Beware of the Car

Beware of the Car (, translit. Beregis Avtomobilya, English titles Uncommon Thief, or Watch out for the Automobile) is a 1966 Soviet crime comedy drama film directed by Eldar Ryazanov, based on a screenplay by Emil Braginsky and produced by Mosfilm. It stars Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Oleg Yefremov, Andrei Mironov and Anatoli Papanov, among others. Beware of the Car is recognized as a satire of the film noir genre, highly unusual in Brezhnev-era society. It is credited for launching Soviet political satire as a film genre, typified by Ryazanov's work. Plot Yuri Detochkin (Smoktunovsky) is a humble Soviet insurance agent who steals fancy cars from corrupt Soviet officials and scammers, disappointed by the militsiya being unable to fight the crooks. One of Detochkin's victims is Dima Semitsvetov (Mironov), a retail embezzler mocked but tolerated by his colorful father-in-law Semyon Vasilyevich (Papanov), a retired Soviet Army officer. Dima has a dacha (registered to his father-in-law) and a Volga car (registered in his wife's name). Meanwhile, Yuri is a commitmentphobe who has been courting his bus-driver girlfriend for years without settling down with her. In his spare time, Yuri is an amateur actor, and in his latest play, a production of Hamlet, he is playing alongside his friend, Detective Maksim Podberyozovikov (Yefremov). Not knowing who the car thief is, Detective Podberyozovikov investigates the missing cars.