''Maksim Perepelitsa'' () is a 1955

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Anatoly Granik Anatoly ( , ) is a common Russian and Ukrainian masculine given name, derived from the Greek name ''Anatolios'' (), meaning "sunrise." Saint Anatolius of Constantinople was a fifth-century saint who became the first patriarch of Constantinople ...

. The song "Let's Go" (known in Russian as "

V Put "" (, ) is a song written in 1954 by Soviet composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikhail Dudin. It was originally written for the film '' Maksim Perepelitsa'' starring Leonid Bykov. The movie itself was released in 1955, and the song has ach ...

") was written for this film.

Plot

Maksim Perepelitsa is a cheerful and quick-witted guy from a Ukrainian village, well-known in his native town for his fantastic ability to invent all sorts of stories and take time off from work. When he receives a summons to the army, he wishes to "protect" himself against potential rivals and sends pumpkins to all the guys in the village on behalf of his beloved girl, Marusya – a traditional rejection of courtship in Ukraine. This causes a stir in the village, and the kolkhoz assembly even considers depriving Maksim of his honorable duty to serve in the Soviet Army. However, Maksim promises to correct his behavior. In the army, Maksim tries to dodge responsibility and avoid the difficulties of service, but his tricks land him in trouble. He is arrested and confined to the guardhouse after being caught outside the camp while on unauthorized leave. Despite his missteps, Maksim’s flexible character and good-natured personality help him adapt and begin re-education. During a training exercise, Maksim shows intelligence and initiative, earning the rank of junior sergeant. During his holiday break back in his village, Maksim demonstrates true heroism when he saves his grandfather, Musiy, from a pit. Troubled by the rumors about Marusya possibly not waiting for him, he gathers the courage to visit her. Marusya, rejecting other suitors, reciprocates his feelings, and the two are finally united in their love.

Cast

Leonid Bykov Leonid Fedorovich Bykov (, ; 11 December 1928, in Znamenka village, Artemivsk Okruha of Ukrainian SSR – 11 April 1979, in Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine, USSR) was a Soviet actor, film director, and script writer. He received the " Honored Artist of t ...

as Maksim Perepelitsa *

Lyudmila Kostirko Ludmila, Ludmilla, Liudmila, Liudmyla, Lyudmila, or Lyudmyla (Cyrillic: Людмила, ''Lyudmila'') may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludmila (given name) a Slavic female given name, including a list of people and fictional charac ...

as Maroussia, Maksim's bride *

Nikolai Yakovchenko 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 blacksmith Kondrat Perepelitsa, Maksim's father * Aleksandr Borisov as postman Marco Mukha, Kondrat's friend *

George Asipenka George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

as Opanas, Kondrat's friend *

Basil Fushchych Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variet ...

as Stepan Levada, one of Maksim * Taisiya Litvinenko as Vasilinka, Stepan's beloved *

Nina Tamarova Nina may refer to: * Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname Acronyms *National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq *Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology *No income, ...

as Yavdokha, seller of flowers *

Vladimir Efimov Vladimir Vladimirovich Efimov (born June 26, 1981) is a Russian statesman and manager, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations. Biography Vladimir Efimov was born in Kursk on June 26, 1981. Education In 20 ...

as Ivan Tverdokhlib, unfortunate groom of Maroussia *

Georgy Vitsin Georgy Mikhailovich Vitsin (; 18 April 1917 – 22 October 2001) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Biography Vitsin was born in Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg in 1917 (Soviet documents list h ...

as Musiy, pensioner *

Alexander Stepanov Alexander Alexandrovich Stepanov (; born November 16, 1950, Moscow) is a Russian-American computer programmer, best known as an advocate of generic programming and as the primary designer and implementer of the C++ Standard Template Library, whi ...

as Fomin, a lieutenant, a platoon commander *

Konstantin Sorokin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' (Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor ...

as Sablin, foreman, deputy commander of a platoon *

Alexander Susnin Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

as Vasily Ezhikov, a colleague of Maksim *

Sergei Sibel Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latin ''gens'' Sergia or Sergii of regal and republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honour of Saint Sergius, or in Kyivan Rus', of Sergius of the Holy Caves ...

as Samus, colleague Maksim *

Radner Muratov Radner Zinyatovich Muratov (, ; 21 October 1928 – 10 December 2004) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor of Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Vol ...

as Taskirov, a colleague of Maksim *

Paul Usovnichenko Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

as Kupriyanov, a platoon commander (in credits as Kupriyanov, in the film as Vetrov) *

Boris Leskin Boris Leskin (5 January 1923 – 21 February 2020) was a Soviet and American film and theater actor. Biography Leskin was born on 5 January 1923. In 1937 his father was arrested and executed. During Eastern Front (World War II), World War II L ...

as Mykola

Production

Anatoly Granik for most of the major roles invited Ukrainian theater actors, as all of the rural scenes of the film took place in Ukraine,

Poltava Oblast Poltava Oblast (), also referred to as Poltavshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava. Most of its territory was par ...

. The main characters, who came to serve in the army are Ukrainians. In 1955, the film ''

Private Ivan ''Private Ivan'' () is a 1955 Soviet musical comedy film directed by Ivan Lukinsky. The picture was seen by 40 million viewers in the USSR. The film was followed by the sequel '' Ivan Brovkin on the State Farm'' in 1959. Plot Hapless country boy I ...

'' was made featuring a very similar story; author of the script and of the source material Ivan Stadnyuk openly accused the creators of "Private Ivan" in plagiarism. After watching the movie "Maksim Perepelitsa" the army accused screenwriter Stadnyuk of promoting familiarity in the army. This alleged familiarity was reflected in the scene where the company commander, senior lieutenant Kupriyanov invites Maksim, after he returns from the guardhouse, to sit beside him on the bench and at the same time gives him a cigarette from his own cigarette case. This film is the first on-screen appearance of the

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

References

External links

1955 comedy films 1955 films Russian black-and-white films Russian comedy films Soviet black-and-white films Soviet comedy films Russian-language comedy films 1950s Soviet films 1950s Russian-language films Ukrainian-language films Military comedy films Films set in the 1950s Films set in the Soviet Union Films shot in Saint Petersburg Lenfilm films 1950s multilingual films Russian multilingual films Soviet multilingual films {{1950s-USSR-film-stub Russian-language Ukrainian films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links