Hello, I'm Your Aunt!
Encyclopedia
Hello, I'm Your Aunt! is a Soviet 1975 musical
comedy film
directed by Viktor Titov loosely based on the play Charley's Aunt
by Brandon Thomas
. Runtime - 98 min. Produced by T/O Ekran
. The film was an immense hit; many lines of dialogue subsequently became catch phrases themselves.
Unemployed and homeless Babbs Baberley (Alexander Kalyagin) is being chased by the police who attempt to arrest him for vagrancy. Babbs finds himself in a rich house, where he encounters Charlie and Jackie. Babbs' unsuccessful attempt to disguise himself as a women gives Charlie and Jackie an idea. By threatening to surrender Babbs to the (successfully bribed) police, they force their unexpected visitor to dress once again as a woman and pass himself for donna Roza d'Alvadorez, Charlie's millionaire aunt who is expected to arrive with a visit from Brazil. Charlie and Jackie want Babbs to seduce Judge Cribbs (Armen Dzhigarkhanyan) with the irresistible charms of a millionaire widow and to trick the Judge into giving his nieces, Annie and Betty, a permission to marry Charlie and Jackie.
Complications to the scheme ensue. First, Charlie's father Colonel Chesney (Mikhail Kozakov) decides to help his shattered finances by marrying the rich widow and joins Judge Cribbs in courting the fake Aunt Roza. Next, the real Donna Roza arrives with her guardian Ela. Upon encountering the impostor, donna Roza decides to remain incognito that gives her a great opportunity to observe and understand all the participants of the scheme. Babbs falls in love with Ela and is tortured by impossibility to reveal himself.
In the end, the fake Donna Roza refuses to marry Colonel Chesney's, and acquiesces to the courtings of Judge Cribbs. The marriage permission for Annie and Betty is secured, and Babbs reveals himself to the company dressed as a man. Judge Cribbs is incensed, but Donna Roza reveals herself as a real aunt. The Judge and the Colonel rush to court her anew. Everyone exits the stage; Ela, despite being enchanged by the trasnformed "aunt", reluctantly follows. Babbs tries to follow the crowd only to see the door shut in his face. He starts desperately knocking on the door -- only to wake up on a park bench pounded by a constable's club.
Interesting facts: Dzhigarhanyan originally auditioned for the part of Colonel Chesney, whom he played in the theater adaptation. However, the film director Viktor Titov saw Dzhigarkhanyan in the role of Judge Cribbs.
Famous quotes:
Babbs: "I am Charlie's aunt! I arrived from Brazil, the country of wild monkeys!"
Colonel Chesney: "I am an old warrior! and I know not the language of love!"
Babbs (after refusing Сolonel's proposal): "No, no, no! He is not in love with me! He is in love with my millions!"
Charlie, after Babbs' turning down of the Colonel's proposal: "Why? why did you brute have to make fun of him?" -- Babbs, cocquettishly: "I had to torture him a little bit, hadn't I?"
Babbs (to Judge Cribbs, after securing the marriage permission): "I will kiss you later. If you still want it."
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Viktor Titov loosely based on the play Charley's Aunt
Charley's Aunt
Charley's Aunt is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. It broke all historic records for plays of any kind, with an original London run of 1,466 performances....
by Brandon Thomas
Brandon Thomas
Walter Brandon Thomas was an English actor, playwright and song writer, best known as the author of the farce Charley's Aunt....
. Runtime - 98 min. Produced by T/O Ekran
Studio Ekran
Studio Ekran is a Russian TV film studio. It was founded in 1968 and produced made-for-TV movies, mini-series and animated cartoons...
. The film was an immense hit; many lines of dialogue subsequently became catch phrases themselves.
Plot summary
The action takes place at the beginning of XX century.Unemployed and homeless Babbs Baberley (Alexander Kalyagin) is being chased by the police who attempt to arrest him for vagrancy. Babbs finds himself in a rich house, where he encounters Charlie and Jackie. Babbs' unsuccessful attempt to disguise himself as a women gives Charlie and Jackie an idea. By threatening to surrender Babbs to the (successfully bribed) police, they force their unexpected visitor to dress once again as a woman and pass himself for donna Roza d'Alvadorez, Charlie's millionaire aunt who is expected to arrive with a visit from Brazil. Charlie and Jackie want Babbs to seduce Judge Cribbs (Armen Dzhigarkhanyan) with the irresistible charms of a millionaire widow and to trick the Judge into giving his nieces, Annie and Betty, a permission to marry Charlie and Jackie.
Complications to the scheme ensue. First, Charlie's father Colonel Chesney (Mikhail Kozakov) decides to help his shattered finances by marrying the rich widow and joins Judge Cribbs in courting the fake Aunt Roza. Next, the real Donna Roza arrives with her guardian Ela. Upon encountering the impostor, donna Roza decides to remain incognito that gives her a great opportunity to observe and understand all the participants of the scheme. Babbs falls in love with Ela and is tortured by impossibility to reveal himself.
In the end, the fake Donna Roza refuses to marry Colonel Chesney's, and acquiesces to the courtings of Judge Cribbs. The marriage permission for Annie and Betty is secured, and Babbs reveals himself to the company dressed as a man. Judge Cribbs is incensed, but Donna Roza reveals herself as a real aunt. The Judge and the Colonel rush to court her anew. Everyone exits the stage; Ela, despite being enchanged by the trasnformed "aunt", reluctantly follows. Babbs tries to follow the crowd only to see the door shut in his face. He starts desperately knocking on the door -- only to wake up on a park bench pounded by a constable's club.
Interesting facts: Dzhigarhanyan originally auditioned for the part of Colonel Chesney, whom he played in the theater adaptation. However, the film director Viktor Titov saw Dzhigarkhanyan in the role of Judge Cribbs.
Famous quotes:
Babbs: "I am Charlie's aunt! I arrived from Brazil, the country of wild monkeys!"
Colonel Chesney: "I am an old warrior! and I know not the language of love!"
Babbs (after refusing Сolonel's proposal): "No, no, no! He is not in love with me! He is in love with my millions!"
Charlie, after Babbs' turning down of the Colonel's proposal: "Why? why did you brute have to make fun of him?" -- Babbs, cocquettishly: "I had to torture him a little bit, hadn't I?"
Babbs (to Judge Cribbs, after securing the marriage permission): "I will kiss you later. If you still want it."
Cast
- Alexander KalyaginAlexander KalyaginAlexander Kalyagin is a Soviet/Russian actor and director, member of the Public Chamber of Russia, People's Artist of Russia , Laureate of the State Prizes for his works in the theatre and the cinema...
as Babbs Babberley - Tamara NosovaTamara NosovaTamara Nosova was a Soviet and Russian actress, who was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1992. She appeared in 27 films between 1948 and 1999. She was married to writer Vitali Gubarev.-Biography:...
as Donna Rosa d'Alvadorez (note - Donna Lucia in the play) - Tatyana VedeneyevaTatyana VedeneyevaTatyana Вениаминовна Vedeneyeva is a widely known Soviet and Russian actress and an anchor lady for the Soviet children program Peaceful night, kids!-Biography:She was born in Stalingrad, on June 10, 1953....
as Ela Delahay - Valentin GaftValentin GaftValentin Yosifovich Gaft is a Russian and Soviet actor, People's Artist of Russia .-Biography:Valentin Gaft was born in Moscow to a family of a lawyer Iosif Romanovich Gaft and Gita Davydovna Gaft . The family moved to Moscow from Poltava, Ukraine...
as Brasset, Lackey - Mikhail Lyubeznov as Charley Wyckham
- Oleg Shklovsky as Jackie Chesney
- Mikhail KozakovMikhail KozakovMikhail Mikhailovich Kozakov was a Russian-Israeli film and theatre director and actor.- References :...
as Colonel Sir Francis Chesney - Armen DzhigarkhanyanArmen DzhigarkhanyanArmen Dzigarkhanyan is one of the most popular Soviet, Russian and Armenian actors.He starred in dozens of Soviet films and provided the voice for many cartoon characters. He founded his own theater in Moscow.Dzigarkhanyan worked as assistant cameraman at Armenfilm studios in 1953–1954...
as Judge Kriegs - Galina Orlova as Betti
- Tatyana Vasilyeva as Annie
- Viktor Gajnov
- Vladimir Korovkin
- Nikolai Tagin
- Anton Makarov
- Anatoli Malashkin
- Yuri Prokhorov
- Rogvold Sukhoverko
Interesting facts
- Original Donna Lucia in the film became Donna Rosa and the phrase "where nuts come from" became "where there are a lot of wild monkeys".
- The film's title became a Russian figure of speechFigure of speechA figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
, exclaimed when somebody receives some shocking news that he or she can hardly believe (akin to the English phrase, "Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!"). - Famous soundtrack Love and poverty was based on Poortith Cauld And Restless Love, the poem by Robert BurnsRobert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
translated by Samuil MarshakSamuil MarshakSamuil Yakovlevich Marshak was a Russian and Soviet writer, translator and children's poet. Among his Russian translations are William Shakespeare's sonnets, poems by William Blake and Robert Burns, and Rudyard Kipling's stories. Maxim Gorky proclaimed Marshak to be "the founder of [Russia's ]...
and features music by Vladislav Kazenin performed by Alexander KalyaginAlexander KalyaginAlexander Kalyagin is a Soviet/Russian actor and director, member of the Public Chamber of Russia, People's Artist of Russia , Laureate of the State Prizes for his works in the theatre and the cinema...
. - "Colonel Bogey MarchColonel Bogey MarchThe "Colonel Bogey March" is a popular march that was written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts , a British army bandmaster who later became director of music for the Royal Marines at Plymouth...
" used as Colonel Sir Francis Chesney's theme.