Jolly Fellows

1934 1h 36m RU

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 22

MusicComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Merry Fellows was the first Soviet musical comedy. Set in Odessa and Moscow in the 1930s. Shepherd Kostya Potekhin is mistaken for an international concert star. He falls in love with Anyuta and plays the "star" for her. In a cascade of comic musical numbers he becomes the leader of a Jazz-Band and gives a hilarious show at the Odessa Music Hall. Now he is destined to perform at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Leonid Utyosov
Kostya Potekhin
Lyubov Orlova
Anyuta, the housemaid
Mariya Strelkova
Yelena, child of the Foreign Trade Union
Fyodor Kurikhin
Mortician
Emmanuil Geller
Music-hall audience member (uncredited)
Yelena Tyapkina
Anyuta's stepmother
Niki Otto
Musician, fight instigator
Arnold Arnold
Fraschini, the conductor from Paraguay

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Grigori Aleksandrov
Writers: Grigori Aleksandrov, Vladimir Mass, Nikolay Erdman
Languages: Russian
Countries: Soviet Union

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

92 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Grigori Aleksandrov, shot by Vladimir Nilsen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Isaak Dunayevsky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Esfir Tobak shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Leonid Utyosov and Lyubov Orlova and Mariya Strelkova carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0025946 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 22 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Grigori Aleksandrov directs. Vladimir Nilsen behind the camera. Isaak Dunayevsky scores. Esfir Tobak cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Soviet Union. Dialogue in Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

192 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by Grigori Aleksandrov, shot by Vladimir Nilsen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Isaak Dunayevsky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Esfir Tobak shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Leonid Utyosov and Lyubov Orlova and Mariya Strelkova carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0025946 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 22 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Released under 28 different titles around the world.