The Girl from Petrovka (1974)

Name: The Girl from Petrovka
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 1974-12-12
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 5.3
Cast: Goldie Hawn, Hal Holbrook, Anthony Hopkins, Grégoire Aslan, Anton Dolin

The Girl from Petrovka (1974), directed by Robert Ellis Miller, starring Goldie Hawn and Hal Holbrook.

12/12/1974 BR Comedy, Drama and Romance 1h 43m

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Quiz about this movie

A Russian girl, an American reporter, the love they shared... and the country that made it impossible.

Synopsis

A beautiful Russian ballerina falls in love with an American news correspondent. The KGB is most displeased and does everything it can to break them up.

Vilmos ZsigmondCinematography
Robert Ellis MillerDirector
John F. BurnettEditing
David BrownProducer

About the film

The Girl from Petrovka is a 1974 American comedy-drama film starring Goldie Hawn and Hal Holbrook, based on the novel by George Feifer. It is about an American journalist, Joe (Holbrook) who goes to the Soviet Union and meets Oktyabrina (Hawn), an undocumented ballet dancer, which attracts the attention of the authorities.

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Plot

Joe (Hal Holbrook) is a cynical American journalist assigned to work in the Soviet Union, where he meets Oktyabrina (Goldie Hawn), a spirited and erratic Russian ballet dancer who lives illegally without proper documents. Their ensuing romance opens new possibilities for both; but also draws the attention of the Soviet authorities.

Cast

Production

Some filming was planned to take place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, but Yugoslavia's Inex Films canceled its contract with Universal Pictures for undisclosed reasons just two weeks before shooting was set to begin, and production had to be moved to Vienna. Director Robert Ellis Miller suspected that Inex's decision was made under pressure from Moscow. A Yugoslavian official denied this, but did reveal that Inex was fearful of offending Russia with the film.

Reception

Nora Sayre of The New York Times wrote that "Goldie Hawn can't play a Russian" and Hal Holbrook "has little to do beyond shaking his head when he thinks of her smiling indulgently when he looks at her ... Certainly, neither performer has been aided by the script." Arthur D. Murphy of Variety wrote, "What 25 years of Cold War 'comedy' cliche and the latterday Nixon detente haven't done to make irrelevant 'The Girl From Petrovoka,' artless writing and direction have. This sixth Richard D. Zanuck-David Brown production for Universal stars Goldie Hawn, ineffective as a ponderous Russian version of a free spirit, and Hal Holbrook, who cannot alone make work such sterile and cornball comedy dramaturgy." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4. He called the story "insipid" and wrote of Goldie Hawn that "there is no way she can handle a Russian accent. Her dialect floats from the Volga to the Mississippi during a single sentence."

References

External links

The Girl from Petrovka at IMDb

Text from The Girl from Petrovka on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_from_Petrovka

Trivia

It premiered on December 12, 1974, a Thursday.
It runs 1h43 — a typical feature length.
This film's quiz has 13 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosKMA, Universal Pictures, The Zanuck/Brown Company
CountriesUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
StatusReleased

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Set in

Soviet Union

Cast

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Crew

Vilmos Zsigmond Cinematography
Robert Ellis Miller Director
John F. Burnett Editing
David Brown Producer
Richard D. Zanuck Producer
Henry Mancini Original music
Allan Scott Writer
Chris Bryant Writer

Questions about this film

What is The Girl from Petrovka about?

The Girl from Petrovka: A beautiful Russian ballerina falls in love with an American news correspondent. The KGB is most displeased and does everything it can to break them up.

Who directed The Girl from Petrovka?

The Girl from Petrovka was directed by Robert Ellis Miller in 1974.

Who stars in The Girl from Petrovka?

The cast of The Girl from Petrovka includes Goldie Hawn, Hal Holbrook, Anthony Hopkins, Grégoire Aslan and Anton Dolin.

How long is The Girl from Petrovka?

The Girl from Petrovka runs for 103 minutes, or 1h43.