''The Night Before Christmas'', also known as ''Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka'' (russian: Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки, Vechera na khutore bliz Dikanki), is a 1961 Soviet

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

directed by

Aleksandr Rou Alexander Arturovich Rou (also, Rowe, from his Irish father's name) (russian: Александр Артурович Роу, – 28 December 1973) was a Soviet Union, Soviet film director, and People's Artist of the RSFSR (1968). He directed a ...

, based on a "

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

", first story in the second volume of the 1832 collection ''

Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka ''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'' (russian: «Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки») is a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, written in 1829–1832. They appeared in various magazines and were published in book f ...

'' by

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

Plot

This eccentric and fantastical fairy tale takes place near the village of Dikanka on the night before

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. Amid carol singing, drunken revelry, and amorous hijinks, the blacksmith Vakula persuades the Devil to fly him to

Sankt-Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where he hopes to obtain a pair of the Empress's heels which might win him Oksana's love.

Cast

Aleksandr Khvylya Alexander Leopoldovich Khvylya (born Bressem, russian: Александр Леопольдович Хвыля, uk, Олександр Леопольдович Хвиля, ''Oleksandr Leopoldovych Khvylya''; 15 July 1905 – 17 October 1976) was ...

as Chub * Lyudmyla Myznikova as Oksana *

Yuri Tavrov Yuri Petrovich Tavrov ( uk, Юрій Петрович Тавров) was a Ukrainian actor. He is best known for his role as blacksmith Vakula in the movie Evenings on a Farm near Dykanka. Biography Born July 2, 1938, in the village Luchyn Popi ...

as Vakula *

Lyudmila Khityaeva Lyudmila Ivanovna Khityaeva (russian: Людмила Ивановна Хитяева; August 15, 1930 in Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod), USSR) is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actress, TV presenter. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1983). Filmo ...

as Solokha *

Sergei Martinson Sergey Alexandrovich Martinson (russian: Серге́й Александрович Мартинсон; – 2 September 1984) was a Russian eccentric comic actor, the master of pantomime, buffoonery and grotesque. He became People's Artist of th ...

as Osip, the Sacristan *

Anatoly Kubatsky Anatoly Lvovich Kubatsky (russian: Анато́лий Льво́вич Куба́цкий) (1 November 1908 – 29 December 2001) was a Soviet stage and film actor. Life Kubatsky was born in Moscow to parents of Polish ancestry. After studying und ...

as Panas *

Vera Altayskaya Vera Vladimirovna Altayskaya (russian: Ве́ра Влади́мировна Алта́йская) (21 May 1919 – 28 December 1978) was a Soviet actress known for her roles in children's fairy tale films and comedies. Born in Petrograd, she wa ...

as Wife of Panas *

Dmitri Kapka Dmitri (russian: Дми́трий); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Greek Demetrios (Δημήτριος ...

as Shanuvalenko *

Mykola Yakovchenko Mykola ( uk, Мико́ла, Mykóla, ) is a Slavic variant, more specifically a Ukrainian variant, of the masculine name " Nicholas", meaning "victory of the people". It may refer to: People *Mykola Arkas (1853–1909), Ukrainian composer, wr ...

as Patsyuk *

Maryna Sidorchuk Maryna may refer to: People * Maryna Antsybor (born 1987), Ukrainian cross country skier * Maryna Arzamasava (born 1987), Belarusian middle-distance runner * Maryna Bazhanova (born 1962), Ukrainian former handball player * Maryna Dubrova (born ...

as Odarka *

Aleksandr Radunsky Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

as The Head *

Georgi Millyar Georgy Frantsevich Millyar, sometimes spelled Milliar (russian: Георгий Францевич Милляр; 7 November 1903 in Moscow – 4 June 1993 in Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian actor, best known for playing evil spirits in Soviet fai ...

The Devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood ...

* Aleksei Smirnov * Mikhail Troyanovsky *

Aleksandr Demyanenko Aleksandr Sergeyevich Demyanenko (russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Демья́ненко; May 30, 1937 – August 22, 1999) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He was given the honorary distinction of People's Artist of the RSFSR. H ...

Soundtrack

External links

* * (English subtitles) * Soviet Christmas films Soviet fantasy films Soviet comedy films 1961 romantic comedy films 1961 films 1960s fantasy comedy films 1960s Russian-language films Gorky Film Studio films Films based on works by Nikolai Gogol Films set in the 1770s Films set in the Russian Empire Films set in Saint Petersburg Films set in Ukraine Films shot in Saint Petersburg Films directed by Aleksandr Rou Russian comedy films Russian children's fantasy films 1960s children's fantasy films Films based on fairy tales Works based on Christmas Eve (Gogol) Soviet children's films {{1960s-USSR-film-stub