18 June 2009

Soviet musical





The photograph and the scene are both taken from Jolly Fellows (Весёлые ребята), the first Soviet musical (1934). The film was directed by Grigory Aleksandrov. The music was composed by Isaak Dunayevsky. Leonid Utesov, the leading figure in Soviet jazz at that time, appeared in the lead role together with his Thea(ter) Jazz band.
To see the complete movie, click here. The opening credits are a classic and the opening scene no less.
Stalin reportedly found Jolly Fellows “a very happy film” and felt, after viewing, as though “on holiday for a month.”

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