The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966)

Released: 25 May, 1966
Language: English (mostly, there's some Russian spoken, duh.)
Country: USA
Film: Colour
Genre: Socio-Political Comedy

Starring: Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint

Filmed on location in Bodega Bay, Caspar, Fort Bragg, Mendocino, and Westport, California, as well as Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The General Plot:

During the Cold War, Russian submarine captain forces his crew to drive the boat perilously close to an American island, and accidentally gets it stuck on a sandbar. In a desperate attempt to free his ship and avoid inadvertently starting a very "hot" war, he sends a small party ashore to commandeer some motor boats to tow the sub off the bar. When the party lead by Lt. Rozanov (Alan Arkin) try to get information from a local family (Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint), misunderstandings take place, panic ensues, and the next thing you know the entire island is up in arms, literally!

My Take On It: 


A madcap comedy from start to finish. Appropriate for the whole family, though it may be too slow for little kids, let's say it's for ages 7 and up. 

Alan Arkin has always been one of my favorite actors, and a man I would readily marry, so I may be a little biased, especially when it comes to any movie where he's using a Russian accent. That said, I maintain that he and the entire cast, and director Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof) are en pointe! Watching the entire town become overcome with gossip and fall completely to pieces will leave you in absolute stitches. It's the perfect flick to brighten up a dreary, blah day. All in all, I give it 5 out of 5 remotes.