"True Friends" - a film, 1954 (actors in itvery talented) - became the tenth work of Mikhail Kalatozov and his debut in the field of comedy. The choice of this particular genre surprised everyone who knew the director as a focused, very serious and unsmiling person. Yes, sparks of humor slipped in his previous works. But that's sparks. Completely another thing - a full-length comedy picture ...
Once upon a time, many years ago, on oneMoscow suburb lived three small friends: Borka about the nickname "Chizh" or "Chizhik", Sashka, nicknamed "Cat's Barin" and Vaska - "Turkey". In their childhood, they swam along the Yauza River on an old boat and dreamed that someday they would travel along a large river. Even then they swore to each other that someday this dream will come true.
It takes three decades. The boys grow up.Sashka becomes professor-animal breeder Lapin, Borka - a famous Moscow surgeon Chizhov, and Vaska - academician of architecture Nestratov. And then one day, remembering about this promise to travel once, Lapin gathers his friends, and all three of them begin to realize their childhood dreams, going on a river trip on a log raft.
In this unusual journey is already an adultindependent comrades will have to endure many interesting adventures. For Nestratov it will be a journey during which his conscience will "turn on": the academician will go through all the vicissitudes and suddenly change his attitude to life in general for himself. Lapin will expect boundless happiness, because during this trip he will meet a woman who has long been waiting for him and loves him. And Chizhov will have to show his talent surgeon, when in one hospital he will save the girl with the royal name - Katya, having made her a complicated craniocerebral operation.
The story of the creation of the film "Faithful Friends" is as follows.Perhaps the director's firm decision to film the comedy was greatly influenced by a very sad story with his previous picture - "Vortices are hostile." That's why the question of the leaders of the Ministry of Culture in Kalatozov "What are you going to put now?", He shared his thoughts and added quietly: "And ... I really want to put a good comedy."
This proposal of the famous director was adoptedinstantly. True, Mikhail Kalatozov warned that he had in mind the script of Alexander Galich and Konstantin Isaev "On the Raft", which was presented to "Mosfilm" two years ago, in the spring of 1952. Then it was sent for recycling. The authors, after a categorical ban on the shooting, did not even risk protecting their literary child. Therefore, the script lay on the shelf in anticipation of better times, which, in fact, came.
"True Friends" (film, 1954), whose actorsalready then were known to the audience, was shot according to the old scenario with the changes introduced. And while working changes have continued to occur. But this picture only won.
Взять хотя бы такой интересный персонаж, как impassable bureaucrat Nekhoda, construction chief (actor Alexei Gribov). In the original version of the script it was not. But now it's just impossible to imagine the adventures of three friends without meeting him. Vasily Merkuriev, who played the academician of architecture Nestatov, first had to play an astronomer. In the process of work, everything has changed. It should be noted that this role was originally proposed to the actor Nikolai Cherkasov, but he, after reading the script, refused.
Actors of the film "True Friends" (1954) well played and another episode.In the original version it was assumed that the scene of interrogation by a policeman Nestatov will last only one minute of screen time. But then everything changed, turning into a rather large comic scene. The audience involuntarily recalled that they met with such a character in real life.
What else would be interesting to know the admirers of Soviet cinema and eminent artists of the mid-twentieth century? On the set of the film "Faithful Friends" (1954), actors, director wereone team. And without this a good movie is impossible. Therefore, the director did not object to the proposal of Boris Chirkov, who offered his wife, actress Lyudmila Genik for the role of doctor in the village hospital Mashenka. It was for her that the scenario was changed, where, after his approval, an additional scene of the operation was introduced. By the way, this actor's couple was one of the strongest and most beautiful in the cinema, perhaps, just the twentieth century. Lyuda was the daughter of a friend of Chirkov, they have a significant age difference. But this did not stop them from becoming a very happy family life.
Yes, in "True Friends" (film, 1954) the actors were selected very carefully, and the tape became simply epoch-making.
Very bright and interesting scenario material andThe magnificent game of Vasily Merkuryev put his character in the central part of the picture. But no less interesting are the modest, kind Lapin and the cheerful, ironic Chizhov. These actors of the film "True Friends" (1954), who played the main characters and composed a remarkable trio, brought all TV viewers a sincere joy.
A significant part of the picture was filmed in Kalugaregion, and almost all the work was carried out in nature - on the Oka River (it is near the town of Tarusa). In the morning the artists came ashore and sat on the raft in order to swim on the shooting. The local people saw them with admiring glances. Later, due to weather conditions, shooting continued on the Don River, in Rostov. "True Friends" - a 1954 film (his actors became truly popular favorites), which was filmed even in October, when it was already cool cold. The artists were very cold in the wind. But, not wanting to disrupt the shooting schedule, they pretended that they were warm.
So, in difficult conditions, one of the most beloved comedies of the twentieth century was shot. The selfless work of the actors and the director was not in vain!
This comedic film was one of the firstSwallows of cinema, which marked the approach of the so-called thaw. After the shooting was over, Boris Chirkov said that this time neither the actors nor the director tried to embellish the reality with some ridiculous sketches. True, the film was subjected to a large number of corrections in order to cater to different censorship requirements. Because of this, he became a little less ridiculous and a little less “pepper” remained in him. Despite all this, “True Friends” is a film of 1954 (the actors and roles are well known to everyone), which won the incessant love of TV viewers from the premiere and became one of the leaders in the rental year of its release.
It should be noted that not everything went strictly according to the scenario:Some scenes of conversations of characters, remarks and disputes of three comrades were spontaneous improvisation of talented actors. And they did it all very easily, hitting the people around with the naturalness of everything that is happening on the set.
To make the actors communicate in the frame easier, theircharacters were given the names and patronymics of the performers of roles. So, Chizhov became Boris Petrovich, Nestatov - Vasily Vasilievich, and Lapin - Alexander Fedorovich.
A real decoration of the picture are the songs in theirperformance. It was the highest technique of acting singing, allowing to decompose all the songs into a beautiful Russian three-voiced voice. And the recognizable voices of Merkuryev, Chirkov and Borisov were perfectly combined with each other.
