The Diamond Arm

One of the most-watched comedies in Soviet cinema. Semyon is an ordinary clerk. He takes a cruise abroad with his family. On the same ship are the men of a smuggling ring, and their plan is this: hide diamonds inside a plaster cast and bring them into the country. The courier is arranged and the password is set. But Semyon slips at the port and breaks his arm, and confusion follows: the men take him for the courier, put a cast on his arm and place the diamonds inside. Back home, Semyon tells the police. They decide to use him as bait and leave the cast on. Most of the film consists of the smugglers' inept attempts to get the cast back: a hotel room, a restaurant, a fishing trip and an attempted seduction. The narrative was inspired by a real case; a similar smuggling method had been in the news. Yuri Nikulin plays Semyon, with Andrey Mironov and Anatoli Papanov as the smugglers. Nonna Mordyukova is in the cast. Leonid Gaidai directed. The film sold more than seventy-six million tickets in the Soviet Union and its lines entered everyday speech. The best-known example of its genre for anyone who likes classical comedy and Soviet cinema. For a viewer expecting a modern pace, the humour belongs to its period and some jokes need cultural context.