# Jolly Fellows > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jolly_Fellows > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jolly_Fellows.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_Fellows > Source revision: 1341643482 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|1934 film by Grigori Aleksandrov}} {{For|the 2009 film about drag artists|Jolly Fellows (2009 film)}} {{Infobox film | name = Jolly Fellows | image = Плакат к фильму «Весёлые ребята».jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | alt= | director = [Grigori Aleksandrov](/source/Grigori_Aleksandrov) | producer = | writer = Grigori Aleksandrov
[Nikolai Erdman](/source/Nikolai_Erdman) | narrator = | starring = [Lyubov Orlova](/source/Lyubov_Orlova)
[Leonid Utyosov](/source/Leonid_Utyosov) | music = [Isaak Dunayevsky](/source/Isaak_Dunayevsky) | cinematography = [Vladimir Nilsen](/source/Vladimir_Nilsen) | editing = | studio = [Mosfilm](/source/Mosfilm) | distributor = | released = {{Film date|1934}} | runtime = 96 minutes | country = Soviet Union | language = Russian | budget = | gross = }} '''''Jolly Fellows''''' ({{langx|ru|Весёлые ребята|Vesyolye rebyata}}), also translated as '''''Happy-Go-Lucky Guys''''', '''''Moscow Laughs''''' and '''''Jazz Comedy''''', is a 1934 [Soviet](/source/Soviet_Union) [musical film](/source/musical_film), directed by [Grigori Aleksandrov](/source/Grigori_Aleksandrov) and starring his wife [Lyubov Orlova](/source/Lyubov_Orlova), a gifted singer and the first recognized star of Soviet cinema.{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema|author=Peter Rollberg|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2009|place=US|ISBN=978-0-8108-6072-8|page=309}}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/kinohistoryofrus00jayl#page/307/mode/2up/|publisher=[George Allen & Unwin](/source/Allen_%26_Unwin)|author=Jay Leyda|author-link=Jay Leyda|title=Kino: A History of the Russian and Soviet Film|year=1960|pages=307–308}} The script was written by Aleksandrov, Vladimir Mass, and [Nikolai Erdman](/source/Nikolai_Erdman) (whose father briefly appears on screen as a [German](/source/Germany) music teacher). It features several songs which instantly became classics across the Soviet Union. The most famous song — "Kak mnogo devushek khoroshikh" (''Such a lot of nice girls'') — enjoyed international fame, covered as "[Serdtse](/source/Serdtse_(song))" (''Heart'') by [Pyotr Leshchenko](/source/Pyotr_Leshchenko). Music was by [Isaak Dunayevsky](/source/Isaak_Dunayevsky), the lyrics were written by the Soviet poet [Vasily Lebedev-Kumach](/source/Vasily_Lebedev-Kumach). Both Orlova and her co-star, the [jazz](/source/jazz) singer and comic actor [Leonid Utyosov](/source/Leonid_Utyosov), were propelled to stardom after this movie. ==Plot== thumb|right|thumbtime=5|''Jolly Fellows'' (1934) Yelena (Mariya Strelkova), a wealthy aspiring singer who cannot carry a tune, mistakes shepherd Kostya Potekhin (Leonid Utyosov) for the famous [Paraguay](/source/Paraguay)ian conductor Costa Fraschini. She invites him to a lavish party at her house. Unaware of the misunderstanding, Kostya attends, bringing along his herd from the [kolkhoz](/source/kolkhoz). His performance on the [pan flute](/source/pan_flute) inadvertently summons the animals, who invade the dining area, causing chaos. Meanwhile, Yelena's maid, Anyuta (Lyubov Orlova), secretly falls in love with Kostya, but his attention is focused on Yelena. When Kostya's true identity is revealed, Yelena rejects him, and her mother expels him in anger. Heartbroken, Kostya leaves for the city to pursue a career as a professional musician. In the city, Kostya faces a series of comedic misadventures as he tries to establish himself in the music world. He eventually joins a jazz band composed of vibrant and eccentric young musicians, the "jolly fellows." Leading the band proves challenging as Kostya must navigate creative differences and fiery tempers among his bandmates. Their rehearsals often spiral into heated arguments and brawls, resulting in them being evicted by their landlord. Forced to practice wherever they can, the band even resorts to performing at funerals for extra rehearsal time. Despite the setbacks, Kostya’s determination helps the band grow into a cohesive group. On a rainy evening, Kostya and his bandmates cross paths with Anyuta, who has made her way to the city. They invite her to join them on their way to a concert, where her exceptional singing talent is revealed. She becomes a key member of the band, and together they begin to achieve success, blending their talents and passion for music. As the "jolly fellows" rise to prominence, Kostya and Anyuta's connection deepens, paving the way for a joyful and harmonious future. ==Contemporary criticism== [Graham Greene](/source/Graham_Greene), in his 26 September 1935 review for ''[The Spectator](/source/The_Spectator)'', wrote that it "is the best thing that has happened to the cinema since [René Clair](/source/Ren%C3%A9_Clair) made ''[The Italian Straw Hat](/source/The_Italian_Straw_Hat_(1928_film))''. Alexandrov, who has been awarded [a Soviet Order](/source/Order_of_the_Red_Star) for his direction, has produced, just as Clair did then, out of the smallest resources and apparently with poor-quality film, a picture of almost ecstatic happiness. ... I have no wish to criticise this film, but simply to rejoice in its wildness, its grotesqueness, its light, taking tunes, a sense of good living that owes nothing to champagne or women's clothes."{{cite journal |last= Greene|first= Graham|author-link= Graham Greene|date= 27 September 1935|title= Jazz Comedy/Two for Tonight|journal= [The Spectator](/source/The_Spectator)}} (reprinted in: {{cite book|editor-last= Taylor|editor-first= John Russell|editor-link= John Russell Taylor|date= 1980|title= The Pleasure Dome|url= https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/23|pages= [https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/23 23–24]|isbn= 0192812866|url-access= registration}}) Film critic [Jean Ross](/source/Jean_Ross) — writing as Peter Porcupine{{cite book | last = Williams | first = Keith | title = British Writers and the Media, 1930–45 | location = London, England | publisher = [Macmillan Publishers Ltd](/source/Macmillan_Publishers_Ltd) | pages = 265 | year = 1996 | isbn = 0333638964 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5oGuCwAAQBAJ&q=jean+ross+peter+porcupine&pg=PA265}} in her 1 October 1935 review for ''[The Daily Worker](/source/Daily_Worker_(UK))'' — effusively praised the film: "The workers in the Soviet Union have introduced to the world an entirely new sort of humour... behind the comedy of ''Jazz Comedy'' is no dismal shadow of tragedy, but the electrifying strength and vitality and freedom of a victorious working class."{{cite book | editor-last = Hutchings | editor-first = Stephen | title = Russia and its Other(s) on Film: Screening Intercultural Dialogue | location = [New York](/source/New_York_City), NY | publisher = [Palgrave Macmillan](/source/Palgrave_Macmillan) | pages = 122 | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-1281975980 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UOqGDAAAQBAJ&q=porcupine&pg=PA122}} ==Influence== The film was enormously successful in the Soviet Union. It had a small impact much later in [Australia](/source/Australia) after it was shown in 1964 at the Australia Cinema in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne) and the name "The Jolly Fellows" was used for over a decade thereafter by a small jazz band after the original members, David Meadows, Keith Morgan and Pete Bannister, high school friends and then all aged 19, had seen and enjoyed the film. ==Cast== thumb| * [Leonid Utesov](/source/Leonid_Utesov) as Konstantin Ivanovich "Kostya" Potekhin, a shepherd and amateur musician * [Lyubov Orlova](/source/Lyubov_Orlova) as Anyuta, a housekeeper * [Maria Strelkova](/source/Maria_Strelkova) as Elena, the child of [Torgsin](/source/Torgsin) * [Elena Tyapkina](/source/Elena_Tyapkina) as Elena's mother * [Fyodor Kurikhin](/source/Fyodor_Kurikhin) as torchbearer * [Robert Erdman](/source/Robert_Erdman) as Karl Ivanovich, music teacher * [Arnold Arnold](/source/Arnold_Arnold) as Gustav Fraschini, conductor from [Paraguay](/source/Paraguay) * [Emmanuel Geller](/source/Emmanuel_Geller) as a spectator who, instead of a stage, looked with loving eyes at a friend whose shoes were pinching * [Sergey Kashtelyan](/source/Sergey_Kashtelyan) as musician, instigator of a fight at a rehearsal * [Nikolai Otto](/source/Nikolai_Otto) as musician, instigator of a fight at a rehearsal * [Alexander Kostomolotsky](/source/Alexander_Kostomolotsky) as musician * [Valentin Parnakh](/source/Valentin_Parnakh) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{external media | float = right | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chDRXQ77IgA ''Jolly Fellows'' with English subtitles], released by the official [Mosfilm](/source/Mosfilm) [YouTube](/source/YouTube) channel }} * {{IMDb title|id=0025946|title=Jolly Fellows}} * http://www.close-up.ru/catalog/detail.php?FID=5325 {{Grigori Aleksandrov}} {{Authority control}} Category:1934 films Category:1934 Soviet films Category:Mosfilm films Category:1934 Russian-language films Category:1934 musical comedy films Category:1930s romantic musical films Category:Films set in Moscow Category:Films set in the Soviet Union Category:Films shot in Georgia (country) Category:Films shot in Moscow Category:Soviet black-and-white films Category:Soviet musical comedy films Category:Russian musical comedy films Category:Russian-language romantic musical films Category:Russian-language musical comedy films Category:Films directed by Grigori Aleksandrov Category:Films scored by Isaak Dunayevsky --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jolly Fellows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_Fellows) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_Fellows?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.