The Children of Captain Grant (film)

The Children of Captain Grant
Directed byVladimir Vaynshtok
David Gutman
Written byJules Verne (novel)
Oleg Leonidov
Produced byL. Sokolovsky
M. Zarzhiykaya
StarringNikolai Cherkasov
Ivan Chuvelyov
Yuri Yuryev
Mariya Strelkova
CinematographyArkadi Koltsaty
Aleksandr Ptushko
Edited byTatyana Likhachyova
Music byIsaak Dunayevsky
Production
company
Release date
  • 15 September 1936 (1936-09-15)
Running time
88 minutes
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

The Children of Captain Grant (Russian: Дети капитана Гранта, romanized: Deti kapitana Granta) is a 1936 Soviet adventure film directed by Vladimir Vaynshtok and David Gutman and starring Nikolai Cherkasov, Ivan Chuvelyov and Yuri Yuryev. It is an adaptation of the 1868 novel In Search of the Castaways by Jules Verne. The film was popular on its release, and was followed in 1941 by another Verne adaptation Mysterious Island.[1] In the 1860s, two Scottish children go on a global search for their missing father, the sailor Captain Grant.

Plot

The crew of the Duncan yacht belonging to Lord Glenarvan, catches a shark in the waters of Scotland. When cutting the carcass, a bottle is found inside the fish, in which a request for assistance is written in three languages from a victim of a shipwreck. The documents have been strongly spoiled by water, however they manage to decipher that Captain Grant's ship has crashed on the 37th degree south latitude. It is not possible to determine the longitude of the crash site.

Glenarvan goes to London to organize a rescue mission, but the government denies him, citing the vagueness and inadequacy of information. The implicit cause of the rejection was Captain Grant being a Scottish patriot who dreamed of independence for Scotland. Moreover, the main purpose of his voyage was to establish Nova Scotia.

During the absence of the Lord, Captain Grant's children, son and daughter came to the boat in the hope to learn something about their father. When Glenarvan returns home, his wife persuades him to go in search of the captain on the Duncan.

The travelers move by land and sea, cross Patagonia by the 37th parallel, visit the islands of Tristan da Cunha, and Amsterdam, pass by the south-eastern Australia and New Zealand. Having experienced many dangerous adventures, they find Captain Grant on the small island of Tabor, which is also located at the 37° south latitude.

Cast

Soundtrack

In the film there are two songs composed by Isaak Dunayevsky based on the lyrics of Vasily Lebedev-Kumach:

  • "Song of the Captain" ("There was once a brave captain"), performed by Nikolai Cherkasov;
  • "Robert's Song" ("Sing us a song, merry wind…") performed by K. Krasheninnikovaya and Lyalya Sateeva;

and the famous orchestral overture also composed by Isaak Dunayevsky.

Production

  • Initially Robert Grant's role was planned for another actor. During filming on location in Nalchik, it became clear that the child playing the role of Robert Grant was afraid of horses. After this, Yakov Segel who passed the audition was called up for the filming of the main role.[2] According to Yakov Segel's recollections he was taught how to ride a horse in only one night by cinematographer Alexander Ptushko who previously served in the First Cavalry Army.[2]

Legacy

The 45th anniversary of the film was celebrated in the "Drummer" state cinema. It was attended by three of the surviving members of the film's cast: assistant director Leonid Knyazhinskiy; Yakov Segel, who played the title role of Grant; and the assistant makeup artist N. Maslennikov.[2]

In 1986 a new film adaptation was released: In Search of Captain Grant, where the popular melody written by Isaac Dunayevsky from the film was reused.

References

  1. ^ Dobrenko & Balina p.242-243
  2. ^ a b c Советский экран журнал № 5. — М., 1982.

Bibliography

  • Evgeny Dobrenko & Marina Balina. The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Russian Literature. Cambridge University Press, 2011.