Figure 1.-- This is a scene from the Soviet 1973 movie 'Capitan' based on the adventures of Viktor Dragunsky famed 6-year old character. Denis Korable. |
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Viktor Dragunsky was a Soviet children writer. He was born in United States, in New York in 1913 in the family of Russian immigrants, but his parents soon returned to Russia. He worked as a theater/movie actor, as a clown in circus and as a screenplay writer. But he became famous after in 1959 he started to publish small novels about everyday life of a small Russian schoolboy Denis Korablev. Based on various Dragunsky’s novels about Denis Korablev there were taken several children movies in Sovien Union: “Funny Stories” (1962) “Where can it be seen, where can it be heard” (1973) “Captain” (1973) “A spyglass” (1973) “A fire in a house meaning rescue under the ice” (1974) “Wonderful adventures of Denis Korablev” (1979) In all of Dragunsky's stories, Dennis is pictured as a cheerful and active first-grader who lives in Moscow with his mom and dad. He is the most beloved boy character to come out of Soviet literature and movies.
Viktor Dragunsky was a Soviet children writer. He was born in United States, in New York in 1913 in the family of Russian immigrants, but his parents soon returned to Russia. He worked as a theater/movie actor, as a clown in circus and as a screenplay writer. But he became famous after in 1959 he started to publish small novels about everyday life of a small Russian schoolboy Denis Korablev.
In all stories Dennis is pictured as a cheerful and active first-grader who lives in Moscow with his mom and dad. He is the most beloved boy character to come out of Soviet literature and movies. Denis is charmingly depicted in Dragunsky's books. And Denis comes through as a real boy, not a cartoon character. He like most boys is often a little confused by adults and what adults say and do. Age 6 is a magical year for children. It is the age that they begin school. They are emerging from the closeted childhood of the family to the outside world of school. And all of this magic comes through with Denis. Whast we get are very simple tales, the kinds of things real children experience. While they seem small and trivial to adults, children like Denis see them as moumebtal.
In each movie, another bay actor was used for Denis. This is very different than Hollywood and Britain which would have used the same actors to build a franchise. I am not sure why this was not done in the Soviet Union. A factor much have been that the profit motive was not very important. Soviet film makers also perhaps did not want to turn children into professional child actors which protected the children from some of the problems experienced by child actors in the West. Perhaps our Russisan readers will know more about this. Interestingly, Soviet althetic officials were willing to turn young children (mostly girls) into professional athletes. A difference here was that the Olympics was seen as important for the Soviet image in the Cold war. Soviet movies in contrast were not commonly shown in the West. A Russian reader tells us, "I do not know of ang government regulations concerning the use of child actors. My understanding is that when a director needed children, he simply sent a casting team to a near by school. They would try to find boys and girls meeting the descriptions of the chracters in the screenplay."
Soviet film makets made several movies about Denis Korablev based on various Dragunsky’s novels there were several movies made during the Soviet era, most made in the 1970s. It is difficult to describe the plot of these films. Most of the films is a set of several Dragunsky stroies rather than one central plot line.
Summer. Denis plays with his friends on the street, swims in a pool and even rides a motorbike. He comes home dirty with his pants teared. Mother and father made of paper, wires and broken compass "A magic spyglass" and tell to Denis, that now each his step will be visible to them. They give to Denis strict instructions "Do not come out of the
yard", "Do not get into the water", "Do not stain your shirt" etc. and then let him go. In the yard friends invite Denis to continue their games, but he refuses, indicating that now he is always "under the hood" of his parents because of their magic spyglass. Children laugh at Denis, tease him and provoke him to break rules. Finally Denis brake all the
rules, run off the yard, spring in the pool and plays on the coal heap. After he returnes hom, thinking that mother and father have seen all that, he discoveres that "A spyglass" is really made of paper and is just a forge. Mother and father laugh and tells to him, that the main thing isn't fear of some spyglass, but that mother and father trust to their son if he gives a promise.
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