"Married for the First Time" is a 1979 Soviet melodrama directed by Iosif Kheifits, shot at the Lenfilm studio and based on the work of the same name by Pavel Nilin. The leading roles were played by Evgeniya Glushenko and Svetlana Smirnova. Some of the location shooting took place in the city of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod).[1][2]
About the Film
The screenplay was written jointly by Iosif Kheifits and Pavel Nilin — this was already their second collaboration after the film "The One and Only" (1975), which was also based on a story by Nilin.[1] The cinematographer was Vladimir Dyakonov, the composer was Oleg Karavaychuk, and the production designer was Yuri Pugach.[2]
The plot centers on Antonina Bolotnikova (Evgeniya Glushenko): at twenty she gave birth to a daughter, and, abandoned by the child's father, was forced to leave technical school and devote herself to her daughter. By thirty, a personal life seems beyond her reach — she works as a dishwasher, while her grown daughter Tamara (Svetlana Smirnova) is burdened by her mother and ashamed of her.[3][1] Notably, in real life the age difference between the actresses playing mother and daughter was only four years.[1] The film also features Nikolay Volkov (Jr.), Valentina Telichkina, Igor Starygin, and others.[2]
The film premiered in August 1980; in Soviet theatrical release it was seen by 21,200,000 viewers.[2]
Filming in Gorky
Location filming took place in the summer in Gorky.[1] The footage includes several recognizable places in the city and its surroundings:[3]
- Verkhne-Volzhskaya Embankment — a favorite place for locals to stroll, it appears in a number of scenes; the embankment's distinctive railing is clearly visible in the frame.[3]
- The fence of the Rukavishnikov Estate at the intersection of Verkhne-Volzhskaya Embankment and Piskunov Street — recognizable in the walking scene.[3]
- The eastern gate of the Voznesensky Pechersky Monastery — appears in the scene where a character talks about repairing the church for the needs of the museum.[3]
- Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment — in the scene of a lunch at the Delfin restaurant, apparently a floating one; in the background of the frame, the warehouses of the cargo port in the Strelka area can be seen.[3]
- The Zavolzhye floodplain of the Volga opposite Bor — filmed in the episode when the heroine's daughter turns six.[3]
- The vicinity of the Borsky Glass Plant (left bank of the Volga) — the probable filming location for the village scenes near the house of the character Nikolay Volkov Jr.: the plant's distinctive vertical tanks, which have survived to this day, are visible in the frame.[3]
Sources
- 24smi.org — Married for the First Time (1979) — plot, interesting facts, director, trailer, release date — 24SMI
- web.archive.org — Married for the First Time (1979) — film information (archive)
- ipbatman.blogspot.com