Gleb Zheglov: biography, title, quotes, actor

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

Gleb Zheglov is a well-known character in the detective novel by the Weiner brothers "The Era of Mercy" and its film adaptation "The meeting place cannot be changed", directed by Stanislav Govorukhin. The action of this film takes place in the second half of 1945. On the screen, the image of Zheglov was brought to life by Vladimir Vysotsky.

Character biography

Gleb Zheglov is in charge of the anti-banditry department in the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department, in fact, he is an operative. Interestingly, Zheglov in the book and the film differs in age. If in the book he is about 25 years old, then in the movie - from 35 to 40.

The title of Gleb Zheglov is a police captain. Vysotsky's character was born around 1905-1910, and the hero of the novel in 1919-1920.

The hero of the novel

Based on the novel by the Vainer brothers, Gleb Zheglov is only a few years older than his partner Sharapov. He is described as a nimble, tall, agile man with bulging brown eyes.

Gleb Zheglov constantly wears parabellum,he does not part with a pistol even at night when he sleeps. Store under pillow. An important feature of the hero is narcissism. He wants to be better than others in everything, for this he even constantly polishes his boots, which greatly irritates Sharapova.

At the same time, he lives as an ascetic, he is not married, he has a room in a hostel on Bashilovka. Over time, Zheglov moved to Sharapov on Sretenka. According to some indirect signs, it can be assumed that he is very popular with women. For example, Sharapov several times draws attention to the fact that Zheglov preens and does not sleep at home.

He admits that as a child he grew up without a father, besides him, there were four children in the family. Apparently, he does not have a higher education, his quote on this matter is well known in response to Sharapov's question, where and when did he study.

Nine classrooms and three corridors. When you finish not courses at the institute, but live criminal cases, then it - study - moves faster. But let's clean up this trash with you, human scum, then we'll go to the institute, we'll be certified lawyers.

At the same time, he is distinguished by the fact that he has calligraphy and is literate. He has been working as the head of the department for combating banditry for more than five years, that is, he began this work in 1939 or 1940. It is known that Gleb Yegorovich Zheglov has awards - the badges of an excellent student of the police, the Order of the Red Star.

Prototype

The character of Zheglov had a prototype that the Weiner brothers were guided by. This was stated by Pyotr Vail, to whom Georgy Vainer himself told this.

It is noteworthy that the realThe man had the same surname, only his name was Stanislav. He worked in the criminal investigation department in the 60s.

But it is worth noting that these facts are not confirmed by any other sources, all other people familiar with the Weiners claimed that it was a collective image.

Zheglov's Rules

Many people know and love Zheglov, thanks to his famous expressions that have gone to the people. In particular, six of his rules are well known.

1. When talking to people, smile more often. The first condition is to please people.

2. Know how to listen carefully to a person and try to move him to talk about himself.
3. As soon as possible, find a topic in the conversation that is close and interesting to him.
4. From the first moment, show sincere interest in a person - you understand, do not show him interest, but try your best to penetrate him, understand him, find out what he lives, what he is.
5. Even "hello" can be said in such a way as to mortally insult a person.
6. Even a "bastard" can be said in such a way that a person will melt with pleasure.

Also in the picture there are many famous quotes by Gleb Zheglov, which have become real catchphrases.

And where did you get such amazing sugar, Petunya?

So, let's write it down - you are not a swindler. You killed a man!

Don't swear, Manya, you will spoil my young man.

Don't teach a scientist, citizenSmoked!

I don't serve on Fridays.

A thief should be in jail!

You are not conscious, you have lost your conscience.

Now Hunchback! I said, "Hunchback!"

Testing for a role

The actor Vladimir Vysotsky was approved for the role of Gleb Zheglov almost immediately. Director Govorukhin even claims that it was Vysotsky who brought him to the picture, and not vice versa. Previously, they had already worked together on the film "Vertical". Prior to this, it was assumed that the tape would be shot by Alexei Batalov, who himself planned to play Zheglov.

According to legend, Vysotsky persuaded the Weiner brothers to rework their novel into a script, according to which he himself really wanted to play the main character. According to Arkady Vainer, he simply fell in love with the book itself and the image of Zheglov.

Shooting

After the release of the film, Gleb Zheglov and Volodya Sharapov became real idols of their era. At the same time, Vysotsky approached his work responsibly, he carefully asked professional detectives about the features of their profession.

It is interesting that Zheglov's appearance was created in detail by costumers who scrupulously selected his costumes. His appearance was noticeably different in civilian clothes, in which boots, riding breeches and a cap play the main role. In contrast to the main character, Sharapov always wears military uniform in the film.

Vysotsky added a lot to the plot of the picture from himself. For example, it was he who came up with the idea to hang a photo of Varya on the wall of the pantry, even replaced Govorukhin in the director's chair whenhe had to leave for the GDR for a while.

Image of the main character

Georgy Vainer highly appreciated the way Vysotsky played Gleb Zheglov. He emphasized an extremely important circumstance: the actor perfectly understood the social role of his character. This is a strong and bright person who, in certain historical prerequisites, obeys his own instincts and sense of justice, turning into a flail against decent people.

Critics noted that Zheglov's character has a lot of reliable, open, he is always ready to help. That is why he was so fond of numerous viewers and still remains one of the most famous heroes of Soviet cinema. He has a lot of spiritual rudeness, while there is enough self-conceit, which is impossible to put up with, and others perceive this as a dangerous force. Vysotsky himself, in one of the few interviews devoted to the film "The meeting place cannot be changed," agreed with this statement.

Interestingly, some considered Zheglov to be an exclusively negative character, moreover, evaluating this as a real breakthrough in Soviet literature. Indeed, at that time there were a large number of restrictions in art. For example, detectives and investigators who became heroes of literary works were forbidden to divorce their wives, drink, and even have a mistress. An entire state system existed to supervise writers. Each work went through several hands to prevent any sedition.

Gleb Zheglov and Volodya Sharapov are heroesof his generation. Many especially liked and remembered this role, because it became one of the last for Vladimir Vysotsky. In 1979, when this film was released, Vysotsky starred in the Soviet three-part drama by Mikhail Schweitzer "Little Tragedies" based on the work of the same name by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.

The actor died the following year, never having played anywhere else. In 1987, he received posthumously the State Prize of the USSR for creating the image of Zheglov, as well as the author's performance of songs.

The fate of Zheglov

Already in the 21st century, Georgy Vainer repeatedly spoke about the personality of his character, outlining the contours of his development, noting that film interpretation somewhat simplifies his image.

The writer emphasized that in the minds of many people this is a joker and a merry fellow who is sympathetic to those around him. At the same time, Weiner told how his fate could develop. According to the author, after a fairly short time, he would have to turn into an MGB officer who would have to knock out the teeth and twist the hands of the suspects, being sure that he was right.

Weiner emphasizes that real MGB officers of the post-war period did this work without gloating and desire to torture people.

At the same time, Zheglov, unlike Sharapov, whose career can be traced quite definitely up to the general, and then the head of the MUR, is no longer mentioned in any other book. Zheglov participates only in the novel "The Era of Mercy".

PoAccording to Weiner, Vysotsky, even during the filming of this film, insisted that the writers begin to create a continuation of the story under the working title "The meeting place cannot be changed 2." The basis of the plot was found by the actor himself, having unearthed some story in the bowels of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which greatly fascinated him. However, after his early and sudden death, it seemed blasphemous to the Weiners to revisit the idea. Apparently, the disappearance of Zheglov from all their subsequent novels is also connected with this.

They returned to this idea only in the late 2000s, when they began to treat it as a kind of monument to Vysotsky. According to Arkady Vainer, there is so much unused material left that could well be enough to start a full-fledged series. Only it was necessary to radically change its plot, because at the very beginning Zheglov dies, becoming a victim of betrayal by one of the employees. All subsequent series are devoted to the disclosure of this betrayal and the search for those responsible. As a result, this idea remained unrealized.