The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming

As for the nostalgia for "simpler days" of the sixties, let's remember that this film was made in 1965/66, which means it was written no later than 1964. Deep, dark, scary days. It was released only three years after the murder of President Kennedy, four after the Cuban missile crisis, a year at most after the Tonkin Gulf incident that provided the US with a convenient excuse for committing troops to Vietnam, a short ten years after the Mau Mau massacres in the Congo, another short ten years after the Russians sent tanks into Hungary, and a very short twenty years after World War II.

There was nothing simple or innocent about those days. The world was tired and aching. Can anyone be blamed for making films that featured a simpler context: a small town where everyone really does know everyone else, where people take care of each other despite their differences, and where a few people from opposite sides of the cold war can work together? "The Russians Are Coming. . ." belongs to a genre of peace films that reached their zenith in the fifties and sixties, climaxing, of course, with "Dr. Strangelove, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb." Others in this genre include "The Day the Earth Stood Still," a long-forgotten sci-fi film called "The 37th Day," "Fail Safe," and "The President's Analyst" which, like "The Russians Are Coming. . ." seems dated now but still wears well.

If it seems quaint and innocent now, bear in mind that all times but our own seem quaint and innocent, simply because we're not involved in them. We don't have to pick up the paper every day and wonder about whether we really should behead the king or put a bomb shelter in our back yard (yes, I had friends who had them). Like beauty, quaintness and innocence are often in the eye of the beholder.

But above all, the film is driven by Alan Arkin's brilliant performance as a man who understands only too well the full import of the situation in which he's trapped. His growing desperation as the situation becomes at once funnier and more dangerous is set against the insane and inane kneejerk patriotism of both the Americans and the Russians and mark him as the only sane man in the asylum. For all the film's innocent silliness, its message is much darker: how does a sane man survive in a world gone mad? By doing the best he can in his little part of it.


sexy performance by Arkin   January 17, 2000
14 out of 17 found this review helpful

I just saw this movie again last night. I was 11 years old when I first saw it and back then there was something about the Arkin character that got to me. I thought he was soooo sexy, and cool. My friends couldn't figure out why I didn't like the blond Russian sailor, but in my mind, Arkin was much more interesting. I'm glad to say that I still feel that way many years later. I think most people who see this film realize the same thing-current comedies play us for fools and dumb down the content. The fact that this film had no subtitles during the long opening sequence forced us to pay attention to the acting. The decision to forgo the subtitles put us in the same situation as the Islanders-who were these people?, what were they saying?, and what did they want? Beyond the obvious political points of the film, it charmed us both with its subtleties (Arkin's attraction to the wife of the American writer) and its uproarious comedy (Jonathan Winter's "can't we get organized?"). In the end, this film wears extremely well because of its subtleties and great comedy, long after the end of the cold war.


Character Is Key In This Low-Key Comedy   January 22, 2001
Richard Posner (Long Island, NY USA)
14 out of 22 found this review helpful

I feel really old when I realize that I saw this film in a movie theater when it first came out. At that time, Carl Reiner was well-known from the Sid Caesar Show and the Dick Van Dyke Show, and Alan Arkin had made a big comic splash in "Enter Laughing" and was considered a rising star (somehow he never achieved full stardom and wound up doing odd character roles). Eva Marie Saint was a powerhouse dramatic actress ("On The Waterfront") doing a politically-incorrect simpering housewife role. Paul Ford was known for playing the colonel on the Phil Silvers "Sergeant Bilko" series. John Philip Law was the hunk du jour (and whatever happened to him?)and Andrea Dromm, the other half of the love story, apparently played out her entire movie career in this one film.

Initially, I was disappointed in the film because I'd read Nathaniel Benchley's novel, "The Off-Islanders," which was a much richer and more subtle story. In time, the movie won me over and I still love watching it. Most of the deliberately "comic" set pieces misfire--many of the routines go on too long (the blustery tension between Paul Ford's obsessed veteran and Brian Keith's put-upon police chief, for example)and Jewison, a good director in other respects, has no sense of comic timing.I do laugh, though, at the silly bit where Reiner and Tessie O'Shea are tied up face to face and attempt to get down a steep flight of stairs. This is funny mostly because of Reiner's own timing. Overall, the film could benefit by a cut of about 10-15 minutes.

What does keep me coming back is the warm, layered characterization of Alan Arkin's lieutenant and the journey of Carl Reiner's musical comedy writer from terrified schnook to murderous family man to chastened and maturing citizen.Reiner is actually scary when he fires a shotgun through the window of the car Arkin is driving. He's been pushed to the edge by his obnoxious son's goading and by the frightening threats to his family.The scene where he looks into the window of the crashed car and tries to apologize to the even-more-frightened Arkin is delicate and charmingly funny.

Arkin seems to be in another film most of the time. His character is richly detailed and subtle. He is clearly a better sailor than his stubborn captain (Theodore Bikel), and his repressed fury at the captain's stupidity is a character study in itself. He portrays fear, determination, resourcefulness, tenderness, and exasperation, all without pushing or overacting (the same can't be said for some of the other principals, notably Jonathan Winters, who never succeeds in a scripted part).

There is gentle satire in the portrayal of the easily duped and insular residents of Gloucester Island (Arkin's attempt to pronounce this name from a map is a gem in itself), though silent movie star Ben Blue wildly overacts. Brian Keith captures the weariness of a small town police chief's life, and his personal best moment comes when he faces the Soviet sub, guns trained on his town, and whips out his citation book to write out a ticket.

The mandatory romance isn't too annoying since Law and Dromm play it low-key and have some genuine charm. The two children are dreadfully annoying, though the boy is meant to be that way. Reiner's cry to his wife, "Hit him!" as he drives away, will definitely draw a sympathetic laugh.

The other unfortunate note (aside from the romance)is the Hollywood ending. The sub captain is bluffing the townspeople, thinking his men are being held (they aren't; they've commandeered a speedboat which unaccountably missed seeing the sub sail into the harbor). He threatens to blow up the town in one minute. The townspeople, in a wonderful shot, take aim with their hunting rifles and pistols, terror showing in their eyes. The captain is also terrified. The standoff has real tension, but it's solved by the awful gimmick of having a little boy (who to this point has played no part in the film) dangle from a church tower. Naturally, the Russian sailors scramble from the sub to help and everyone is now consumed with a spirit of detente. It leaves a bad taste, made worse by Saint's suggestion that the townspeople escort the sub safely out of the harbor (no doubt they will all face intense grilling by our government, and possibly jail time).

However, I always recover from that lapse and the movie leaves me feeling mostly charmed and happy. I find myself reciting "Egermecy--everybody to get from street!" at odd times, and I realize that this film makes me nostalgic for a time when movie comedies did not have to be vicious or filthy or both.


Everybody to get from street...and buy this video!   December 22, 1999
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I also agree that this has to be one of the best comedies from the 1960's. With Norman Jewison directing, this isn't your average flick, quite polished for a comedy, with excellent editing and cinematography and a strong script adapted from Benchley's novel. Jewison's creation of place captures just the right amount of sleepyness for this small island, and is perfect. Many of the performances are also exceptional, highlighted by Brian Keith as the long-suffering Glouscester Island sheriff; Jonathan Winters, of course, as one of his deputies; Carl Reiner as the vacationing writer; Eva Marie Saint as his long-suffering wife; their son (whose name escapes me, but who almost steals the movie with his antics); and Alan Arkin, as the long-suffering Soviet submarine lieutenant who must somehow get his sub off the reef. But first he must venture on-shore with his men and into the lives of the feared Americans. For its time, this movie must have been quite subversive given how the Russians are portrayed, which is truthful, normal and with affection. These aren't killers, just sailors, and right off the bat we're rooting for them to succeed. Arkin gives one of his best performances ever; it's a pleasure to watch him swing from drama to comedy and back. His rendition of the Reiner character's name as "Whitaker Walt" is a classic and a family favorite. He does it all here, and very movingly. The same can be said for Keith, who also shows great range and appeal. This movie also has one of the best endings of any film. A great comedy with a great message.