| Wagtails Army | |
|---|---|
 Russian poster | |
| Russian: Армия «Трясогузки» | |
| Directed by | Aleksandrs Leimanis |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Māris Rudzītis |
| Edited by | Ērika Meškovska |
| Music by | Kirill Molchanov |
| Production company | Riga Film Studio |
| Release date |
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| Running time | 84 min. |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Languages |
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Wagtails Army (Russian: Армия «Трясогузки», romanized: Armiya 'Tryasoguzki', Latvian: Cielaviņas armija) is a 1964 Soviet family film directed by Aleksandrs Leimanis. Screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alexander Vlasov and Arkady Mlodik.
Plot
The protagonists of this adventure film are a group of homeless boys who decide to assist the Red Army. In a city occupied by the forces of Admiral Kolchak, an uprising is being planned. Suddenly, a train derails, a sabotage operation attributed to a mysterious group calling itself the "Swallow Army." The Kolchak counterintelligence service, furious and desperate, begins a relentless search for the underground conspirators, though without success. Even the Bolsheviks become curious about their enigmatic allies.
It is eventually revealed that the formidable "army" consists of just three homeless boys: a Russian boy nicknamed Swallow, a Latvian named Miki, and a young Romani boy. The film tells the story of how these resourceful and courageous boys aided the Bolsheviks in liberating the city from the White Army forces.
Cast
- Viktor Kholmogorov as Tryasoguzka
- Yuri Korzhov as Gypsy
- Aivars Galviņš as Mika
- Gunārs Cilinskis as Platais (voiced by Artyom Karapetyan)
- Ivan Kuznetsov as Kondrat
- Viktor Plyut as Nikolay
- Aleksey Alekseev as colonel
- Gurgen Tonunts as esaul
- Pavel Shpringfeld as lineman
- Uldis Dumpis as adjutant
- Ivan Lapikov as wounded man
Sequel
On December 23, 1968, the sequel to The Wagtail's Army Again in Battle was released on Soviet screens, also directed by Leimanis.
References
- Лучшие фильмы, которые нужно бы показать российским детям (список)
- В киноклубе псковской библиотеки состоится показ фильма Александра Лейманиса «Армия «Трясогузки» снова в бою»
- Anastasiya Chekhovskaya (2014-03-04). "Революция в школьной программе и вне" [A revolution in the school curriculum and beyond]. Radio Svoboda (in Russian).
- Армия Трясогузки // КиноПоиск
- The Wagtail's Army (1964) Full Cast / Crew
External links
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- 1964 films
- 1964 children's films
- 1960s war adventure films
- 1960s Soviet films
- 1960s Russian-language films
- Latvian-language films
- Russian Civil War films
- Soviet-era Latvian films
- Soviet children's films
- Soviet war adventure films
- Russian children's films
- Latvian children's films
- Soviet black-and-white films
- Films based on Russian novels
- Films set in the Soviet Union
- Films directed by Aleksandrs Leimanis
- Russian-language war films
- 1960s Soviet film stubs