The Safety Match

The Safety Match, or The Swedish Match (Russian: Шведская спичка, romanized: Shvedskaya spichka) is a 1954 Soviet comedy film directed by Konstantin Yudin, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's 1884 story of the same name.[1][2]

The Safety Match
Russian: Шведская спичка
Directed byKonstantin Yudin
Written by
Starring
Cinematography
  • Igor Gelein
  • Valentin Zakharov
Music byVasiliy Shirinskiy
Production
company
Running time
53 minutes
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

Plot

The inhabitants of the county discovered the body of the dead retired cornet Mark Klyauzov. At the scene of the crime was a charred Swedish match, which led investigators to think about a chain of terrible events. But it's not as simple as it seems.[3]

Cast

Critics

Elena Bauman of the Soviet Screen magazine called the movie "one of the first signs of the new "free" cinema" (referring to the Khrushchev Thaw era) "which — as it seemed — accidentally stepped over the stone-dead canons, playfully challenged the sedate art style of those years".[5] According to her, even the title challenged the official patriotic campaign against cosmopolitans, while the movie itself worked as a satire on KGB. At the same time, she noted the superb ensemble cast that consisted of some of the biggest comedy names and a very authentic portrait of Anton Chekhov's period and writings.

Legacy

During 2015 which was declared the Year of Literature in Russia The Safety Match was widely shown at various film festivals and retro movie screenings across the country as part of the programme dedicated to 155 years since Anton Chekhov's birth.[2][6]

References
  1. The Safety Match movie at Russia-K (in Russian)
  2. State Central Museum of Cinema. National adaptations of Anton Chekhov's writings at ProfiCinema, 30 January 2015 (in Russian)
  3. Шведская спичка
  4. Шведская спичка (1954) Full Cast & Crew
  5. Elena Bauman. The Safety Match movie review at the Soviet Screen magazine №18, September 1988 (in Russian)
  6. The end of the second day of the XXI Russian film festival "Literature and Cinema" at the Gatchina city portal, 18 April 2015 (in Russian)
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