The donkey from “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is filming in “Special Forces”! "Caucasian captive or new adventures of Shurik" Donkey from Caucasian captive.

The cute eared donkey, who became a movie star of the Soviet screen in 1966, was in fact a very capricious lady. This is how Vladimir Etush talked about his adventures on the set:

“We suffered with this stubborn animal. When you need to go, you stand, when you need to stand, you go. Leonid Gaidai was very careful about the donkey, saying that the animal was biblical, so “comrade actors, be careful.” (...) In general, the donkey only got along with Sasha and Natasha Varleya. They fed him sugar. At the end of filming, the donkey was following Sasha’s tail. And then, when they filmed the episode with the stubbornness of the donkey, they spent a long time trying to persuade the donkey to stand, but he - a smart beast - knows that Sashka has sugar in his pocket, and runs after him. We did 30 takes. Alexander even changed his pants so that the smell of sugar would not remain. But the animal doesn’t come off! We decided to film another episode. So this animal galloped off somewhere around the bend. A second later, a crash, donkey squeals and screams were heard. And a group of angry comrades came out from around the bend, demanding compensation for damages for the crippled Moskvich. But when the guys saw our trio of Vitsin, Morgunov and Nikulin, they smiled, asked for autographs, and the incident was settled.”

This “Bible Animal” lived an amazingly long and rich life. Lucy lived quite happily in the Simferopol Zoo (the “Caucasian” comedy was filmed mostly in Crimea) and lived to a very advanced age for a donkey. The donkey died in 2007 at the age of 59, and managed to star in “9th Company” and in the second part of the series “Special Forces,” although in minor roles as a pack animal. Vladislav Galkin, having learned about the filmography of the big-eared actress, took a photo with Lyusya and then showed this photo to Natalya Varley in Moscow. She recognized the donkey and became very emotional

Many years before Hachiko, our entire huge country cried over the story of the Scottish setter Bim, who was saved from death and raised by an elderly writer. The story of human indifference and cruelty, sadly enough, was repeated in life. The role of Bim in the film was played by the English setter Steve (in simple terms - Styopa). The owner rented it out to a film studio for the duration of filming and actually forgot about the dog. The yearning artist was fed and entertained by the entire film crew. Vyacheslav Tikhonov became his true friend - he walked, talked, and went hunting with him. To film the scenes in which Bim yearns for his owner, Styopa was deprived of the company of his partner on the set for several days, so that the emotions, which are usually very difficult to capture in animals, are real in the frame.

However, after filming, the dog practically repeated the fate of its hero, with the only difference that the culprit of the new separation turned out to be the owner himself. He constantly rented out the dog to strangers - either for filming - an experienced, camera-tested tailed artist was in demand among directors, or to amateurs for hunting. As a result, literally a few years later the dog died.

Few people knew about it, but Leonid Gaidai was a very superstitious person. True, as a very creative person, and also accustomed to managing people, he seems to have created his own system of beliefs. For example, before filming, he always broke a plate. Once, when the porcelain victim turned out to be surprisingly strong and did not want to split, he even postponed the shooting. But he considered black cats, contrary to popular tradition, to be animals that bring good luck. That is why this image appears so often in his comedies. True, during the filming of several films, as many as 9 tailed actors were used. So the cinematic Gaidaev cat really has 9 lives.

The comedy “The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia” was conceived as a joint Soviet-Italian project. It was supposed to be a chase movie with a lot of stunts. An Italian producer was excited about the idea of ​​filming a live lion. At that moment, numerous publications appeared about the Berberov family, in which the adult lion King lived as one of the family members.

Lev Lvovich Berberov, representing his pet, said that the written script would not allow even a tenth of King’s talent to be revealed. The script was rewritten, filling it even more with stunts. However, on the set everything went awry. King was, of course, a tame lion, but he had no idea about any training. Therefore, all the shots with his participation were extremely difficult to film. For example, the scene where the lion jumps into the window of the nesting doll warehouse took 4 whole days to film. Ryazanov became increasingly enraged, threatened to drag the lion on a rope with a tractor if he refused to run where he should, and in the end became completely disillusioned with working with this “lazy, stupid, untrained” lion. In the future, the director swore off filming any animals at all.

The situation was further aggravated by the fact that the actors were afraid of their four-legged partner like fire. Already in our time it became clear that this fear was justified - during filming, King seriously injured one of the members of the film crew, Italian Ninetto Davoli. The incident was hushed up and kept silent about for many years. As well as the fact, for example, that the Berberovs’ neighbors literally fled from the house, which had been turned into a menagerie.

King's further fate was tragic. At the end of filming, the lion escaped from the school gym, where he temporarily lived with his owners, and went outside. We can learn about the future from the main character of the unfolding drama, Alexander Ivanovich Gurov. A young policeman, who was called to the scene, reacted as quickly as possible and was forced to shoot the lion:

“What I saw shocked me. About fifteen meters away from me, within a radius of several meters, the grass, wet after the rain, was painted bright red. In the middle of this bloody carpet sat a huge lion, moving its paws and either purring or growling quite loudly. From under the massive body one could see the legs of a man and a hand entangled in the mane; the head of the unfortunate man was in the mouth of the beast. There were planks, bricks, and some other objects lying around, with the help of which (as I later found out) people tried to scare away the predator.”(A.I. Gurov “The Death of the King, or the Lion Didn’t Jump”)

Today Alexander Ivanovich Gurov is a police lieutenant general, a Russian statesman and political figure, professor, doctor of legal sciences. Until now, he considers rescuing a student from the clutches of a raging lion one of the main trials and feats in his life. The young man, by the way, recovered from his injuries. But his health was forever undermined, and he died quite young.

What animal starred in both “Prisoner of the Caucasus” and “9th Company”? and got the best answer

Reply from?[guru]
In fact, this is not a donkey, but a donkey...
Lyusya was born on April 15, 1948 in Central Asia. Height at withers - 112 cm.
The average weight of the pack that Lucy can carry is 70 - 80 kg.
The average lifespan of donkeys is 30 to 40 years, but long-lived ones live up to 60.
The legendary donkey Lucy has been registered in the Simferopol Zoo Corner since its creation in the Children's Park for forty years. She became famous in 1966, when the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was released. The film was filmed in Crimea, and director Gaidai’s assistants looked for this handsome ungulate to be Shurik’s partner - Demyanenko.
“Our veteran employees told me that our Lucy is a celebrity,” says Alexey Kamentsev, head of the zoo corner. - Before their eyes, filmmakers took Lucy away to filming.
And our 55-year-old donkey shook up her old ways and starred in the TV series “Special Forces”.
To film a scene with an old Afghan man in the film “9th Company,” a donkey was needed. The film crew contacted the Yalta Zoo, explaining that they needed an animal that was not afraid of the camera and loud sounds. Zoo workers immediately recommended the donkey Lucy, who almost 40 years ago starred in Prisoner of the Caucasus, carrying Shurik. She also played her role in “9th Company” perfectly.
For three days she rode through the mountains in the vicinity of Bakhchisarai. She and three other donkeys were involved in a risky episode of fighting. When the pyrotechnicians set off explosions, the extras (according to the script!) rushed in all directions, but the donkeys remained in place: they simply were not afraid. They only filmed it on the third take. By the way, in the mountains, “special forces” Yakut, played by Vlad Galkin, learned about Lucy’s film past. He took a photo with a donkey and already in Moscow, during a break between filming, showed this picture to Natalya Varley - “a Komsomol member, an athlete and simply a beauty.”
“Natalya Vladimirovna recognized the same donkey in the picture,” Vladislav Galkin told us, returning to the shoot. - She remembers the Crimean “vacations” with nostalgia. If he comes to Crimea, he will definitely visit Lucy.
“She is very cunning, with character, she understands literally everything and, despite her advanced age, she can gallop,” says the caretaker of the zoo, Sasha. - Celebrations on the occasion of Lucy’s anniversary have not yet been held at the zoo corner: conventionally, April 15 is considered her birthday, like Alla Pugacheva’s. But we decided to honor the legendary donkey in the summer...
A little bit about Lucy... Finally... Vladimir ETUSH (in “Prisoner of the Caucasus” - Comrade Saakhov):
During the filming, Lyusya hit a Moskvich
“We suffered with this stubborn animal. When you need to go, you stand, when you need to stand, you go. Leonid Gaidai was very careful about the donkey, saying that the animal was biblical, so “comrade actors, be careful.” Demyanenko (Shurik) called the donkey (or donkey) “eared,” and he responded. In general, the donkey only got along with Sasha and Natasha Varleya. They fed him sugar. At the end of filming, the donkey was following Sasha’s tail. And then, when they filmed the episode with the stubbornness of the donkey, they spent a long time trying to persuade the donkey to stand, but he - a smart beast - knows that Sashka has sugar in his pocket, and runs after him. We did 30 takes. Alexander even changed his pants so that the smell of sugar would not remain. But the animal doesn’t come off! We decided to film another episode. So this animal galloped off somewhere around the bend. A second later, a crash, donkey squeals and screams were heard. And a group of angry comrades came out from around the bend and demanded compensation for damages for the crippled Moskvich. But when the guys saw our trio - Vitsin, Morgunov and Nikulin - they smiled, asked for autographs, and the incident was settled.”
Material from 04/24/2003.
Lucy died of old age in 2007.
Thanks for the Question...

No one, even the most famous director, is immune from “blunders.” The painting by Leonid Gaidai, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary these days, was no exception. However, in such “folk” films, any mistake is not a mistake, but just another “highlight”.

Shurik's amnesia

RIA Novosti RIA Novosti

Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov in the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"

Already in the very title of the film lies a well-known inconsistency. The film is called “Prisoner of the Caucasus, or Shurik’s New Adventures,” and it was conceived as a continuation of the sensational “Operation Y.” That's right - Shurik is the same, and the "magnificent trinity" is. Only one thing is not clear: how did the main character not recognize the “kunaks” as the bandits who attacked the warehouse in the first film?

Ghost Pencil

In the episode with the twist lesson, on the table of the hero Vitsin, who is counting money, there is a double-sided pencil, which first faces the red side towards the Coward, and after a split second it miraculously turns blue.

False fish

An attentive domino player, having watched the episode with a simultaneous game, may notice that, in essence, there is no talk of any fish, contrary to the words of the Goonie. Firstly, there is a “5:4” dice in two places, and secondly, a “5:1” dice is missing.

Boots in the river

In the scene where Nina pulls Shurik out of a mountain river, he takes off his shoes before climbing into his sleeping bag. Everyone knows the continuation: the packed Shurik begins to jump around the clearing and, in the end, falls off a cliff straight into a mountain river. An athlete and Komsomol member pulls him out of the water. But Shurik gets out of the river wearing shoes.

Two carnations and a gluttonous Komsomol member

RIA Novosti RIA Novosti

Varley, Nikulin, Vitsin and Morgunov in the feature film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"

The largest number of "blunders" occurred in the scenes filmed in the house of Comrade Saakhov. Let's start with the fact that the peephole through which Frunzik Mkrtchan's hero spies on Nina disappears from the wall within a minute. Another "inconsistency" is the food tray. Coward, Dunce and Experienced bring Nina a sumptuous lunch of fruit and gingerbread. And when the performance of the song about the Sultan is over, the viewer clearly sees that the tray is completely empty. It turns out that the starving Komsomol member “swept away” an entire table of food in a matter of minutes.

Gauze bandage

The scene where Morgunov is given an injection using a syringe that looks more like a pump is also marked by a funny inconsistency. Shurik’s friend, who is unable to remove the syringe from the loin of Byvaly’s body, spits on his hands... through a gauze bandage.

"Real" icicles and a "wild" bear

Himalayan bears, like the clubfooted one that jumps out of a cave right at the characters in the film, do not live in this region. This is probably why the collar is clearly visible on the “wild beast”.

The following fact will not escape the eyes of an attentive viewer: when Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov, in the heat of the chase, climb into the refrigerator, they come out covered with “frost.” Everything looks quite natural, with the exception of the icicles on the Coward’s hat, which sway with his every movement.

Microphone shadow

In the episode with Swan Lake, the shadow of a microphone is clearly visible to the right of Comrade Saakhov, who is kneeling.

Shurik was dropped off

RIA News

Demyanenko in the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"

At the end of the film, when Shurik, riding a donkey, sees off Nina, a bus approaches them. For a moment he hides the heroes, all the legs, including the donkey's, disappear, and the bus drives away. And a second later, Shurik appears on the screen again, riding on horseback after the retreating bus. How and why the young man and the donkey were thrown out of the vehicle, forcing him to get there on his own, the viewer can only guess.

Censorship and little tricks

The idea for the film was born after Gaidai read in one of the newspapers a story about the kidnapping of a girl by a horseman in love in a Transcaucasian republic. Gaidai immediately wanted to film his friend Yuri Nikulin and came up with a role for him. But he refused: “Do they steal the bride these days? Stupidity! I won’t take part in the film.” Gaidai managed to persuade Nikulin, promising to improve the script together.

RIA News

Mkrtchyan, Etush, Nikulin and Morgunov in the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"

Soviet censorship banned the following opening scene of the film, which was invented by Gaidai and Nikulin: A coward approaches a plank fence and, looking around, draws the letter “X” with chalk. Next, Goonie appears and writes the letter “U”. The policeman who saw this disgrace began to trill his whistle. But Goonies, not at a loss, adds: “Feature film.”

It is noteworthy that Natalya Varley failed to voice her heroine Nina. "Captive" speaks in the voice of Nadezhda Rumyantseva.

The trick with Vitsin's head turning one hundred and eighty degrees was filmed in several stages. First: Vitsin, lowering his hat over his face, moves his fingers folded on his chest - the camera films and stops. Second: Vitsin puts on his jacket backwards, his hat is on his face, his fingers move - the camera films and stops. And these frames are “broken” by another piece, where the back of Georgy Mikhailovich’s head is filmed: first under the hat, and then when it is moved upward.

RIA News

Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov in the feature film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"

It is also interesting that in the bargaining scene in Saakhov’s office, Mkrtchyan’s hero says the phrase - “But you’re not getting a goat!” In this phrase, the word “get” was voiced by another actor.

In the scene where the trio Vitsin-Morgunov-Nikulin drinks beer, Vitsin, being an avid teetotaler, took a sip of real beer.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

On June 15, 1965, the creative association “Luch” at the Mosfilm film studio received a script application from Yakov Kostyukovsky and Maurice Slobodsky. Inspired by the success of the comedy film “Operation Y”, they simply came up with new adventures of Shurik - Alexander Demyanenko.

“Song about Bears” - Sung by Aida Vedishcheva

In the second story - “Bigfoot and Others” - the plot was as follows: a scientific expedition led by a prominent scientist is looking for a Bigfoot in the mountains. But the group does not even realize that the trinity in the person of Coward, Dunce and Experienced is impersonating Bigfoot in order to throw the police off the trail. However, Shurik and Nina expose the scoundrels.

On October 26, the scriptwriting and editorial board met again to discuss the script entitled “Shurik in the Mountains.” This time it was a script for a full-length film (there were no short stories in it), the plot of which was built around the kidnapping of a girl.
The main shooting of the famous film by Leonid Gaidai “Prisoner of the Caucasus” took place in Crimea in the Alushta region. Many are sure that only Crimea was the location for the location shooting of this wonderful film. By right, an excursion trail has been organized in Crimea to the filming locations of “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” But, however, not only Crimea became the location for filming this movie.

One of the scenes of this film was filmed in the Caucasus, namely near Krasnaya Polyana. The scene of Shurik and Nina swimming in a mountain river was filmed on the Mzymta River, which flows into the Black Sea in Adler. Later, L. Gaidai, who was fascinated by these places, filmed episodes of his next comedy, “The Diamond Arm,” on the road to Krasnaya Polyana.

When the script was approved, problems suddenly arose with the actors. Immediately two members of the legendary trinity - Yuri Nikulin and Evgeny Morgunov - refused to participate in the filming of “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Much of the script, in their opinion, was forced. Nikulin said: “I don’t like it. This is speculation on the top three.”
Leonid Gaidai began to convince him that together they would rework the script and introduce a lot of their own tricks into it.

screensaver

Incredibly popular artists after “Operation Y” increasingly could not find a common language. Contemporaries recall the antics of the star-struck Morgunov, who could easily refuse filming in the middle of the working day. So often, instead of him, a double with a similar physique appears in the frame.

Nevertheless, it was easy to work on Gaidai’s set. The director encouraged improvisation and creative rebellion. He prepared a box of champagne for the actors and awarded a bottle for every trick they came up with. This “prize” was awarded to both Nikulin for the episode with scratching his leg, and Vitsin for the scene of “vaccination” of Experienced...

According to the original plan, “Prisoner of the Caucasus” should have started like this. A Coward (Vitsin) approaches the fence, timidly writes a large letter “X” and, looking around, runs away. Then Experienced (Morgunov) appears and confidently writes a large letter “U”. The policeman who noticed this disgrace takes up his whistle. However, Goonie (Nikulin) doesn’t hesitate, goes up to the fence and writes: “...an honest film.” This screensaver was later cut out, considered to be hooliganism.

And at the beginning of the film Shurik appeared on a donkey.
The donkey Lucy became famous in 1966, when the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was released. The film was filmed in Crimea, and director Gaidai’s assistants looked for this handsome ungulate to be Shurik’s partner - Demyanenko.
Lucy died three years ago. But it seems like just recently I often visited the children’s park with my son, and he rode this donkey.

By the way, Lucy was born on April 15, 1948 in Central Asia. The average life expectancy of donkeys is from 30 to 40 years, but long-livers live up to 60. So it turns out that Lucy lived her life to her age-old limit.
The last time, at the age of 55, she shook up her old ways and starred in the 9th company, remember where Vlad Galkin (Yakut) played?

An interesting story told by Vladimir ETUSH (in “Prisoner of the Caucasus” - Comrade Saakhov):
During the filming, Lyusya hit a Moskvich
“We suffered with this stubborn animal. When you need to go, you stand, when you need to stand, you go. Leonid Gaidai was very careful about the donkey, saying that the animal was biblical, so “comrade actors, be careful.” Demyanenko (Shurik) called the donkey (or donkey) “eared,” and he responded. In general, the donkey only got along with Sasha and Natasha Varleya.

They fed him sugar. At the end of filming, the donkey was following Sasha’s tail. And then, when they filmed the episode with the stubbornness of the donkey, they spent a long time trying to persuade the donkey to stand, but he - a smart beast - knows that Sashka has sugar in his pocket, and runs after him. We did 30 takes. Alexander even changed his pants so that the smell of sugar would not remain. But the animal doesn’t come off! We decided to film another episode.

So this animal galloped off somewhere around the bend. A second later, a crash, donkey squeals and screams were heard. And a group of angry comrades came out from around the bend, demanding compensation for damages for the crippled Moskvich. But when the guys saw our trio - Vitsin, Morgunov and Nikulin - they smiled, asked for autographs, and the incident was settled.”

For a long time they could not find an actress for the role of student, Komsomol member, and athlete Nina. Gaidai made a strict demand: “The girl must immediately attract attention.” Assistants brought photographs from all over the country; over five hundred photo tests were made.

Natalia Varley was “discovered” by director Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich (future author of “D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers”). In Odessa, during a tour of the Moscow Circus, he noticed a beautiful tightrope walker. Right under the dome, balancing on a suspended trapeze, Natalya Varley beat out the rhythms of Spanish dances. The director immediately offered her the main role in his film “Rainbow Formula”. But the artistic council did not approve her, and she played only a cameo role.

From the very first screen tests, Varley unexpectedly made the donkey walk. “How she made him go - you have to ask her,” Alexander Demyanenko wondered.

If the stunt episodes were quite easy for the young actress, then the game scenes were much more difficult. “She didn’t know how to do anything in cinema,” Gaidai recalled, “but she had a natural artistry that could control a lot. In addition, she performed all the stunts perfectly, and there are many of them in the film.”

Most of the filming took place in Crimea. The entire film crew helped the young actress get a feel for the role. So, in one episode, the heroine Varley had to laugh infectiously for several minutes. Nikulin, Vitsin and Morgunov, realizing the difficulty of the moment, suddenly lifted their T-shirts during the shooting and began scratching their bellies, making funny grimaces. The take was filmed fun and easy.

Varley recalled: “Behind the ease and cheerfulness of my heroine’s adventures, hard work and endless rehearsals are hidden... I performed all the stunts on my own: I dived into the water, raced in a car. When we were working on the episode where I run into a human chain of my pursuers blocking the road, I had to brake sharply at a certain line in front of the film camera. We rehearse - everything works out. We start filming - at the last moment the brakes fail... The car stopped a few centimeters from the operator. Maybe that's why the film turned out to be so exciting. I was 19 then, and I didn’t think about the risk...”

“I always carried 290 kilograms of circus equipment with me to filming in the hope that somewhere during a break from work I would rehearse. I really didn’t want to leave the circus even for a short time. But it didn't work. Although there were plenty of tricks in the film. In the shot where I jump out of the window of Saakhov’s dacha, I am jumping from a filming crane, from a great height - I was hanging on a thin rope.

I was rocking. I could easily have been thrown against the faucet or the wall...
Or the bathing episode. Gaidai had the idea that Nina, before jumping into the water after Shurik, would first ride a horse, then a donkey. But after I fell off my horse in front of the film crew... And Gaidai decided: stop taking risks. The water is even more icy, it’s easy to catch a cold. At first they wanted to film a stuntman - well, that didn’t go anywhere, I couldn’t agree to such a substitution.

Then they found a girl similar in figure to me, she said that she was a master of sports in swimming. She jumped and... began to drown - she didn’t know how to swim, it turns out, but she really wanted to act. And in the end I was allowed to jump off the cliff myself. By the way, I remember more not the swimming itself, but how Sasha Demyanenko and I sat after swimming and trembled.
We're really shaking. The point is that we have to look wet on screen. But the day was hot, and the moisture evaporated from us instantly. Therefore, they watered us with water from the river, and it was seven degrees. After this execution, they poured me alcohol and forced me to drink so that I wouldn’t get sick. I don’t remember how I got to the camp site where we lived...

As for my relationship with the trio... They helped me a lot, but they also bullied me a lot. I was young and shy. When they were carrying me in a sack in the film, they pinched and tickled me so much that I simply cried from laughter... in the sack. The director and I rehearsed for a long time the scene where I laugh at Shurik, who climbed into the sleeping bag from the wrong side.

At the rehearsal, I laugh, they start filming - they “override” me. And then Gaidai agreed with Morgunov. They stood behind the camera and at the same time with the command “Motor!” they lifted their shirts and scratched their bellies. At the sight of Morgunov’s huge belly and the sunken Gaidai, I began to go hysterical...”
It is worth noting that, despite such a huge success of the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, Varley herself received a bonus for it at first of 200 rubles, plus another 100 when the success was repeated.

But Demyanenko almost suffered in the episode when his hero Shurik floats down the river in a sleeping bag. In one of the takes, the insurers, who were supposed to intercept the sleeping bag with Demyanenko in a certain place, failed to do this, and the stream carried the actor further. I had to organize a chase. Fortunately, after a few tens of meters the sleeping bag with Demyanenko was caught.

There are many acting successes in “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” Vladimir Etush played the role of Saakhov perfectly. In contrast to the cheerful threesome, to create a greater comic effect, he was serious on screen all the time.
“Gaidai wanted Saakhov to be grotesque and parody,” said Etush. - I understood him. But I couldn’t agree with this. Important in this sense was our dispute with Gaidai over the scene when Saakhov, the unlucky groom, is poured with wine by the heroine of the film. Gaidai offered maximum eccentricity in this episode. I suggested seriousness. After all, my Saakhov is serious, he does not understand how one can reject his advances. The scene was filmed, and the only concession to Gaidai was the flower behind the ear, which, however, only emphasized my seriousness, and this - I was happy to see - gave the desired comic effect ... "

The flying phrase “Hats off!”, like many others, was born during the filming.

A working moment during the filming of the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus”

Outwardly - by gestures, facial expressions, voice - I played a specific person. A good friend of mine who lives in one of the Caucasian republics. I copied the “drawing” of the role from him. And he was very worried that he might recognize himself and be offended. This friend of mine, by the way, was at the screening of the film and did not recognize himself. He praised the film very much and said: “Listen, it’s wonderful! How similar, how similar! I myself knew such people, such people live in the Caucasus in Nagorno-Karabakh!..”

Another friend of mine - by that time I had already played Caucasians in several films - advised: “Don’t go to the Caucasus - they will kill you there.” And when I played Saakhov, the same comrade said: “Well, now you don’t have to go to the Caucasus - they will kill you in Moscow.” Everything was resolved peacefully, on the market. I was received very friendly. They vying with each other..."

Meanwhile, few people know, but the role of Saakhov in the film was going to be re-voiced. What happened? It turns out that when the film was already ready, the management of Mosfilm grabbed their heads - the name of the head of the studio’s party organization was Saakov. To avoid a scandal, Gaidai was offered to change the name of the main character, that is, to re-voice those episodes of the film where he appears on the screen.

And this cost a lot of money, and it was already difficult to reassemble the actors. In short, Gaidai panicked. And then Nikulin came to the rescue. One day he was at a reception with the Minister of Culture Furtseva and - as if casually - told her this story. She was indignant: “Throwing government money down the drain?! I will not let it!" On the same day, she called Mosfilm and forbade the film to be re-dubbed. So Saakhov remained Saakhov.”

Frunzik Mkrtchyan was memorable in the small role of Dzhabrail. One day Nikulin came to his aid. In one of the episodes, Mkrtchyan’s character notices that a party member has been kidnapped in a neighboring area. The authorities resisted. "You can not do it this way. Such words.
And even with such a suspicious intonation...” Then Yuri Nikulin suggested: “Let me say, I don’t have an accent, therefore, the intonation will be different...” Surprisingly, the phrase spoken by Nikulin passed.
For every trick invented by the actors, Gaidai
paid them with champagne. They say that in the end Nikulin earned 24 bottles, Morgunov - 18, and Vitsin only one, because he did not like champagne. In fact, he came up with as many tricks in the film as his partners.

This is what Georgy Vitsin himself said: “Remember the episode when they knocked down the door and I flew out the window? I added one touch - the Coward flies and shouts “Watch out!” Or another improvisation - when I run after Varley and get scared by the scarf that fell from her.

It seems like a small thing, but for some reason the audience remembered this moment very well. And I just went from the image - since he is a Coward, that means he should be afraid of everything, even a scarf. I also came up with the scene with the cucumber while Shurik was chasing us on a handcar. I shoot from a slingshot, the cucumber remains in my hands, and the slingshot flies away. But my favorite find is “stand to death.” Remember when the three of us, holding hands, blocked the Varley road? And I am convulsing between Morgunov and Nikulin. Everyone still reminds me of this scene...”

There is an episode in the film where the famous trio drinks beer.

Life, as they say, is good! - exclaims the Coward.
- A good life is even better! - notes Dunce.
- Exactly! - Experienced confirms authoritatively.

In this scene, Vitsin, like his two other friends, had to do what was written in the script, namely: drink beer. But Vitsin was a convinced teetotaler. I had to replace the beer with rosehip. Vitsin drained five mugs. And then the girl watching the filming suddenly remarked: “What kind of beer is this! There’s no foam!”

Here Nikulin timidly suggested: “Maybe we should put white cotton wool in the rose hips? It will be like foam...” Vitsin refused this option and in the sixth take decided to drink real beer. As they say, art requires sacrifice.

Yuri Nikulin had an amazing imagination. In one episode, Goonie lies stretched out on the bed and scratches his heel. Many people think that this trick was achieved through editing. In fact, there was a midget hidden under the blanket. “Yuri Nikulin himself brought this idea to the set,” says Vladimir Tsukerman, director of the Three Actors Museum. - And one circus actress told him about this trick. This was back in the 60s. Nikulin remembered the trick and was still waiting for an opportunity to insert it into the comedy.”

Another episode of the film. Driver Edik injects Experienced with a huge syringe. And again the author of the idea was Nikulin, who brought the “Zhanet” syringe from the circus. The episode was filmed as follows. The camera took a close-up of Morgunov. They placed a stool between the artist’s legs behind him, removed the seat and put a pillow in its place. It was into the pillow that Ruslan Akhmetov stuck the syringe. Nikulin was lying next to the stool. As soon as the needle pierced the pillow, he grabbed the needle and swung the syringe to the right and then to the left.
“Prisoner of the Caucasus” became a favorite of the season, taking 1st place at the 1967 box office. However, despite this success, it became the last film by L. Gaidai, where the trinity he invented was filmed. Later, the director himself explained the reasons why he “killed” the trio: “Dykhovichny (screenwriter - F.R.) told me: “You, Leonid Iovich, have found such types - enough for a lifetime. They can be placed anywhere, even in space.” Yes, we could have filmed more. But to such a question I usually answer: “That’s it, the material has been worked out. It’s no longer possible to operate without repetitions.”

But I can tell you the real reason: discord began in the group. Well, I always had a strained relationship with Morgunov. Even on “Moonshiners,” he said: “I won’t act in this role.” There was something he didn't like there. But without Mogunov, the ensemble was collapsing. And I have a lot of letters from viewers. Everyone wants to see new films with three... What to do?

I was forced to go to Pyryev and explain the situation. Ivan Aleksandrovich supported me: “Yes, the troika cannot be destroyed! “Don’t worry,” he says. I’ll take Morgunov on myself”... Pyryev called him, apparently, he sanded him properly, and Morgunov came to the set. But again with ambition. “You,” he tells me, “don’t think that it was Pyryev who forced me to act. I don't care about Pyryev. “Sergei Bondarchuk convinced me of the need for filming,” he says. After all, they studied together, in the same course, at VGIK. Then the work seemed to go well. There were no whims...

But when they started filming Prisoner of the Caucasus, Yura Nikulin read the script and said: “I don’t like it. This, he says, is speculation on the top three,” and everything in the same spirit. “Okay,” I say, “Yura, this will be the last film with your three. But this film will happen whether you like it or not.” We didn’t quarrel with Nikulin, but I decided to myself: that’s it, it’s time to call it a day.
And then an emergency happened on the set of “The Captive,” which was the final chord of the collaboration. Morgunov came to the shoot with fans. I tell the group director: “Remove all strangers from the site!” Morgunov almost came at me with his fists. I took the director’s script and, in front of Morgunov’s eyes, crossed out all the scenes with it. And quite a lot was not filmed yet. “That’s it,” I say to the director. - Send Morgunov to Moscow. He won’t be filming anymore.” So my troika fell apart... But in principle, it was still possible to film it. I had various ideas..."

And here is what E. Morgunov himself says about this:
“I destroyed this trinity myself, and it happened by accident. The fact is that Vitsin and I had some kind of preconceived opinion that Gaidai devotes a lot of time to Yuri Nikulin in the frame. Nikulina is filmed and Nikulina is being courted. And Vitsin and I are on the sidelines. I said: “Lenya, either the three of us work together, or I will consider myself dropped out.” He replied: “Well, if you want to leave, go away. I'll find someone else." He didn't find anything else...

But our friendly relations did not suffer from this. We were very good friends. He was a very humble man, in the full sense of the word. Flexible and very cute. But it just so happened - I am a person of principle, and for me there are no authorities. When we made “Dog Barbos” or “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” we came up with everything ourselves.

Nikulin talks a lot about the fact that he came up with one. And there they came up with everything. Cameraman Konstantin Brovin came up with a story about scratching his leg. Gaidai paid us a bottle of champagne for each trick. And everyone was eager to earn this bottle, because it was special gratitude on his part.”
In “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” the heroine Varley sings a song about polar bears. The words were written by Leonid Derbenev, and there was a very good first verse: “Somewhere on a white ice floe, where it is always frosty, bears scratch their backs on the earth’s axis.”

The Arts Council was outraged. What is it - bears scratch? Then Derbenev proposed another option: “bears rub their backs.” Of course, the first option was better. These are bears! They itch and the earth spins. This has its own humor.

A funny incident happened with the song “If I were a Sultan.” Alexander Zatsepin wrote the music, Kostyukovsky and Slobodskoy composed satirical couplets. Nikulin sang it. How everyone rejoiced! And suddenly the head of Mosfilm, Ivan Pyryev, orders: “Throw away this song. It stops the action and disrupts the rhythm of the story.”

It seemed as if the song had died forever. But someone from Pyryev’s circle advised: “Let him cool down and forget.” And so they did. And after a while they again showed Pyryev the same song, but shortened by just one verse about alcohol. The authors were afraid that Ivan Aleksandrovich would be indignant and kick us out of the office. But he approved: “This is a completely different matter.” So the song remained in the film. And here are the words of the discarded verse:

Each wife will allow me a hundred,
Total, three hundred grams - That's something!
But then, on the eyebrows Coming home,
I have a scandal ahead of me with every wife.
Kostyukovsky recalled how long he was tortured for the phrase of the finale of “Prisoner of the Caucasus”: “Long live the Soviet court, the most humane court in the world!” - considering it a mockery of the Soviet court. To preserve this phrase, the screenwriter suggested replacing the word “Soviet” with “our”. And the officials breathed a sigh of relief. “This is the kind of nonsense that the last precious brain resources were spent on,” notes Kostyukovsky. “But with all the wasted nerves, quarrels and scandals, I remember this time as the happiest in my life.”

The filmmakers often tested lines on friends, and sometimes, in violation of the rules, they organized clandestine screenings “for their own people” at Mosfilm. Once they took out “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” which had not yet been accepted by Goskino, and showed it in the Trekhgorki cultural center. The success was deafening, but Goskino did not dare to release the film. But L.I. looked at the picture. Brezhnev, he liked the picture and called the head of the USSR State Cinema Committee A. Romanov and thanked him for the wonderful comedy film. This decided the fate of the tape.
Another memory is this, the most recognizable place is the old walnut tree near Demerdzhi, on which Nikulin’s hero sat and threw nuts. This tree is about 600 years old (I won’t write details), so tourists love to take pictures near it. Not far from the tree there is a post of foresters of the Alushta forestry enterprise and there is a sign “Nikulinsky nut”. Sometimes foresters try to take money (several hryvnia) for a photo next to a tree. I myself climbed it several times... when I was young..

Another familiar “rarity” is located a hundred meters from the Nikulinsky nut, this is the same famous stone on which Varley danced. True, now everything there is overgrown with hedgehog and rose hip bushes, although many tourists are shown a “fake” stone that is located next to a tree. It’s just “more convenient” for the guides.
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
According to the unanimous opinion of all those involved in the filming, the film was a success. It was so successful that “Operation Y” will outperform in all respects. However, after the first viewing, the chairman of the USSR State Cinema Committee, Alexei Romanov, attacked the director and screenwriters with accusations of anti-Sovietism. The censors did not like the jokes, songs, frivolity of the story and the seriousness of the issues raised. The censors didn't like anything. It was easier to put the film “on the shelf” and admit a complete fiasco than to follow the lead of critics and turn a bright comedy into its weak semblance.

The picture was saved by chance. One day it was necessary to deliver some fresh comedy to Brezhnev’s dacha. At your own peril and risk, you sent Gaidai’s rejected film. Leonid Ilyich liked “Prisoner of the Caucasus” so much that he watched it several times over the weekend, showed it to the members of the Central Committee Politburo who lived nearby and, interspersing his speech with lines from the film, congratulated by telephone the then chairman of the USSR State Committee on Cinematography, Alexei Romanov, on yet another victory for Soviet cinema,” - recalls the screenwriter of the film Yakov Kostyukovsky.
Few people know that in the same sixties the plot for the continuation of “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was ready. Comrade Saakhov ends up in prison, where he becomes the leader of the camp’s amateur performances. For a Caucasian, this is a similar occupation to death. After many misadventures, he is released and hopes to resume his career... However, his position has already been taken by... Nina. The scriptwriters were convinced that the film was doomed to success, but the omnipresent Goskino did not allow the plans to be implemented.

This film is beyond praise. Both adults and children know it, a film that you want to watch again and again. The film contains not only the immortal humor of the characters, light intrigue, but! .. even an element of light eroticism, naturally at the level of the 60s of the last century. And I have long been haunted by the question of how Soviet censorship allowed the charming Natalya Varley to run around in just tights for half a film.

At the 1967 box office, “Prisoner of the Caucasus” confidently took first place; 76.54 million viewers watched it in a year.

Thank you for your attention!