Ein Kerl zum Pferdestehlen

It's safe to assume that, even among casual film buffs, the fate of Abraham Polonsky is arguably better known than his actual cinematic works are since his is arguably the most notorious case of the impact that the Red Scare/HUAC hearings of the late 1940s had on a promising Hollywood career. After writing the seminal boxing drama BODY AND SOUL (1947), Polonsky stepped into the director's chair for the first (and, for the next 21 years, only) directorial effort with the marvelous noir FORCE OF EVIL (1948); incidentally, both these movies starred an even more fatal casualty of that Communist purge, John Garfield – who died a mere 4 years later at just 39 years of age. The political climate in Hollywood changed over the years and, by the end of the 1960s, Polonsky was able to officially work again, both as writer – on Don Siegel's MADIGAN (1968) – and, more importantly, as a director – on the acclaimed Revisionist Western TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE (1969) and the much lighter ROMANCE OF A HORSETHIEF. As it turned out, Polonsky's directorial stint still proved short-lived as he was advised, for medical reasons, not to undertake any more strenuous projects! Equally ironic is the fact that, while on the Italian-language TV print I watched the opening credits clearly state that one is about to see "an Abraham Polonsky film", the actual credited director has an unpronounceable Yugoslavian name!!

On original release, the film under review seems to have been quite well-received by critics but the public stayed away and, while this may have surprised Polonsky himself, in hindsight I'd say it was just too old-fashioned and inconsequential for its own good. Or perhaps it was simply overshadowed by Norman Jewison's 3-hour musical FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1971) – which similarly deals with the trials and tribulations of Jewish Poles in a war-torn society in a light-hearted fashion. The cast list was certainly impressive: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, David Opatoshu (who also penned the script based on his father's novel), Henri Serre, Jane Birkin, Serge Gainsbourg, Oliver Tobias (his first starring role) and Marilu' Tolo. But it's Lainie Kazan who steals the show as the lusty, busty brothel madam who seduces Russian Captain Brynner to keep him away from his duty of pursuing her intended, horsethief Wallach; the sequence where cross-dressed Wallach and Tobias attempt to spring three horses hidden inside the brothel unbeknownst to drunken Brynner is the film's comic highlight. Meanwhile, peasant Opatoshu's son Tobias romances wealthy liberal Birkin who, in turn, is engaged to clumsy French gentleman (Gainsbourg, who else?). This enjoyable but ultimately unsubstantial film also boasts a fine score by Mort Shuman and attractive cinematography by Piero Portalupi.

Like most any film set in a past period, the very least that can said about this is that the costume design and production design are both outstanding. Filming in Yugoslavia, and especially in outlying rural areas, clearly allowed for the greater appearance of a time and place well removed from Europe circa 1970, and the crew behind the scenes turned in fantastic work. It's also very noteworthy that the picture boasts quite the esteemed cast, with Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Jane Birkin, and Serge Gainsbourg, among still others, sharing the screen in turn. I can't speak directly to Joseph Opatoshu's novel but his son David penned a screenplay that ably stirs together wisps of period history, clashing cultures and ideas, romance, drama, and perhaps a tinge of adventure, and light humor. Dashes of cleverness pepper the length in the dialogue and scene writing, and the cast sure seems to be having a good time. In one capacity or another there's much to like about 'Romance of a horsethief.'

The problem is that when it comes to its storytelling the feature is much less sure-footed than in its fundamental craftsmanship. There's some cleverness here, and some strong scene writing, as the tale unfolds of a conflict in a small town between the imperialist officer who rules over it and the citizenry, including an underground economy of horse thieves and a young idealistic woman who returns home with big ideas. The strength of even the scene writing is highly variable, however; it's better in some instances than others at discretely communicating the plot. The plot itself, as it presents, and in turn the movie at large, rather comes across as the cinematic equivalent of someone without confidence singing a song by memory - loud and robust at best, but often only mumbling their way through some lines or whole verses and just going through the motions in the hope that that will be enough to carry the day. The same on-again-off-again, wishy-washy dubiousness comes across in Abraham Polonsky's direction as much as Opatoshu's screenplay, and even in some of the sequencing effected by editor Kevin Connor. The end result is a title that trusts in a handful of bold, broad brushstrokes to provide definition and the subsequent entertainment.

I admire Piero Portalupi's cinematography, though in some cases it feels a bit overly excitable. Maybe it reflects on the copy I was able to watch more than the film itself, but it really seems like the sound design is terribly imbalanced. The cast are generally pretty terrific, but with the material and Polonsky's direction both being questionable at times, the acting sometimes suffers in turn. Those stunts that are employed, at least, are as reliable as the work of the crew behind the scenes, especially when it comes to the horse riding, and any effects that we see look good. I don't think 'Romance of a horsethief' is bad; it's passably enjoyable. It would be much more enjoyable if a more careful, mindful hand had been exercised across the board, in the writing most specifically but in other regards just as surely. As it stands, when a scene crops up that did receive all due consideration and treatment from conjuration to execution - including the climax, and the last ten minutes or so broadly - then like audio that ranges from a nearly inaudible whisper to blaring tinniness that threatens to blow out speakers and ear drums, those high points seem to come out of nowhere, are unfavorably jolting, and come off worse for the fact of it.

I think this is most recommendable for those who are big fans of the folks involved. For anyone else, I guess it's a mildly suitable way to pass a quiet afternoon. Don't go out of your way for it, though, and be well aware of its deficiencies. So long as you can abide the unevenness and flaws, 'Romance of a horsethief' isn't a bad way to spend 100 minutes.

I'm at a loss to see how "unsubstantial" is a negative value in a comedy. Possibly the previous reviewer was more interested in director Polonsky's story than the movie.

I have always loved this film. It's one of those humanistic little gems like "Going In Style," "The Trouble With Harry'"and "Bye, Bye, Braverman." I first saw the film in 1971 and have remembered it with pleasure ever since. Fair warning: the DVD is a poor quality transfer, apparently from a VHS, with no digital enhancements. But the film is a delight and well worth your time. Lainie Kazan does, indeed, steal the show but Yul Brynner gives his Cossack a touch of gentle sadness in one of his rare restrained performances, while still offering a necessary bravado. Eli Wallach is excellent and David Opatashu displays great comic timing in the (very satisfying) finale as he impersonates a Cossack Inpector General.

A little knowledge of Polish history makes this movie a lot more meaningful, and abandon any idea that it is romantic in the way we think of the word today. Those caveats aside, this is a neglected film from 1971 that holds up quite well. The hyper-masculine Yul Brynner is the star in every sense, swaggering his way through as the Cossack who has been put in charge of the Polish town of Mlawa. Meanwhile the Jewish residents of a nearby shtetl plot and scheme to steal horses and defy the Russian authorities. A Polish gentleman of the upper class wants to marry his daughter off to a French dandy, while she falls for one of the Jewish horsethieves. Mind you, this is a time when Poland had been wiped off the map, and the Germans and the Russians were vying for their piece of the country. Favorite scene: Yul Brynner in a brothel drinking champagne and then chewing up the glass. Favorite line: "Polish peasants can't read, and the Jewish peasants won't."

Eli Wallach steals horses from the army's herds. The army steals horses from everyone else. David Opatoshu sells horses he knows he doesn't have so his sister can have a dowry and make a good marriage; and hot revolutionary Jane Birkin wears a white lace dress to a secret meeting in a muddy field -- I suppose the servants will clean it. This movie doesn't seem to me a story so much as a slice of life, and its contradictory absurdities less funny than the sort of disorganized thinking that comes with the Us-Against-Them mentality, reflected in the set design and trying to sneak a stolen horse out of a brothel by having Lainie Kazan expose her decolletage to Yul Brynner.

This absurd and old-fashioned comedy about Cossacks and Jews might have been a minor success played by the Yiddisher Bund in Warsaw in 1935 (my grandfather's second wife would have had fun in the Lainie Kazan role), or on 2nd Avenue in New York. By 1971, if the audience wanted to see something about Jews in Tsarist Russia, they could see FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, which was a lot more approachable.