Benya Krik (film)

Benya Krik (Беня Крик) is a 1927 Soviet black comedy silent film, directed by Vladimir Vilner and starring Yuri Shumsky as Benya Krik.

The film depicts the career of a Jewish Russian gangster, and was based on the Odessa Stories of Isaak Babel. The main setting is the city of Odesa.



Cast

 * Matvey Lyarov as Mendel Krik
 * Yuri Shumsky as Benya Krik - Mendel's son
 * Nikolai Nademsky as Kolka Pakovski
 * Ivan Zamychkovsky as Gleczik - the policeman
 * Sergei Minin as Sobkov - the commissar
 * A. Goricheva
 * A. Vabnik
 * Teodor Brainin
 * Georgi Astafyev
 * A. Sashin as Savka

Source material
Benya Krik is a fictional character in Isaac Babel's cycle of short stories, Odessa Stories. He is a Jewish Russian gangster, and he and his gang of thugs are the main focus of the stories.

Production
The film was based on a screenplay written by Babel in 1926, in which he adapted parts of his short stories "The King" and "How It Was Done in Odessa", in addition to creating new content.

Restoration
The film was restored and supplied with English subtitles by the National Center for Jewish Film.