Les Russes arrivent, les Russes arrivent

How well I remember seeing The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming way back in theater and enjoying this wonderful satire on Cold War paranoia. Norman Jewison put together a great cast of scene stealing players and it's great to see these guys try to top each other.

A Russian submarine keeping an eye on our naval movements off the American shore runs aground on the shore of eastern Long Island which is quite like it was in 1966, sparsely populated with small towns. Non speaking English Captain Theodore Bikel sends Lieutenant Alan Arkin ashore with some men including young seaman John Philip Law without any real instructions.

People spot these Russian speaking sailors and the panic starts. Arkin arrives at the house of Carl Reiner who is a composer with wife Eva Marie Saint and son Sheldon Collins and niece Andrea Dromm. Law makes his own separate peace with Dromm. Nice piece it is too.

Arkin and Reiner are great together, Arkin with his fractured English and Reiner trying to both be civilized and live up to his son's expectations of killing the dirty Reds who've invaded.

When word gets out Brian Keith as sheriff and deputy Jonathan Winters have to compete with Paul Ford at his blusteriest who is ready to form a militia on the spot. What an advertisement for Second Amendment absolutists.

Lots of funny stuff involving these Russians stuck in a place they've been taught to fear as enemies and the Americans who've been cut off in this remote part of Long Island who are paranoid over an invasion. Let's say a humanitarian situation brings this part of the Cold War to a complete thaw.

But I will say that I doubt in those days there was a Soviet equivalent. Is there a film out there called The Yankees Are Coming The Yankees Are Coming.

This is still a very funny film.

This funny film based on the comic novel ¨The Off-Islanders¨ by Nathaniel Benchley deals with a Russian submarine runs aground off Nantucket Island and then things go wacky, as the garrulous townspeople go gaga , not knowing what to do first , get guns or vodka , building a mountain of laughter . As the residents falsely think that the nine-man crew is the start of a Soviet invasion , though they are only looking for help . It is in the Russians' panic which the fun chiefly lies. Don't You Just Hate People Who Drop In Unexpectedly? . It's A Plot!... to make the world die laughing!!

A gem of comedy with laughs , thrills , emotion , messes , lots of face-twitching , grunting , entertainment and amusement . Concerning an accident of a Russian sub, then a memorable set of crazy happenings follows the landing , enginereed by the imaginative inhabitants and a town full of overactive assumptions. Splendid and attractive cast delivers a solid comedy , but silly at times , about cultures clash. Seldom a hilarious jigsaw had so many perfectly fitting pieces . Cued by engaging and sympathetic portrayals from a motley main and support cast , such as : Carl Reiner as the sulking father , Eva Maria Saint as the kind mother , Thedore Bikel as the stiff-upper-life sub commandant , Brian Keith as town sheriff , Jonathan Winters as deputy , Paul Ford as gun-ho veteran , John Philip Law as naive young Russian , Alan Arkin as out-of-his-depth Russian sailor, among others .

It contains a lively and moving musical score by Johnny Mandel. As well as appropriate and colorful cinematography by Joseph H. Biroc. The motion picture was well produced and directed by Norman Jewison . He is a prestigious and veteran filmmaker, his greatest film is of course Jesus Christ Superstar . He directed successful movies as Fiddler on the roof , Agnes of God , Moonstruck , Thomas Crown and Cinncinati Kid . However , he also got some flops as Bogus, In country , Only you and Other's people money and his last picture titled The statement . He considers The Hurricane (1999) the last in a trilogy of racial bigotry movies he's realized, the first two being In the Heat of the Night (1967) and A Soldier's Story (1984). Rating : 7/10 . Good, worthwhile seeing for its amusing moments and great comical actors . You will find many extraordinarily enjoyable moments in this charming comedy .

As someone who remembered how and where to crouch when the air raid siren went, and wondering how we were supposed to know when it was safe to come out, I have always cherished this film as a reminder that we're all human. It has every stereotype going, but it's okay - the characters are so lovingly drawn you don't care. I live in New England now, and while you don't see this version of xenophobic hysteria anymore(thank God!), you still hear the accents and see the regional quirks. Alan Arkin is dead on in his role, and as a student of Russian, I've gotten so I actually understand most of the dialogue. My daughter doesn't get the point of the movie, but then she didn't have duck and cover drills. I wish I knew when or if it were coming out on DVD.

A Cold War "comedy" delivers lots of laughs, but also much to think about. Knowing what we know now (years after the fall of Communism), the story seems to foreshadow a brighter future for humankind. Carl Reiner's Masterpiece!

A small New England island town is visited by the crew of a Russian submarine. The submarine has run adrift, and is stuck. The townspeople, through a series of misunderstandings, quickly perpetuate ever-increasing rumors about a Russian paratrouper invasion. Although the town is in a complete panic, the focus on a few characters and their interactions with the "alien enemies" reveals a more human side of the global East/West conflict. The final scenes are a heartwarming testimony to the triumph of the human spirit. A wonderful "Sunday afternoon" family film

"Hilarious" doesn't begin to describe it! I saw this in the theater in 1966 when it first came out, and I enjoyed it immensely! Arkin was great and Bikel excels in just about everything he does! This gets ***** out of ***** with me!

So it's an excellent comedy, but like all truly great comedy, it has a dark and serious side: that people will become hysterical with xenophobia when they live in a culture that expects it of them. During the Cold War, it was a given among us kids that ALL the Russians were evil beings, godless Communist robots out to destroy us. We were taught to so regard ALL of them.

This movie serves as a poignant reminder that not everyone who lives in an officially "hostile" nation hates us.