения") became popular after the film's release. It was sung in the movie by the Kozodoyev during the cruise as he strums a guitar while relaxing on the ship's deck. The song is thematic, as it presages the bad luck that Kozodoyev experiences throughout the entire film. The song was recorded by Mironov himself. This is not uncommon, as many Russian actors of that time were proficient in singing, as well as dancing.
;The Song About Hares
The metaphorical "Song About Hares" ("Песня про зайцев") also became a popular song during the late 1960s. It tells the story of a group of personified
hares harvesting a mythological ''tryn'' herb (in Russian: ''tryn-trava'') at night and proclaiming that they are not afraid of any predators, be they wolves or owls. The hares boldly sing a refrain which begins with "We don't care!" ("A нам всё равно!"), which is actually the meaning of "tryn-trava". The song was performed in the movie by the protagonist Semyon Gorbunkov after a heavy dose of
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
at the
restaurant. Later, the scene was even depicted on a
stamp dedicated to the actor
Yuri Nikulin
Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (russian: Юрий Владимирович Никулин; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles in Leonid ...
. Recorded by Nikulin himself.
;Help Me
The third and final popular song from this film was "Help Me" ("Помоги мне") was performed by
Aida Vedishcheva
Aida Semyonovna Vedishcheva (russian: Аида Семёновна Ведищева, born Ida Solomonovna Weiss, russian: Ида Соломоновна Вайс, 10 June 1941) is a Soviet and American singer. In the 1960s, she contributed songs ...
, a Soviet era singer best known for her performance of songs for films produced in the 1960s. The
tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...
-styled parodic song is about love and passion, and is played in the background during a scene when a femme fatale hired by the Chief's henchmen attempts to seduce and drug Gorbunkov.
External links
* (official upload by Mosflim)
*
*
The Diamond Arm (with English subtitles)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond Arm
1968 films
Slapstick films
Mosfilm films
1960s Russian-language films
1960s crime comedy films
Russian crime comedy films
Films directed by Leonid Gaidai
Films scored by Aleksandr Zatsepin
Films set in Istanbul
Films set in Russia
Films set in the Soviet Union
Films shot in Baku
Films shot in Moscow
Films shot in Moscow Oblast
Films shot in Sochi
Soviet crime comedy films
Films shot in Russia
1960s heist films
1968 comedy films
Films shot in Azerbaijan
Films about organized crime in Russia
Films set on boats