The Three Million Trial

The Three Million Trial (Russian: Процесс о трех миллионах) is a 1926 Soviet silent comedy film starring Igor Ilyinsky and directed by Yakov Protazanov based on the play The Three Thieves (Italian: I tre ladri) by Umberto Notari. It was also released as Three Thieves in the United States.

The Three Million Trial
Directed by	Yakov Protazanov
Written by	Yakov Protazanov Umberto Notari (play)
Starring	Igor Ilyinsky Anatoly Ktorov Mikhail Klimov Olga Zhizneva
Cinematography	Pyotr Yermolov
Production company	Mezhrabpom-Russ
Release dates	23 August 1926 (1926-08-23) (USSR) 29 October 1933 (1933-10-29) (USA)
Running time	66 minutes (1,931 metres)
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Silent film (Russian intertitles)

Plot

The Three Million Trial (1926)

To prepare grounds for yet another speculation, the banker Ornano (Mikhail Klimov) sells his house for three million rubles, but since it's the weekend he cannot deposit the money in a bank and must carry it with him. He leaves the city for his country home for a short period of time, only to return right away owing to his worries about the money. His wife sends a note to her lover telling him that there are three million in the house but the note, owing to the machinations of one of the three thieves on whom the film focuses, is intercepted. The note, falling into hands of the thief/adventurer Cascarilla (Anatoly Ktorov) causes him to plot his attempt to steal the money. Meantime, the small-time burglar Tapioca (Igor Ilyinsky) also chooses the same night to break into the house.

Cast

• Igor Ilyinsky – Tapioka
• Anatoly Ktorov – Cascarilla
• Mikhail Klimov – Ornano, the Banker
• Olga Zhizneva – Noris, the Banker's wife
• Nikolai Prozorovsky – Guido
• Vladimir Fogel – Man with binoculars

References

• Leyda, Jay (1960), Kino: A History of the Russian and Soviet Film, New York: Macmillan, hdl:2027/mdp.39015003853564, OCLC 1683826.
• Aleinikov, Moisei, ed. (1957), Yakov Protazanov: O tvorcheskom puti rezhissera (in Russian), Moscow: Iskusstvo, OCLC 13571289.

External links

• The Three Million Trial at IMDb
• The Three Million Trial on YouTube (English subtitles)