Carnival Night (Карнавальная ночь) is a Soviet musical comedy from 1956. It was the first non-documentary feature film directed by Eldar Ryazanov and starred Lyudmila Gurchenko, Igor Ilynsky, and Yuri Belov.
A House of Culture
is planning for their big New Year's celebration, but the newly installed director, Serafim Ivanovich Ogurtsov (Ilynsky), has No Sense of Humor and insists on it being an event dedicated to edification and moral improvement—which, everyone else realizes, will bore the attendees to tears. It is up to the young employees, led by bubbly Lena (Gurchenko) and her shy admirer Grisha (Belov) to make sure that the party remains a night of fun.
Created during the Krushchev Thaw, this film poking fun of a stuffy authority figure became massively popular, launching the career of 21-year-old Gurchenko and establishing Ryzanov as the Soviet Union's foremost director of gentle yet resonant satires of Soviet life.
Tropes:
- Cannot Spit It Out: Grisha is so bashful that he tries to declare his love for Lena via homemade record. When she asks him to declare his feelings in person, though, he stumbles.
- Diegetic Musical: All of the musical numbers exist in the context of being performed for the House of Culture's New Year's celebration.
- Elevator Failure: Deliberately engineered by Grisha, who opens a switch and traps Ogurtsov in an elevator.
- Establishing Character Moment: The first shot of the movie has Lena sliding down a slide, then popping up and giggling about how everyone's going to love going down the slide for New Year's. She's established immediately as cheerful and fun.
- Feet-First Introduction: The first we see of Grisha is his feet on the stairs as Lena walks by. He's the male romantic lead.
- Humiliation Conga: For Comrade Ogurtsov, and then some. Most of the partygoers presume he's in on the jokes. He very much isn't.
- Iconic Outfit: Gurchenko's dress in the final number—long, black, tiny-waisted, and accessorized with a white muff—would become her signature.
- Is This Thing Still On?: Ogurtsov summons his secretary over the loudspeaker to take his dictated letter to the authorities, about how all the party people ignored him and made him out to be a fool. He doesn't realize that the mic is still on. His indignant speech is broadcast to the entire crowd, provoking gales of laughter.
- Lovely Assistant: Naturally the Stage Magician has two hot ladies in Bedlah Babe outfits helping him out.
- Meaningful Name: Ogurtsov. "Ogurets" means cucumber—aka., the man is as sour as a pickle.
- Mistaken for an Imposter: The partygoers think that Ogurtsov is somebody else dressed up in a very convincing Ogurtsov mask. They love it!
- The Musical Musical: The "Carnival Night" celebration is an excuse to have a lot of songs and musical numbers.
- New Year Has Come: The staff of a House of Culture, on New Years's Eve, preparing a celebration.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Grisha colors his hair gray and wears a beard to pass himself off as a member of the veterans' home orchestra that Ogurtsov wants to hire.
- Show Within a Show: The New Year's carnival itself, despite Ogurtsov's best efforts to turn it into a snoozefest.
- Stage Magician: A stage magician first helps the good guys by stealing Ogurtsov's speech out of his pocket, then performs an act.
- The Stinger: After the "конец" card is shown, Ogurtsov appears in The Stinger, Breaking the Fourth Wall to tell the audience directly that he disclaims any responsibility for what happened.
- Trap Door: Ogurtsov strides onto the stage during a big musical number and attempts to call a halt to the proceedings. He conveniently steps right onto the stage trap door, which Grisha activates, sending Ogurtsov to the basement while the audience howls with laughter.
