The Elusive Avengers (1966)

Неуловимые мстители

Four teenagers take on a gang of bandits in the steppes of southern Russia during the Civil War.

Plays from Mosfilm's official YouTube channel. Subtitles start in English; use the CC and ⚙ buttons in the player to change them. Open on YouTube ↗

Year
1966
Director
Edmond Keosayan
Starring
Viktor Kosykh, Mikhail Metyolkin, Valentina Kurdyukova, Vasily Vasilyev, Boris Sichkin
Genre
Adventure, Action, Family
Running time
1 h 18 min
Based on
The novella Red Devils by Pavel Blyakhin
Language
Russian, English subtitles
Studio
Mosfilm

About the film

After their families are hurt by the brutal ataman Burnash, four young friends, including a girl and a Roma boy, form a band of 'elusive avengers' and fight back with speed, cunning and a lot of horse riding.

This is the USSR's answer to the western: chases, shoot-outs, songs and a showstopping comic turn by Boris Sichkin as the café singer Buba Kastorsky.

It was a giant hit with young audiences and spawned two sequels. A great family film if your children can read subtitles.

Did you know?

  • It was followed by The New Adventures of the Elusive Avengers (1968) and The Crown of the Russian Empire (1971).
  • About 55 million people saw it in Soviet cinemas.
  • Boris Sichkin's café singer Buba Kastorsky became one of the most quoted comic characters of the decade.

If you liked The Elusive Avengers