Happy-Go-Lucky
Печки-лавочки (1972)
Production
Director
Scenario
Composer
Pavel Chekalov
Actors
Vasiliy Shukshin
Ivan Rastorguyev
Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina
Nyura Rastorguyeva
Vsevolod Sanayev
Professor Sergei Stepanov
Zinoviy Gerdt
Professor Stepanov's friend
Ivan Ryzhov
Senior Train Conductor
Stanislav Lyubshin
Ivan Stepanov
Lyubov Sokolova
Train Conductor
Georgi Burkov
Viktor "The Builder" Aleksandrovich
Short description
On their way to a Black Sea resort, a Siberian tractor driver and his wife make new friends and take a detour to Moscow.
What's left behind the scenes
- Vasily Shukshin decided to film the movie in his native Altai. The film studio management did not want to send filmmakers and equipment so far away, arguing that beautiful filming locations could be found closer to Moscow, but Shukshin stood his ground. Eventually, the crew was allowed to go to Altai, but they were given the oldest equipment available, which, naturally, broke down constantly. Filming took place in the village of Shulgin Log, near Shukshin's home village of Srostki. Shukshin categorically refused to film in Srostki.
- Vasily Shukshin had no doubt that the role of the protagonist, Ivan Rastorguyev, would be played by Leonid Kuravlyov, who had become famous after appearing in Shukshin's comedic melodrama 'There Lives Such a Guy' (1964) and had also worked with Shukshin in the drama 'Your Son and Brother' (1966). The entire cast had already been recruited, and only the lead role remained vacant; however, Kuravlyov showed no interest in the project. He attended rehearsals, but did not even try to hide the fact that he was only doing so to avoid offending Shukshin. In the end, Shukshin himself appeared on screen in the role of Rastorguyev.
- For Vasily Shukshin himself, the comedy 'Pechki-lavochki' became an incredibly difficult film—by decision of the artistic council, two-thirds of the already filmed footage had to be simply cut. Shukshin fought for every frame, so it took the artistic council nearly a whole year to reach a final decision. Almost all folk expressions were removed from the characters' lines. Even hints of alcohol consumption were cut from the film. One of the characters was removed entirely, the credits were reshot, as was the entire finale of the picture. The film was assigned the third category—the minimum number of prints, the minimum number of posters, and distribution only in peripheral cinemas.
- Director, screenwriter, and lead actor Vasily Shukshin chose to film a lyrical comedy after the authorities refused to let him film a movie based on his own novel, 'I Came to Give You Freedom' (1971), about Stepan Razin, and suggested he film something contemporary instead. He took up the script for 'Pechek-Lavochek,' which he had proposed five years earlier and had been rejected at the time. Shukshin cherished the hope that a light story about a married couple's first trip to the warm sea would later help him 'push through' the idea of filming a historical drama.
- Once during filming in Altai, a representative of the CPSU district committee appeared on set, tasked with finding out exactly what Vasily Shukshin was filming. The plot of the film disappointed the party official—he strongly objected to showing a machine operator going on vacation in the middle of the agricultural season, stating that the country had many truly heroic workers. After this, the filmmakers encountered problems. Critical articles began appearing in the local press, and there were even talks that the film would be banned in Altai. Local activists began writing letters to Goskino requesting a focus on heroic labor weekdays rather than songs and dances. Shukshin's own uncle, a collective farm chairman, called the film's protagonist a 'relic of the past.'
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
