Carnival Night

Infobox Film
name = Carnival Night


image_size = 150px
caption = DVD cover
director = Eldar Ryazanov
producer =
writer = Boris Laskin
Vladimir Polyakov
narrator =
starring = Igor Ilyinsky
Lyudmila Gurchenko
music = Anatoli Lepin
cinematography = Arkadi Koltsaty
editing =
distributor =
released = flagicon|USSR 1956
flagicon|USA November 2, 1957
runtime = 78 min.
country = USSR
language = Russian
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:136385
imdb_id = 0049397

"The Carnival Night" (1956) ( _ru. Карнавальная ночь, Karnavalnaya Noch) is Eldar Ryazanov's first big-screen film and Lyudmila Gurchenko's first role. The film became the Soviet box office leader of 1956 with a total of 48.64 million ticket sales.

The film made both of them stars of Soviet Cinema literally overnight. It is the New Year's Eve and the employees of an Economics Institute are ready with their annual New Year's entertainment program. It includes a lot of dancing, singing, and even magic tricks. Suddenly, an announcement is made that a new director has been elected and that he is arriving shortly. Comrade Ogurtsov arrives in time to review and disapprove of the scheduled entertainment. To him, holiday fun has a different meaning. He imagines speakers reading annual reports to show the Institute's progress over the year, and, perhaps, a bit of serious music, something from the Classics, played by the Veterans' Orchestra.

Obviously, no one wants to change the program a few hours before the show, much less to replace it with something so boring! Now everyone has to team up in order to prevent Ogurtsov from getting to the stage. As some of them trap Ogurtsov one way or another, others perform their scheduled pieces and celebrate New Years.

The movie is filled with songs that have become famous. Since it came out in the 1950's, the movie has become a New Year's classic.

The stars of the film include famous Russian actors such as Lyudmila Gurchenko, Igor Iljinsky, and Sergey Filippov. Directed by Eldar Ryazanov.

Cast

* Igor Ilyinsky as Serafim Ivanovich Ogurtsov
* Lyudmila Gurchenko, Lena Krylova
* Yuri Belov, Grisha Koltsov
* Andrei Tutyshkin, Fyodor Petrovich Mironov, bookkeeper
* Olga Vlasova, Adelaida Kuzminichna Ramashkina
* Tamara Nosova, Tosya Burigina
* Georgi Kulikov, Seryozha Usikov
* Gennadi Yudin, Band Conductor
* Vladimir Zeldin, Clown
* B. Nemker, Clown
* Sergei Filippov, Comrade Nekadilov, lecturer
* Shmelev Sisters, Singing Waitresses
* V. Gusakov, Dancer
* Y. Gusakov, Dancer
* Tamara Kruchova, Acrobat

Crew

*Director: Eldar Ryazanov
*Writers: Boris Laskin, Vladimir Polyakov
*Cinematography: Arkady Koltsaty
*Composer: Anatols Liepiņš (Anatoly Lepin)
*Music orchestration: Eddie Rosner, also jazz band leader (uncredited)

External links

*imdb title|id=0049397|title=Karnavalnaya noch
* [http://russart.com/?movietrailer&mid=95 Trailer] and [http://russart.com/?moviepictures&mid=95 Screenshots]