Only "Old Men" Are Going Into Battle

Only "Old Men" Are Going Into Battle (Russian: В бой идут одни «старики», romanized: V boy idut odni "stariki"; one of the meanings of the Russian idiom 'old man' is 'most experienced person') is an iconic 1973 Soviet war drama black-and-white film produced in the USSR about World War II fighter pilots, written and directed by Leonid Bykov, who also played the lead role as the squadron commander.The film combines two storylines: the main war drama plot runs in parallel with vivid artistic performance — the fighter squadron doubles as an amateur musical group during rest time, led by its enthusiastic commander turned conductor.The title comes from two scenes in the film, where the squadron is facing very difficult dogfights with German fighter planes, so only "old men" are sent up, while those fresh from flying school have to wait on the ground together with the mechanics.They all return to the airfield safely, however, Maestro is furious: his wingman, First Lieutenant Skvortzov, left the battle without a permit, and it appears he did so not for the first time.They have a serious discussion and it turns out that during the Battle of Kursk Skvortzov had barely survived an encounter with a German ace pilot and since then has had a subconscious fear of dogfights.Depressed Skvortzov asks to be released from active duty and to be enlisted to an infantry regiment instead, however, Titarenko burns the report, deciding to give his friend another chance.Enraged Titarenko suspends the lieutenant from flying and puts him on "eternal airfield duty," while the rest of the officers give Aleksandrov the nickname Grasshopper."In his absence, a light bomber Polikarpov Po-2, piloted by female officers Zoya and Masha, takes a forced landing on the airfield.Having returned, he learns from Makarych that during his absence Darkie has been killed: he was practicing cooperative actions with his partner and was shot down by a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 ace.Titarenko feigns a weapon malfunction, putting himself in a mortal peril, and Skvortzov overcomes his fear and comes to the rescue, shooting down one of the enemy aircraft.Fifteen minutes before takeoff, Romeo asks Maestro's permission to get married (since both he and Masha could be shot down any day) which Meastro gives right away.It is believed that the prototype of the "Darkie" was Viktor Shchevronok, a childhood friend of Leonid Bykov, with whom they entered flight school together, and who died in April 1945 during the liberation of Czechoslovakia.[5] The prototype of Zoya was Hero of the Soviet Union Nadezhda Popova, deputy squadron commander of the 46th Guards Women's Night Bomber Regiment.[6] Unlike her heroine, Nadezhda Popova went through the entire war and later married the Hero of the Soviet Union Semyon Kharlamov, who acted as the main consultant of the film.[8] The story is largely based on the memoirs of the Soviet fighter ace Vitaly Popkov[8] who fought with a real-life singing squadron boasting its own amateur choir.Actor Aleksei Smirnov (Makarych) was a decorated war hero, an artillery sergeant;[10] also a battlefield amateur musician as well.[4] The drawing of the sheet music on the fuselage of the Maestro fighter was made by analogy with the Il-2 attack aircraft of Vasily Emelianenko [ru], who served in the 230 aviation regiment.There was also a tragic love story of an Uzbek pilot (real surname — Marisaev) and a Georgian girl;[8] the mechanic's habit of crossing planes before departure; the Maestro being captured by his own and the phrase "I would, comrade commander, even more I shot down the Krauts, but you scared away all of them with your underwear.In the cruel crucible of war, in its merciless flame, the older experienced comrades sought, where possible, to save young and inexperienced falcons.We wanted to prove that in the years of trials, those who remain people in the most cruel conditions win, who take everything bright and human with them into battle, for which they fight the enemy.The pilot wrote out "barrels" and "dead loops" in the sky, and Leonid Fedorovich turned on the camera, pressed the trigger and shouted into the lens: "Serega, cover me!"In early September, the final scene was filmed, in which Maestro, Makarych and Grasshopper find Masha and Zoya's grave.[8] Vitaly Popkov recalled:[4] The minister persists: what kind of film is this, people don't return from combat missions, they die, and the remaining sing songs.He was probably influenced not so much by my arguments as by the general's epaulettes and two heroic Stars...The "calling card" of the film is the song "Smuglyanka" ("Darkie").In addition, 60% of the finished work had to be redone due to incorrect clearance on the shoulder straps of the pilots' field uniforms.