''The Inspector-General'' () is a 1952

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

crime comedy film directed by Vladimir Petrov, whose script is an adaptation of the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

play ''

The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' (, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Base ...

'' by Nikolay Gogol.

Plot

The film closely follows the original text of Nikolai Gogol's satirical play ''The Government Inspector'' small provincial town, Mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky (played by Yuri Tolubeev) informs his circle of local officials about a letter warning them of the imminent arrival of a government inspector traveling incognito. Two landowners, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, while dining at an inn, encounter a man named Khlestakov and mistakenly identify him as the inspector. They quickly convince others of their assumption. The supposed inspector, Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov (played by Igor Gorbachev), is actually a low-level bureaucrat from

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

traveling to

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

with his servant Osip (played by Alexei Gribov). Stranded in the town after losing his money in a card game, Khlestakov is unable to pay for his lodging or food. The mayor, believing Khlestakov to be an important official, invites him to tour the town's establishments, hosts a lavish feast in his honor, and later welcomes him into his home. Drunk on the attention, Khlestakov realizes he has been mistaken for someone else. Embellishing his importance, he claims to be a friend of

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

and almost a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. Taking advantage of his newfound status, Khlestakov begins courting both the mayor's wife and daughter and borrows over 1,000 rubles from the officials. He eventually promises to marry the mayor's daughter before abruptly leaving town. During a celebration for the engagement, the town's postmaster delivers a letter from Khlestakov, which reveals his true identity. As the officials are reeling from this revelation, a

gendarme A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

announces the arrival of the actual government inspector from

. The film concludes with the mayor and his officials frozen in shock and fear.

Starring

Igor Gorbachyov Igor Olegovich Gorbachyov (October 20, 1927February 19, 2003) was a Soviet and Russian actor, theater director and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1972).

as Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov, the 'inspector general' (as I. Gorbachev) *

Yuriy Tolubeev Jury, Jurij, Iurii, Iouri, Yury, Yuri, Youri, Yurii, Yuriy or Yurij is the Slavic (, or , or , or ) form of the masculine given name George; it is derived directly from the Greek form Georgios and related to Polish Jerzy, Czech Jiří, and Slo ...

as Mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky * Anastasiya Georgievskaya as Mme. Anna Andreyevna Skvoznik-Dmukhanoskaya (as Anastasiya Georgiyevskaya) *

Tamara Nosova Tamara Makarovna Nosova (; 21 November 1927 – 25 March 2007) was a Soviet and Russian actress, who was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia in 1992. She appeared in 27 films between 1948 and 1999. She was married to writer Vita ...

as Maria Antonovna Skvoznik-Dmukhanovskaya * Aleksandr Polinsky as Pyotr Ivanovich Dobchinsky * Vasiliy Kornukov as Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky (as V. Kornukov) *

Sergei Blinnikov 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 Judge Ammos Fyodorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin * Mikhail Yanshin as Commissioner of Charities Artemy Filippovich Zemlyanika *

Erast Garin Erast Pavlovich Garin (September 4, 1980, born Gerasimov) was a Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter. He was, together with Igor Ilyinsky and Sergey Martinson, one of the leading comic actors of Vsevolod Meyerhold's company and of ...

as Postmaster Ivan Kuzmich Shepkin *

Pavel Pavlenko Pavel Pavlovich Pavlenko () (20 September 1902 – 9 March 1993) was a Soviet stage and film actor. Life Born in Kiev, he later moved to Moscow and graduated in 1919 from the Moscow City Theatrical School named for Anatoly Lunacharsky. He tried t ...

as School Supt. Luka Lukich Khlopov (as P. Pavlenko) * A. Guzeyev as Dr. Christian Ivanovich Hubner *

Aleksey Gribov Alexey Nikolayevich Gribov (November 26, 1977) was a Soviet and Russian actor, "master of all types of Russian national character"Inna SolovyovaAlexey Nikolayevich Gribovarticle at the Moscow Art Theatre website (in Russian) mostly remembered fo ...

as Osip *

Elena Ponsova Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Raymond Elena (1931-2024), French former professional racing cyclist. * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine El ...

as Ivanova, a sergeant's widow (as E. Ponsova) * N. Timyakov as A Merchant * Anastasiya Zueva as Fevonya Poshlyopkina (as A. Zuyeva) * Vladimir Yershov as Gendarme (uncredited)Ревизор (1952) Full Cast & Crew
/ref>

References

External links

* 1952 films 1950s Soviet films 1950s Russian-language films Soviet films based on plays Films based on The Government Inspector Soviet crime comedy films Russian-language crime comedy films 1950s crime comedy films {{1950s-USSR-film-stub