The Safety Match

The Safety Match, or The Swedish Match (Шведская спичка) is a 1954 Soviet comedy film directed by Konstantin Yudin, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's 1884 story of the same name.

Plot
The inhabitants of the county discovered the body of the dead retired cornet Mark Klyauzov. At the scene of the crime was a charred Swedish match, which led investigators to think about a chain of terrible events. But it's not as simple as it seems.

Cast

 * Alexey Gribov as Magistrate Nikolai Yermolayevich Chudikov
 * Andrei Popov as Detective Emil Dyukovsky
 * Mikhail Yanshin as Police Capt. Yevgraf Kuzmich
 * Nikolai Gritsenko as Psekov, estate manager
 * Nikolai Kurochkin as Yefrem, majordomo
 * Vladimir Kolchin as Nikolai Tetekho
 * Tamara Nosova as Akulina
 * Ksenia Tarasova as Maria Ivanovna Klyauzova
 * Marina Kuznetsova as Olga Petrovna
 * Mikhail Nazvanov as Mark Ivanovich Klyauzov
 * Vladimir Pokovsky as The Doctor
 * Georgy Gyeorgiu as Police Official

Critics
Elena Bauman of the Soviet Screen magazine called the movie "one of the first signs of the new "free" cinema" (referring to the Khrushchev Thaw era) "which — as it seemed — accidentally stepped over the stone-dead canons, playfully challenged the sedate art style of those years". According to her, even the title challenged the official patriotic campaign against cosmopolitans, while the movie itself worked as a satire on KGB. At the same time, she noted the superb ensemble cast that consisted of some of the biggest comedy names and a very authentic portrait of Anton Chekhov's period and writings.

Legacy
During 2015 which was declared the Year of Literature in Russia The Safety Match was widely shown at various film festivals and retro movie screenings across the country as part of the programme dedicated to 155 years since Anton Chekhov's birth.