Participation in a Murder
[Соучастие в убийстве]
USSR. Mosfil'm. 1985. 102 min. Color.
Directors: Vladimir Krasnopol'skii and Valerii Uskov
Script: Eduard Volodarskii, Vladimir Krasnopol'skii, Valerii Uskov (based on the
1957 novel Shares in Murder by Judah Waten)
Cinematography: Vladimir Minaev, Viktor Sheinin
Music: Eduard Artem'ev
With Eval'd Khermakiula, Rolan Bykov, Chezara Dafinescu, Oleg Basilashvili
Russian dialogue. No subtitles.
All is not well in the fictional US state of "Noxwill." Glamorous society widow Bette Tyson has been murdered in her own satin-sheeted bed. The jewels missing from her safe (cleverly hidden away behind a Warhol print in her bedroom) lead pipe-smoking Chief Inspector Fields to the conclusion that the murder was the work of the previously non-violent cat burglar known as the Gray Ghost. Fields quickly finds the wily old jewel thief and enlists his loyal uniformed officers to beat a confession out of him. Meanwhile, virile inspector Brummel is following his own leads and tightening the noose around the neck of Mr. Hobson, a high-finance heavyweight and former lover of the deceased. Will Brummel be able to prove his case in time to save the innocent Gray Ghost from the gas chamber? Or will the corrupt American justice system predictably allow a fat-cat killer to go free while an honest, hardworking redistributor of wealth pays the ultimate price?
Beloved actor Rolan Bykov plays the ruthless Chief Inspector, and Oleg Basilashvili (Autumn Marathon) plays Hobson. Based on a murder mystery by Russian-born Australian novelist Judah Waten.
Vladimir Krasnopol'skii and Valerii Uskov
| 1963 | The Slowest Train |
| 1965 | Taiga Landing Force |
| 1969 | No Jurisdiction |
| 1971 | Shadows Vanish at Noon |
| 1973-83 | Eternal Call (TV series) |
| 1979 | Father and Son |
| 1985 | Participation in a Murder |
| 1991 | Nocturnal Amusements |
| 1995 | The Little Thief |
| 1996 | Ermak |
| 2001 | Detectives (TV, episode 6) |