''The Last Inch'' () is a 1959 Soviet adventure drama film directed by Nikita Kurikhin and Teodor Vulfovich. It is based on an eponymous short story by

James Aldridge Harold Edward James Aldridge (10 July 1918 – 23 February 2015) was an Australian-British writer and journalist. His World War II despatches were published worldwide and he was the author of over 30 books, both fiction and non-fiction works, ...

published in the USSR in 1957, and in London in 1960.

Plot

The film is about an unemployed Ben Ensley, a professional pilot, who decides to take dangerous underwater photographs to make money, and goes with his son Davy (who begged him to come along) to the distant Shark Bay. While taking the pictures, Ben gets bitten by a shark and bleeds heavily. The only chance for him to survive is to fly back to the small African town they set off from. Davy carries his father into the plane and then follows his instructions to take off from the island and follow the route back. But the most complicated and dangerous part of the flight is the landing. Ben Ensley, who's half-conscious from loss of blood, instructs his son about the last inch that he must feel when landing a plane. The last inch also references to the thin margin between life and death of the heroes.

Cast

* Vladislav Muratov as Davy (as Slava Muratov) * Nikolai Kryukov as Ben Ensley (voiced by

Yuri Tolubeyev Yuri Vladimirovich Tolubeyev (, May 1, 1906, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire - December 28, 1979, Leningrad, USSR) was a Soviet theatrical and cinema actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1956). Winner of the Lenin (1959) and Stalin Prize (1947). He ...

) *

Mikhail Gluzsky Mikhail Andreyevich Gluzsky (June 15, 2001) was a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor. He starred in the 1972 film, ''Monologue (film), Monologue'', which was entered into the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. An actor in more than 130 films bet ...

as Gifford * Aliagha Aghayev as cafe owner * Mukhlis Jani-Zade as mechanic (voiced by

Sergey Yursky Sergei Yurievich Yursky (, 16 March 1935 – 8 February 2019) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theatre director and screenwriter. His best known film role is Ostap Bender in ''The Golden Calf (1968 film), The Golden Calf'' (1968) B ...

) * Aleksey Rozanov as doctor

Music track

* «Ben's Song» , lyrics by Mark Sobol, music by

Mieczysław Weinberg Mieczysław Weinberg (December 8, 1919 – February 26, 1996) was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to parents who worked in the Yiddish theatre in Poland, his early years were surrounded by music. He taught him ...

) was performed by Mikhail Ryba. * The English variant entitled ''I don't care about your staff'' was created in 2025 by

Viatcheslav Yatsko Vyacheslav, also transliterated Viacheslav or Viatcheslav (, ; , ), is a Russian and Ukrainian masculine given name. It is the equivalent of Belarusian Вячаслаў/Вацлаў (transliterated ''Viačaslaŭ/Vaclaŭ'', or ''Viachaslau/Vaclau''), ...

, https://viatcheslavyatsko.bandcamp.com/

References

External links

* 1958 films 1950s Russian-language films Soviet adventure drama films 1950s adventure drama films Films shot in Azerbaijan Films based on American short stories Russian aviation films Films about shark attacks Lenfilm films 1950s Soviet films Films scored by Mieczysław Weinberg Russian-language adventure drama films {{1950s-USSR-film-stub