Verdict
Summary
The movie’s intent is purely comedy, and the cast was mostly up to the task (especially Arkin, who’s the best), but there’s an odd, prescient feeling to the film that might not have been intended at the time that presents itself as strange fiction for today.
Plot:
A crew of Russian submariners shore up on a New England coastal town, causing chaos.
Review:
It’s an ordinary day at a small New England coastal town when a Russian submarine shores up and gets stuck, with the crew disembarking, hoping to find a ship big enough to tow their craft back into the water. The crew, led by a befuddled lieutenant (a hilarious Alan Arkin), fumbles around until they knock on the door of a humble family, just minding their business. The family – played by Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint – and their three children are at the mercy of the machine-gun toting Russians, who don’t intend harm, but certainly come across that way with their demands to lead them to a boat, and within a few hours the entire town is on full alert that Russian soldiers are traipsing around, cutting off all form of communication and all but ensuring that the authorities are going to parade around in chaos when everyone all over the place is in full panic mode. With the police chief (Brian Keith) ready for a fight and rifle-toting locals ready for war, the dingbat Russians have unwittingly started what could end up becoming World War III!
A madcap farce made and released at the height of the Cold War, The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming is good for some laughs, although sometimes I found it a little chilling in how things play out, with the Russian soldiers pointing their guns and cannons at innocent people (sometimes directly at children), which I didn’t find amusing at all. The movie’s intent is purely comedy, and the cast was mostly up to the task (especially Arkin, who’s the best), but there’s an odd, prescient feeling to the film that might not have been intended at the time that presents itself as strange fiction for today. Norman Jewison directed it.
Kino Lorber’s new reissue of this title comes in nice high definition, with an audio commentary by two film historians, plus a feature with the late Jewison, and the trailer. There’s also a slipcover.
