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A sharp Cold War premise and a strong ensemble make this a breezy, occasionally very funny satire, but the comedy is uneven and the film’s one-joke structure can wear thin. It’s worth watching if you enjoy 1960s studio comedies that mix farce with political anxiety.
Where to watch: Buy
Wed · 2h 6m
Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin
When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov, to get them moving again before there is an international incident. Rozanov seeks assistance from the island locals, including the police chief and a vacationing television writer, while trying to allay their fears of a Communist invasion by claiming he and his crew are Norwegian sailors.
Norman Jewison
Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin
A sharp Cold War premise and a strong ensemble make this a breezy, occasionally very funny satire, but the comedy is uneven and the film’s one-joke structure can wear thin. It’s worth watching if you enjoy 1960s studio comedies that mix farce with political anxiety.
Norman Jewison turns a potentially explosive Cold War setup into a broad, often amiable comedy about panic, misunderstanding, and the absurdity of mass fear. The premise does most of the heavy lifting, but the film gets real mileage from its ensemble, especially Alan Arkin, who gives the movie its most vivid comic energy.
What keeps it interesting now is less the punchline than the attitude: it treats both Americans and Soviets as frightened people trapped inside a ridiculous situation. That gives the film a surprisingly humane, lightly progressive edge for its era, even when the gags are uneven or stretched thin.
As a comedy, it’s more clever and good-natured than consistently hilarious, but it remains an appealing time capsule of 1960s studio filmmaking. If you’re in the mood for a big, noisy, premise-first farce with a little bite, it still lands often enough to recommend.
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (3.5★) · 168 likes
One of those movies that kept popping up in my casual search and look for Oscar contenders and winners. However, I didn't get around to looking into it until now. And, while I've seen Alan Arkin in better and funnier parts, he was great in this one. He manages to convey the zany, hip, and ultimately likeable personality of a Russian exiled to a small American town during the Cold War who longs to reunite with his comrades back home.… more
Sam (3.5★) · 92 likes
Despite the unevenness within its pacing, this film was hilarious and brilliantly utilized the comedic side of an undeniably dramatic event. Norman Jewison had such a great career and this isn’t a mishap in the middle of the road. The cast is also a whole lotta fun.
Zoë 🐛 (1.5★) · 40 likes
Boring and unfunny because the movie never GOES THERE. There is a lot of conceptual potential, first with the fish out of water story of these Russian soldiers in America, then with the kid and his brainwashing from Cold War propaganda he is engulfed in in school, finally with the townspeople, all freaking out over the scary communists infiltrating their idyllic community. These are all funny threads! But the movie does absolutely nothing with them! If jokes are going to
Schratzi (3★) · 40 likes
No, this is not a documentary about recent Ukraine history, but rather one of those large-scale, loud and loooong slapsticky comedies that enjoyed fleeting popularity during the 60s. This one’s all about a Russian submarine accidentally stranded off the coast of a small Massachusetts island and the chaos and hilarity that ensue when nine Soviet sailors sneak on shore, causing untold panic among the islanders, who naturally suspect an enemy invasion. It’s all a bit of a one-joke situation that’s
addy (4★) · 33 likes
alan arkin had no business looking that fine
The definitive Cold War comedy, sharper and more savage in its satire but similarly built around nuclear-era panic and institutional absurdity.
A big, broad 1960s studio comedy with elaborate slapstick, large-scale energy, and a similarly playful old-Hollywood sensibility.
For viewers who enjoy chaotic ensemble farce, escalating confusion, and a parade of comic personalities colliding in public disaster.
Another political farce built on the comedy of nations, military bluster, and the ridiculousness of geopolitical posturing.
A stylish, character-driven comedy of incompetence and mistaken assumptions, with a similarly relaxed mid-century comic rhythm.
Shares the era’s taste for escalating confusion, social embarrassment, and a protagonist stumbling through a situation he cannot control.
For its blend of sharp comedy and melancholy humanism, plus its ability to find warmth inside a system full of pressure and absurdity.
A serious companion piece to Cold War anxiety, useful if you want the same era’s fear of escalation without the comedy.
A tense naval Cold War thriller that explores the same era’s paranoia from the opposite tonal angle.
A naval ensemble comedy with a strong sense of group dynamics, authority problems, and breezy studio-era charm.
If you like broad comic performance and elaborate misunderstandings, this is a classic of playful, high-energy farce.
Another character-driven comedy from the same era, with sharp personality clashes and a strong sense of comic timing.
Cold War paranoia, misunderstanding and mistaken identity, cross-cultural comedy, small-town panic, anti-war satire, humanizing the enemy, ensemble farce, bureaucratic chaos
cold war, satire, farce, ensemble comedy, fish out of water, small-town, miscommunication, 1960s, anti-war
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