The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
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| The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming | |
|---|---|
 original film poster |
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| Directed by | Norman Jewison |
| Produced by | Norman Jewison |
| Written by | Nathaniel Benchley (novel) William Rose (screenplay) |
| Starring | Carl Reiner Eva Marie Saint Alan Arkin |
| Music by | Johnny Mandel Bonia Shur |
| Cinematography | Joseph F. Biroc |
| Editing by | Hal Ashby J. Terry Williams |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | May 25, 1966 |
| Running time | 126 min. |
| Language | English/Russian |
| IMDb profile | |
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming is a 1966 American comedy film. Based on the Nathaniel Benchley juvenile novel, The Off-Islanders, it was adapted for the screen by William Rose. It tells the Cold War story of the comedic chaos which occurs when the Soviet submarine Спрут (Sprut, Octopus) accidentally runs aground near a small New England town.
Audio clip from the movie: "Emergency, everybody to get from street."
Contents |
[edit] Primary cast
- Alan Arkin : Lt. Rozanov
- Carl Reiner : Walt Whittaker (aka Whittaker Walt)
- Eva Marie Saint : Elspeth Whittaker
- Brian Keith : Police Chief Link Mattocks
- Jonathan Winters : Officer Norman Jones
- Paul Ford : Fendall Hawkins
- Theodore Bikel : The Russian captain
- Tessie O'Shea : Alice Foss (telephone operator)
- John Phillip Law : Alexei Kolchin
- Ben Blue : Luther Grilk
[edit] Other first-billed cast
- Andrea Dromm : Alison Palmer
- Sheldon Collins : Pete Whittaker (as Sheldon Golomb)
- Guy Raymond : Lester Tilly
- Cliff Norton : Charlie Hinkson
- Richard Schaal : Oscar Maxwell
[edit] Awards
Awards (wins):
- Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Alan Arkin)
- Writers Guild of America - Best Written American Comedy (William Rose)
Awards (nominations):
- Academy Award for Best Picture
- Directors Guild of America - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Norman Jewison)
- Academy Award for Best Actor (Alan Arkin)
- Academy Award for Film Editing (Hal Ashby & J. Terry Williams)
- Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay (William Rose)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay (William Rose)
[edit] Trivia
According to the DVD special features:
- The submarine used in the movie is actually a fabrication. The US Navy refused to loan one of their own and also barred the studio from bringing a real Russian submarine, forcing the studio to create their own. It is segmented into 4 parts, each having its own motor to power it. Upon close inspection while watching the film, you can actually see the separate parts as the "sub" floats in the water.
- Despite being set on the fictional "Gloucester Island" off the coast of New England, the movie was actually filmed on the California coast in Mendocino. The harbor scenes, however, were filmed in a small town south of Fort Bragg, California.
- Because of the filming location, the dawn scene at the beginning of the movie was actually filmed at dusk.
- Reaction to the film in Moscow was so positive that Russian officials held seven special screenings in the Kremlin before Jewison could get his early copy of the movie back. The Russian film industry embraced the movie with great applause and emotion.
- All of the actors were English speaking and none of them knew how to speak Russian until they learned their lines for the film.
