First Marine Regiment By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR Navy had one brigade of marines in the Baltic Fleet and the 6th separate company of marines in the Pinsk military flotilla. With the beginning of the war, the formation and training of detachments, battalions and brigades began. During the war, the number of marines who took part in the battles was about 100,000 people. The military situation necessitated sending a large number of marines to land fronts. During the war, the infantrymen proved themselves in the defense of Moscow, Leningrad, Odessa, Sevastopol, Murmansk, Stalingrad, Novorossiysk, Kerch. For military merit, 5 brigades and two battalions of marines were transformed into guards, 9 brigades and 6 battalions were awarded orders, many were awarded honorary titles. 122 Marines awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The film by Vasily Nikolaevich Zhuravlyov tells about two of the most tragic moments from the “track record” of the Marines: the 73-day defense of Odessa and the almost year-long defense of Sevastopol. The script is based on the stories of Leonid Sergeyevich Sobolev. In 1910-1916, Sobolev studied in the III Alexander Cadet Corps, and in May 1916 he was enrolled in the Marine Cadet Corps. He participated in the Battle of Monzund and the Baltic Fleet Ice Campaign. In 1918-1931 he served in the Red Fleet as a navigator of the battleship “Andrey the First-Called” and the destroyer “Orpheus”, the flagship navigator of the patrol ships of the Maritime Border Guard of OGPU. For the book of stories “Sea Soul” in 1943, the writer received the Stalin Prize, which he transferred to the Defense Fund, with a request to build a boat for these funds, call it “Sea Soul” and enroll in the 4th division of patrol boats of the Black Sea Fleet.
The picture contains an excellent acting ensemble. Nikolai Kryuchkov, Vladimir Druzhnikov, Peter Glebov, Pavel Vinnik. Good and young artists: Vladimir Kostin, Alexander Lukyanov, Lyudmila Gladunko. The performer of the main role of Andrei Vasilyevich Krotkykh - Boris Tokarev - is quite expressive, but he lacks the "spiritual brightness" that he so impressed in the mini-series "Two Captains" (1976). At the same time, the film has one very serious drawback - it was shot as if it was not 1970, but the middle of the Great Patriotic War. What looked very successful in the patriotic tapes of 1943, looks strange a quarter of a century later.
Such “varnishing” greatly spoils the impression of the film. I am not talking about not too plausible layouts (there is nothing you can do), but in my opinion, it was not worth it to depict the Germans in an emphasis-caricature. And then a strange impression is created: as "back-end" scenes, then only "excellent" - here you and humor and satire and sailor's color: "8 minutes and no repetition!". And as clashes with fascists, so a kind of grotesque. In addition, a large number of kinoblups - the "killed" German officer "comes to life", the Order of the Red Star "walks" from the left side of the chest of Andrei Krotkykh to the right. And yet, no amount of carelessness I've noticed will make the review look gray. Such a film in any form deserves the attention of the audience.
"Above you are comrades, all in places!" The last parade is coming! The enemy does not surrender our proud "Varyag" - no one wants mercy! (Varyag, 1904)