''The Secret Agent's Blunder'' (), also translated as ''Resident's Mistake'', is a 1968 (or 1966?) Soviet spy film directed by . It is the first of four films based around the same character, the spy Mikhail Tulyev, played by Georgy Zhzhyonov. The sequel, '' Secret Agent's Destiny'' (or ''Resident's Way'') was released in 1970, with ''

Resident Return ''Resident Return'' (), also known as ''Resident Is Back'', is a 1982 Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental ...

'' (''Resident Is Back'') in 1982 and ' in 1986.

Plot

Part one. ''Under Old Cover'' (По старой легенде)

Mikhail Tulyev, the son of a former spy and Russian Empire count, is sent by West German intelligence to collect Soviet nuclear secrets. He travels in Russia under the name Mikhail Zarokov, taken from a POW he had met in the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, with the cover of looking for his supposedly lost sister. Tuylev stays with Dembovich (

Oleg Zhakov Oleg Petrovich Zhakov (; 1 April 1905 – 4 May 1988) was a Soviet and Russian film actor who was born in Sarapul, Vyatka Governorate. He performed in more than sixty films between 1927 up to 1988. People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Бол� ...

), a bitter former German agent and works as a taxi driver, striking up a romantic relationship with the company's dispatcher, Maria Nikolayevna (Eleonora Shashkova). Through Dembovitch, Tuylev recruits an infamous thief known as "Snipe" to smuggle his findings. However, "Snipe" is in actuality a KGB officer named Pavel Sinitsyn ( Mikhail Nozhkin). Sinitsyn's superior, General Sergeyev (

Yefim Kopelyan Yefim Zakharovich Kopelyan (6 March 1975) was a Soviet Union, Soviet actor of theatre and cinema, one of the legendary masters of the Bolshoi Theatre of Drama (BDT) in Leningrad. He performed bright, characteristic roles in the films ''The Elusi ...

), having been informed of Tuylev's mission, orders Sinitsyn to fake his defection when he is to hand over the samples to Tuylev's contact, Leonid Krug (

Vadim Zakharchenko Vadim Viktorovich Zakharchenko (; 19 February 1929 — 2 January 2007) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1954 to 2002. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Merited Artist of the Russian Feder ...

). Subsequently, he is to act as a double agent. When the delivery happens, Pavel and Krug are attacked by a Maritime Border Troops ship. Despite Krug being shot in the leg, the two manage to escape to neutral waters.

Part two. ''Snipe's Return'' (Возвращение Бекаса)

After his successful escape with Krug into West Germany, Sinistyn is subjected to various attempted brainwashing techniques as Tuylev's superiors attempt to recruit him as an agent. Pavel is eventually accepted as an agent and sent to work as a sailor on a merchant vessel until he is called to action again. Elsewhere, Tuylev is forced to flee after a guilt-ridden Dembovich commits suicide and sends a letter to the KGB revealing Tuylev's identity and his complicity in the plot. After setting fire to Dembovitch's house, Tuylev, pursued by the KGB, switches cars, escapes, and manages to leave behind a considerable amount of money for Maria, who is pregnant with his child. One year later, Sinistyn is ordered to return to the Soviet Union in order to resume contact with Tuylev, long since inactive and now living under the name Stanislav Kurnakov. Pavel is also asked to relay news of the death of Tuylev's father in Paris to him (In the following films, it is revealed that Tuylev's superiors orchestrated it with Tuylev's protégé Karl Brockman). After meeting with Tuylev, Sinistyn suggests to him that they go fishing the next morning. Tuylev obliges, and is apprehended by the KGB. As Tuylev is escorted away, Sergeyev then orders Sinistyn to adopt Tuylev's codename, "Hope" in order to fool his superiors to think Tuylev is still active. The ending is left ambiguous as to whether Sinistyn ever gets that chance, or whether he is crushed by the Soviet Machine.

Cast

Georgiy Zhzhonov Georgiy Stepanovich Zhzhonov (, ; 22 March 1915 – 8 December 2005), was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor and writer. He is known for playing the spy Mikhail Tulyev in the "Resident" quartet of films, '' Beware of the Car'' (1966), '' ...

as Mikhail Tulyev/"Hope" * Mikhail Nozhkin as Pavel Sinitsyn/"Snipe" *

as Dembovich *

as General Sergeyev * Nikolai Prokopovich as Colonel Markov * as Maria * as Kustov *

Irina Miroshnichenko Irina Petrovna Miroshnichenko (; 24 July 1942 – 3 August 2023) was a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actress, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1988). In 1961 she entered the Moscow Art Theater School (course of :fr:Vassili Markov, Vasily Ma ...

as Rita *

as Leonid Krug *

Nikolai Grabbe 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 Victor Krug *

Rostislav Plyatt Rostislav Yanovich Plyatt (; — 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. Biography Born in Rostov-on-Don (modern-day Rostov Oblast of ...

as Kazin *

Nikolay Skorobogatov Nikolay Arkadevich Skorobogatov (; December 19, 1923, Vyazma, Vyazemsky Uyezd, Smolensk Governorate — June 10, 1987, Moscow) was a Soviet film and theater actor. Biography Born in the family of the railway. After graduating from high school, ...

as Judge

References

External links

* 1960s spy thriller films 1960s Soviet films 1960s Russian-language films Soviet black-and-white films Soviet spy films Soviet thriller films Russian-language thriller films Films set in West Germany Films about the KGB Gorky Film Studio films Films set in the Soviet Union {{1960s-thriller-film-stub