Bed and Sofa (1927)

Третья Мещанская

In a tiny Moscow basement flat, a husband lets his old army friend sleep on the sofa, and his wife falls for the guest.

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Year
1927
Director
Abram Room
Starring
Nikolai Batalov, Lyudmila Semyonova, Vladimir Fogel
Genre
Drama, Romance, Comedy
Running time
1 h 08 min
Language
Russian, English subtitles
Studio
Mosfilm

About the film

Moscow in the 1920s has a terrible housing shortage. Kolya, a builder, lives with his wife Lyuda in one basement room. When his old army comrade Volodya comes to town with nowhere to stay, Kolya offers him the sofa.

While Kolya is away, Lyuda and Volodya become lovers. Soon the two men are sharing the room and the woman in turn, until Lyuda decides that she wants something else entirely.

Frank, witty and modern, this silent film shocked audiences with its picture of love and everyday life under the New Economic Policy.

Did you know?

  • The script is by Viktor Shklovsky and Abram Room.
  • Abroad it became known as Bed and Sofa.
  • It is a silent film.

If you liked Bed and Sofa