"Straw Hat" - the film that won the hearts

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Vaudeville "The Straw Hat" was written by French playwrights Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel in the middle of the 19th century. It was at this time that the vaudeville genre - light, musical, unobtrusive, not oppressive with philosophical reflections, gained its distribution in Europe and was very popular among theatergoers. The main audience of productions at that time was a new social class - the bourgeois, who did not differ in high education and taste, and spent most of their time on earning money, which was considered the only element of significance in society.

Storyline

The play "Straw Hat" (or "Italian Straw Hat" in literal translation from French) fits perfectly into a number of works created at that time. There is not a single positive character in it, and the plot is simple and banal. The main character is a rogue named Fadinar. He decided to improve his financial situation at the expense of the dowry that the provincial we althy farmer Nonakura gave for his daughter. The groom, giving orders to the servantspreparing the estate for the planned celebration, saddled his favorite horse and went to meet the cavalcade of provincial relatives accompanying the beautiful young Elena. However, at the entrance of the wedding ceremony to the city, Fadinar leaves her in order to check whether everything is ready in the house to receive guests.

His path runs through the park, where lovers decided to retire - Madame Beaupertuis and Lieutenant Emile Tavernier. The protagonist's horse picks up Madame's headdress discarded in a fit of passion. When it is discovered, the straw hat has almost been eaten. The lady and her gentleman occupy Fadinar's house with a demand to compensate for the loss, because the jealous husband of Beauperteui will not forgive his wife for treason, which he may well guess from the absence of a hat. This is where the misadventures of the hero begin, who, being a true Frenchman, cannot allow such embarrassment for the lady and agrees to the conditions set.

However, finding exactly the same hat is not so easy. During the search, many unexpected meetings and events take place, and they end when among the wedding gifts, exactly what Fadinar needs is found - a straw hat. The finale of the comedy is happy in French - Fadinard married the beautiful Elena and received her millions, and the fooled Monsieur Beaupertuis never found out about his wife's betrayal.

Screening

Vaudeville was filmed 6 times: three times in France (in 1910, 1927 and 1940), in Germany in 1939, in Czechoslovakia in 1971 and in the Soviet Union at the Lenfilm studio. The film was directed by Leonid Kvinikhidze. On December 31, 1974, the two-part film Straw Hat was released. The actors involved in the film were popular and loved by many. The roles were played by: Andrei Mironov (Fadinar), Ekaterina Vasilyeva (Madame Beaupertuis), Igor Kvasha (Lieutenant Emile Tavernier), Lyudmila Gruchenko, Yefim Kopelyan, Mikhail Kazakov, Zinovy Gerdt, Alisa Freindlich and many, many others.

The role of Fadinar became a take-off and decisive in the fate of Andrei Mironov. It was because of participation in this picture that he was denied the role of Zhenya Lukashin (“The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath”), which was later played by Andrei Myagkov. However, we can see footage from "Straw Hat" with the participation of Mironov on the TV in Nadezhda's apartment. Before the appearance of "Irony", the most favorite among the films viewed on New Year's Eve was this particular film, and the most popular headdress was a straw hat. Photos of actors in the image of vaudeville heroes were very popular, and the film itself was literally disassembled into phrases. Songs performed by Andrey Mironov and Lyudmila Gurchenko are not only recognizable, but also loved, and are still popular.