Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1974


The Girl from Petrovka

Buy The Girl from Petrovka now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




{{Infobox film

| name = The Girl from Petrovka

| image = Girl from petrovka movie poster.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = 1974 movie poster

| director = Robert Ellis Miller

| producer = David Brown
Richard D. Zanuck

| writer = Chris Bryant
Allan Scott
based on the novel by
George Feifer

| starring = Goldie Hawn
Hal Holbrook
Anthony Hopkins
Grgoire Aslan

| music = Henry Mancini

| cinematography = Vilmos Zsigmond

| editing = John F. Burnett

| studio = KMA
Universal Pictures

| distributor = Universal Pictures

| released =

| runtime = 103 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

}}

'The Girl from Petrovka' is a 1974 American comedy-drama film starring Goldie Hawn and Hal Holbrook, based on the novel by George Feifer. It is about an American journalist, Joe (Holbrook) who goes to the Soviet Union and meets Oktyabrina (Hawn), an undocumented ballet dancer, which attracts the attention of the authorities.

Plot



Joe (Hal Holbrook) is a cynical American journalist assigned to work in the Soviet Union, where he meets Oktyabrina (Goldie Hawn), a spirited and erratic Russian ballet dancer who lives illegally without proper documents. Their ensuing romance opens new possibilities for both; but also draws the attention of the Soviet authorities.

Cast



* Goldie Hawn as Oktyabrina

* Hal Holbrook as Joe

* Anthony Hopkins as Kostya

* Grgoire Aslan as Minister

* Anton Dolin as Ignatievitch

* Bruno Wintzell as Alexander

* Zoran Andric as Leonid

* Hanna Hertelendy as Judge

* Maria Sukolov as Old Crone

* Zitto Kazann as Passport Black Marketeer

* Inger Jensen as Helga Van Dam

* Raymond O'Keefe as Minister's Driver

* Richard Marner as Kremlin Press Official

* Michael Janisch as Police Chief Valinikov

* Harry Towb as American Reporter

Production



Some filming was planned to take place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, but Yugoslavia's Inex Films canceled its contract with Universal Pictures for undisclosed reasons just two weeks before shooting was set to begin, and production had to be moved to Vienna. Director Robert Ellis Miller suspected that Inex's decision was made under pressure from Moscow. A Yugoslavian official denied this, but did reveal that Inex was fearful of offending Russia with the film.

Reception



Nora Sayre of 'The New York Times' wrote that "Goldie Hawn can't play a Russian" and Hal Holbrook "has little to do beyond shaking his head when he thinks of her smiling indulgently when he looks at her ... Certainly, neither performer has been aided by the script."Sayre, Nora (August 23, 1974). "Girl From Petrovka' on Screen Here". 'The New York Times'. p. 16. Arthur D. Murphy of 'Variety' wrote, "What 25 years of Cold War 'comedy' cliche and the latterday Nixon detente haven't done to make irrelevant 'The Girl From Petrovoka,' artless writing and direction have. This sixth Richard D. Zanuck-David Brown production for Universal stars Goldie Hawn, ineffective as a ponderous Russian version of a free spirit, and Hal Holbrook, who cannot alone make work such sterile and cornball comedy dramaturgy."Murphy, Arthur D. (August 14, 1974). "Film Reviews: The Girl From Petrovka". 'Variety'. 16. Gene Siskel of the 'Chicago Tribune' gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4. He called the story "insipid" and wrote of Goldie Hawn that "there is no way she can handle a Russian accent. Her dialect floats from the Volga to the Mississippi during a single sentence."Siskel, Gene (September 24, 1974). "Cliche run deep in shallow film". 'Chicago Tribune'. Section 3, p. 5.

See also



* List of American films of 1974

References




Buy The Girl from Petrovka now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 1974



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1109546416.