Cinema
Rykmentin murheenkryyni
Toivo Särkkä · 1938
Synopsis
Hemminki Aaltonen, a lazy but resourceful tenant farmer, is doing his service and has raised the art of shirking to the level of a talent. Sergeant-major Muinonen bellows at him all day long. A new conscript, a mummy's boy with a degree who thinks he can continue his studies at the barracks, adds to his worries, and his mother even more. The film strings together scenes of army life.
Context
Based on a play by Toivo Kauppinen, known as Topias, it was co-directed by Yrjö Norta and shot at the Utti military camp; Kaarlo Angerkoski plays the title role, Toppo Elonperä the sergeant major, and Theodor Luts photographed it. Released on 30 October 1938, it drew more than 770,000 viewers. The sergeant major's fits of rage punctuate the scenes, up to the one where, hoarse, he writes his invective on a piece of paper that an orderly reads out in a halting voice. A sequel appeared twenty years later.
Who it is for
A pre-war army comedy, in Finnish, running one hour forty; the barracks humour is that of its time.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the first military farce of Finnish cinema, a genre it inaugurated, and the biggest success of its studio in 1938.