Typically of the heady days of early Soviet cinema, this is constructed according to the fast, sharp editing principles advocated by Eisenstein, complete with symbolic inserts; but in terms of subject matter, it's much less explicitly political than most movies emerging from Russia in the '20s. Chronicling a young sailor's descent into a murky, treacherous underworld of pimps and thieves, after having encountered a Louise Brooks lookalike at a fairground and missed his departing boat, it's a lively moral fable that delights in vivid visual effects and quirky characterisations. If the plot occasionally reveals gaping holes, and the tacked-on ending urging the clearance of the Leningrad slums seems to be rather gratuitous, there's enough going on to keep one attentive and amused.
Credits
The Devil's Wheel Cast
| Name |
Character |
|
Sergei Gerasimov
He was 19, 79 years old when he died
|
as Man The Question |
The Devil's Wheel Crew
| Name |
Department |
|
Grigori Kozintsev as Director. He was 21 (68) years old when He died
|
Directing |
|
Leonid Trauberg as Director. He was 24 (88) years old when He died
|
Directing |
