Who said the russians are coming

I think there's a chance this film was partly inspired by 49th Parallel. At the beginning, it's obvious that they do not wish to use their guns in anger. John Phillip Law does well as Alexei; there's a lot more to him than the angel in Barbarella. He is quite afraid of what may happen and is genuinely distraught after he pointed his gun at the wee lass because she made a noise that made him panic. The Americans are not portrayed favourably for the most part.

They are shown as jingoistic and they behave in a manner reminiscent of the people who thought Orson Welles' War of the Worlds broadcast was a news report on an actual Martian invasion. Americans, young and old, from Whittaker's 9 year old son to the elderly guys in the American Legion beanies are shown as spoiling for a fight. This might be meant to represent American cold war paranoia which had its dark side in blacklisting by the House Un-American Activities Committee and Ronald Reagan's keenness to use military action in the s.

The Russians are shown as well meaning and decent, genuinely afraid of what might happen to them. The scene between Alexei and Alison on the beach is very good and what they say to each other to be found in the memorable quotes section makes perfect sense. Alan Arkin is also very good as Lieutenant Rozanov. Whitakker is very concerned when he thinks he's killed him after impulsively firing a gun at the car he's driving.

It's good the way mutual distrust turns into friendship. It's a good scene at the end when the townspeople escort the submarine out the harbour in their boats and with them being there the McDonnell F Voodoos flying overhead don't attack the sub. A feel good comedy indeed. Details Edit. Release date May 25, United States. United States. English Russian. The Russians Are Coming!

The Mirisch Corporation. Box office Edit. Technical specs Edit. Runtime 2 hours 6 minutes. Related news. Norman Jewison movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best. Jul 8 Gold Derby. Jun 30 Cinemaretro. Contribute to this page Suggest an edit or add missing content. Top Gap. See more gaps Learn more about contributing. Edit page. See the full list. The Rise of Will Smith. Watch the video. Recently viewed Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Ordinary townspeople were used as extras in the film.

They were so thrilled to be a part of production that the rushes were shown at the end of each day in a local theater. The townspeople went every night, bringing their entire families with them.

Unable to borrow a real submarine from the US Navy, and unable to bring a Soviet submarine to the United States, the art department built the Russian sub. It is powered by four motors underneath the hull, each driving a section of the "sub", and if you watch carefully, you can see it flexing where the four sections are joined.

Alan Arkin was taught Russian by someone from Soviet Georgia. When the picture screened in the U. The name of the Russian submarine, converted letter by letter from Cyrillic, translates literally to SPRUT, which is pronounced "sproot.

Theodore Bikel speaks only Russian in the film; Norman Jewison has acknowledged that his fluency in the language was a principal reason in casting him. Although the action in the film is supposed to take place on fictional "Gloucester Island" off the coast of New England, most of the outdoor scenes were filmed in Mendocino California. Mendocino in the s was a somewhat remote artist colony on a rocky cape projecting into the Pacific Ocean, about miles north of San Francisco.

The Russians have problems pronouncing the island's name, Gloucester. Norman Jewison said that the reason he wanted Carl Reiner as the star was his belief that audiences would more readily accept the character as a writer if he were played by an actor that was known to also be a writer. Since the story takes place on the East Coast but was being shot on the West Coast, Norman Jewison decided to shoot the sunrises over the water at a precise moment just before dusk, after the sun had set over the Pacific, and did his best to augment pink colors in the final print.

Johnny Whitaker spelled 'Johnnie' in the credits so impressed Brian Keith that when TV's Family Affair began casting later that same year, Keith requested Whitaker test for the part of his nephew. The role of Walt Whittaker is a comedy writer, played by real-life comedy writer Carl Reiner.

According to a Los Angeles Times story, the fake submarine had been previously used in the Marlon Brando movie Morituri The first names of the Whittaker family are a sly tribute to the family of Walt Whitman Rostow, an acquaintance of the director.

Rostow was National Security Advisor to Pres. Lyndon Johnson. The only Best Picture Oscar nominee not nominated in either of the support acting categories that year. There was some debate as to whether or not to use English subtitles for the Russians. Director Norman Jewison argued that subtitles were not necessary because their actions made it clear what they were saying. It also saved money for the movie's budget which wasn't that big to begin with. Nathaniel Benchley is the son of humorist and actor Robert Benchley and the father of Peter Benchley who wrote the novel "Jaws".