First Word

Russian sub runs aground on New England island. Crew comes ashore to try to acquire a power-boat to help dislodge the sub. As more and more islanders realize there are Russians around (recall: this is at height of cold War), crazy, tongue-in-cheek panic breaks out everywhere. At length, an armed Mexican standoff between the Russians and islanders develops, when a boy falling out of a church window leads to an unexpected resolution.

There are two levels at which the movie can be received: the comedic genre, and the political “statement.”

The comedy is clearly meant to reprise It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, with at least one anchor (Jonathan Winters) appearing in both, as well as car caravan chases, and all the various feuding couples. However, it fails. For one thing, the extended introit, all in Russian (no subtitles), makes it take a long time to “connect” with the players or story. Then, when it finally gets going, there are of course occasional funny moments, but the show is dominated by jewish vulgarity, shicksa-lust, and mawkish sentimentality which Mad World was able to compensate with good hysterics, but against which this one does not have enough counterweight.

At the political level, the story is clearly cold-war appeasement propaganda. But it takes itself too seriously to be taken seriously.

This is not the worst comedy ever made, and given the comparative scarcity of comedies that are even bearable, I would approve adding this one to the list after the well of ones that rate has run completely dry.