''Lyotchiki'' (russian: Лётчики, Lyotchiki: ) (aka ''Men on Wings'' and ''The Pilots'') is a 1935

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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Yuli Raizman Yuli Yakovlevich Raizman (russian: Юлий Яковлевич Райзман; December 15, 1903 – December 11, 1994) was a Soviet Russian film director and screenwriter. Career In 1924 he became a literary consultant for Mezhrabpom-Rus, the G ...

and Grigori Levkoyev.

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

called him among the best Soviet filmmakers of that time.

Plot

School Commander Nikolai Rogachyov (

Boris Shchukin Boris Vasilyevich Shchukin (russian: Бори́с Васи́льевич Щу́кин) (, Moscow — 7 October 1939, Moscow) was a Russian and Soviet actor, theater director and pedagogue. In 1936, Shchukin was among the first group of recipients ...

) and famous aerobatic pilot, is in charge of a civilian flying school in Russia. Pilot Sergei Belyaev (

Ivan Koval-Samborsky Ivan Koval-Samborsky ( Ukrainian: Іван Коваль-Самборський; 16 September 1893 – 10 January 1962) was a Ukrainian stage and film actor. After establishing himself in the Soviet film industry in the 1920s, he briefly went to wor ...

), showing recklessness trying to emulate the test pilot

Valery Chkalov Valery Pavlovich Chkalov ( rus, Валерий Павлович Чкалов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕkaləf; – 15 December 1938) was a test pilot awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (1936). Early life Chkalov was bo ...

), crashes the aircraft assigned to him. Student flight school Galya Bystrova (Yevgenia Melnikova), who likes Belyaev, unfortunately, seeks to imitate him in the air. Commander Rogachyov falls for young student pilot Gayla, but their difference in age prevents him from declaring his love. Rogachyov teaches that discipline in the air is necessary to survive as a pilot. Finally, that message begins to make sense to Sergei and Gayla.

Cast

as Student Commander Sergei Belyaev * Yevgenia Melnikova as Flight School Student Galya Bystrova * Aleksandr Chistyakov as Senior Mechanic Ivan Matveyevich Khrushchev *

as Flight School Commander Nikolai Rogachyov *

Grigori Levkoyev Grigory, Grigori and Grigoriy are Russian masculine given names. It may refer to watcher angels or more specifically to the egrḗgoroi or Watcher angels. Grigory * Grigory Baklanov (1923–2009), Russian novelist * Grigory Barenblatt (19272 ...

as Doctor at airfield (uncredited) * Inna Fyodorova as Medical attendant (uncredited) *

Zoya Fyodorova Zoya Alekseyevna Fyodorova (russian: Зоя Алексеевна Федорова; 11 December 1981) was a Russian film star who had an affair with American Navy captain Jackson Tate in 1945 and bore a child, Victoria Fyodorova in January 1946. ...

as Nurse (uncredited) *

Nikolai Khryashchikov Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Niko ...

as Appearing (uncredited) * Maria Klyuchareva as Sanitary (uncredited) * Ivan Kobozev as Pilot Kobozev (uncredited)

Production

Principal photography for ''Lyotchiki'' took place in 1935 on the outskirts of

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

, on the airfield (now Holzunov Street in the Northern residential area).

Reception

Under the title, ''The Pilots'', ''Lyotchiki'' was released worldwide, while in the United States, it was re-titled ''Men on Wings''. Aviation film historian James H, Farmer in ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1984) described the film's "poor production values."Farmer 1984, p. 320. Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo in ''Aviation in the Cinema'' (1985) had a similar opinion, noting, "unexciting flying scenes." in the

films of the time, ''Lyotchiki'' was considered a classic.Firsova, Katrin
"Что смотреть у советских режиссёров. (ru); What to watch from Soviet directors."
''the-village.ru'', 22 October 2015. Retrieved: 14 July 2019.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation''. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. . * Kherson, Chrysanth. ''Boris Shchukin: The Path of the Actor''. 1954. * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilots 1935 films Russian aviation films 1930s Russian-language films Soviet drama films Mosfilm films Films about aviators Soviet black-and-white films 1935 drama films Russian black-and-white films