65 years ago the film “Girl with a Guitar” directed by Alexander Faintzimmer was released.
A cheerful musical comedy with an emphasis on the friendship of peoples who gathered in the capital of the USSR on the occasion of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students, it was ordered from above – by the then Minister of Culture of the USSR Nikolai Mikhailov. Screenwriters Boris Laskin and Vladimir Polyakov came up with a story about the “star of the retail chain” Tanya Fedosova, who felt cramped behind the counter of the music department of a large metropolitan music store, where loving foreign students danced around her.
Filming of the film began even before the festival, but the main work began to begin with its opening. Adjustments to the script were made on the fly, depending on which delegation could be invited to Mosfilm. Thus, the film included the skiffle group The City Ramblers from Great Britain – musicians who stood at the origins of the genre. Song Dr. The Jazz they performed in the film was the only video recording of their performance.
Director Alexander Faintzimmer, who had no experience in comedy, was chosen to work on the film, which came as a surprise to everyone. Lyudmila Gurchenko was immediately cast for the role of the main character Tanya Fedosova – the script was written specifically for her. High hopes were placed on the actress, who had recently brilliantly played the main role in the film “Carnival Night” by Eldar Ryazanov. Unfortunately, it was not possible to repeat the success of the New Year’s comedy, although the film took 10th place in the attendance ranking at the end of the year, attracting more than 30 million viewers.
In fluff and dust
Official criticism crushed “Girl with a Guitar” to smithereens, accusing the leading actress of bad taste and self-repetition. Articles about this film were published under the following headings: “Another girl”, “Towards an easy genre along… an easy path”, “Dangerous lurch”, etc. Gurchenko recalled her visit to the Minister of Culture with a shudder: “Both appear at once – both minister and deputy. And immediately go on the attack. Yes, which one! What, they say, do I allow myself? Such a disgrace! Dancing, fidgety Western things. And this is our Komsomol member!.. We’ll wipe her off the face of the earth! There will be no such name!” – these are the words of the minister… Those were cruel times. And that was the real verdict.”
After this picture, Gurchenko herself received the “stamp” of an actress of the light dance and song genre.
What was the reason for the negative reaction of cultural officials and harassment in the press? Of course, everything is not accidental. Lyudmila Gurchenko later said in an interview that she received an offer for cooperation: they say that during the International Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow there will be many foreign guests, and it would be very interesting to know what students from different countries are doing, what they are talking about… But Lyudmila Gurchenko refused, and this, according to the actress, later came back to haunt her.
The formal reason for Gurchenko’s censure was her participation in acting “hackworks”. The fact is that the star status of the actress after “Carnival Night” did not in any way affect her financial situation – the fees were standard, and success at the box office or the popularity of the actor were not taken into account in the calculation. Therefore, the celebrity traveled all over the country with concerts, performing at plants, mines, factories, and actively participated in creative evenings. As a result, the actress was accused of a “capitalist approach to art” and receiving “unearned income.”
From the top – bang!
The actress herself spoke about this period like this: “And I had a vertical take-off… Vertical, right away! Yesterday she was a student, today she is an actress known throughout the country. And then from there, from the top, bang, and to pieces! And just imagine, filming is over, and I’m riding a trolleybus to the institute in my coat. I live like an ordinary person. And at the same time I receive stacks of letters, bags! And every day I have three or four performances somewhere, and all for free. But it’s difficult with money, because I, as a withdrawing student, was deprived of a scholarship, those were the rules. And then the article “Tap dancing to the left” comes out! Like, the arrogant star is slacking. And what a hack – I gave my best at concerts: I learned to feel the audience. And so it began. Kharkov disowned me: “It disgraces our city!” Stones were thrown in the streets – everything happened. (…) After the vertical take-off, a steep dive began – downwards. One day I went on stage (because by inertia I was still invited, although less and less), and performed a song from the film. There is deathly silence in the hall. Then someone whistled… I said: “Sorry!” – and left to the sound of her own heels. I will remember this all my life!”
Musical part
The songs from the film “Girl with a Guitar” also did not have the same fate: unfortunately, they did not reach the people and did not become hits. When you listen to them today, it’s hard to believe.
The music for a dozen compositions for the film “Girl with a Guitar” was written by Arkady Ostrovsky and Yuri Saulsky. The texts were created by Nikolai Dorizo, Lev Oshanin, Boris Laskin, Vladimir Polyakov and Victor Dragunsky. Not only Lyudmila Gurchenko sang in the film, but also actor Vladimir Gusev, who played the composer Korzikov, as well as Mikhail Zharov, who created the image of a store director in the film, who is always afraid that his saleswoman will be asked to marry and she will quit. His song contains the following words: “I work in a music store, I find the joy of life in this business.”
They say that the most memorable and beloved by the audience was the light song “Lyusya, Lyusya, I’m afraid,” which was sung by Korzikov, who was in love with Tanya Fedosova.
BY THE WAY
Yuri Nikulin, for whom this film was his film debut, played his role as an unlucky pyrotechnician so vividly that both viewers and directors immediately drew attention to the aspiring actor, from whom he began to receive offers to star in their films.
