Cowards, Fools, the Experienced, and Moonshine

So much of Leonid Gaidai's humour is joyfully child-like, a mischievous sometimes mimetic, silent-film or music hall lightness and glitter through physical gags or facial expressions, and sometimes by snappy, quietly clever jokes and dialogue, all of which create a weirdly child-like, bright universe of chaos and order where our favourite characters seek justice, love, or wealth and generally bumble through life in the Soviet Thaw. Nowhere does Gaidai employ his love of Tati/Chaplinesque silence than in the short film "Moonshiners" (1961/2), interrupted only by a signature song, and featuring the iconic and beloved ViNiMor/Stooge trio (Georgiy Vitsin as 'Coward,' Yuri Nikulin as 'Fool' and Evgeniy Morgunov as 'Experienced'). In this short film, the trio are dedicated moonshiners working in a little cabin hidden away in the snow-filled woods. They're quite happy about it too, and even enjoy a little taste of their liquid handiwork until they fear there's someone near, and eventually their dog Barbos takes them through an unexpected whirlwind turn of events.
 

Two highlights for me are the scene when they finally sit and gather round to test the alcohol and when they chase Barbos around the snowy hills to reclaim their condenser coil. It's a joy to watch the three actors so masterfully act out their humorous foolishness, authoritative wisdom, and timorous uncertainty just by passing the little metal jug around. The music, a staple main feature of all the director's films, is also perfectly triumphantly vibrant once the trio discover a seeming threat to their being found, as things tumble - snowball - into glorious chaos and in the end, a perfectly neat ending. The ending is a 'good' one with final consequences and justice, creating an affectionately tense balance between law-breaking and abiding, a quiet cheeky subversive wink or nod to productive communist ideals, a little as you cheer for the three ridiculous friends looking out for another in their little toyshop world. A great little delight to watch Xo