37 years ago Leonid Nechaev, director of the films "The Adventures of Buratino" and "About Little Red Riding Hood", made another film for children - "Sold Laughter". Then no one could have imagined that a harmless fairy tale would become another confirmation of the acting superstition that filming in films about evil spirits brings failure. What a tragedy the role of the Devil turned out to be for Pavel Kadochnikov, why he asked not to release this film on screens, and where did the young actor who played the main role disappeared - in our review.
On the set of the movie * Sold Laughter *, 1981.
The film was based on the fairytale-philosophical story of the German writer James Crews "Tim Thaler, or Sold Laughter" (1962). It cannot be called a screen adaptation, since the film had many discrepancies with the book, and director Leonid Nechaev invented some of the characters himself. But the main storyline remains the same: the rich Baron Trech (his name reads from right to left as "Damn", which is mentioned in the book and is not mentioned in the film) enters into an agreement with the poor Hamburg boy Tim Thaler: he gives him his laughter in exchange for the ability to win any bet and thereby get rich.
On the set of the movie * Sold Laughter *, 1981.
Leonid Nechaev decided to turn this eerie story into a musical children's fairy tale. However, the philosophical parable that formed the basis of the film was so serious and deep that later this picture was often called not a children's fairy tale, but "Faust" for teenagers "and even a mystical thriller for adults.
Still from the movie * Sold Laughter *, 1981.
The role of Baron Trech was played by the famous Soviet actor Pavel Kadochnikov. Despite the rich acting range and the fact that he seemed to be subject to any role, he rarely got the images of villains. Moreover, with mystical overtones. Many actors refuse to appear in films about evil spirits, since among them there is a very widespread superstition that such roles bring failures and tragedies in their lives. At first, Pavel Kadochnikov did not believe in these omens, which he later regretted.
Pavel Kadochnikov in the film * Sold Laughter *, 1981.
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The director said: “We were filming an episode on the plane when he, Baron Trech, returned home with Tim Thaler, and a fire extinguisher balloon exploded in their cabin. And they are all in foam. He had the words for the role: “I hate you, boy from Solnechny Lane! How I would like to destroy you! " So if you look closely, he is terribly old, scary and evil there. At first, no one could understand anything. I look - it is blacker than a cloud … and suddenly asks: "Bring me some brandy!" He drank for the first time. It turns out that his son had died the day before. Filmed the sunset and fell from a pine tree."
Still from the movie * Sold Laughter *, 1981.
Kadochnikov did not even think about giving up filming - he did not allow himself any indulgences and believed that the artist had no right to deceive the expectations of the audience because of personal problems. The actor's granddaughter Natalya Kadochnikova said: “The only thing he could not do was to hide the pain and bitterness in his eyes. If you look closely at the picture, you can't help but notice. And soon the actor lost his second son, who died of a heart attack on tour in Odessa. After that, many began to say that the Kadochnikov family was allegedly pursued by an evil fate. The actor's granddaughter recalled that after this tragedy he seemed to have aged 10 years in one night.
Pavel Kadochnikov in the film * Sold Laughter *, 1981.
The director spoke about the mystical halo around this film more than once. For the first time he drew attention to an unusual coincidence when he learned the name of the boy chosen for the main role - Sold - "Sold Laughter". But the mysticism did not stop there. The director recalled: “The terrible story with Pavel Petrovich did not end there. He invited us with the picture to the premiere in St. Petersburg. There was a wonderful reception, Kadochnikov ordered a gorgeous banquet, and suddenly … at the end of the party I looked, there was no face on him. "What happened?" - I ask. It turned out that the whole thing is in the negative hero he played, the villain. He was told that his sons did not die by accident, and if the film was released, he would die himself. A day later, Kadochnikov called the chairman of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company and asked, while he was alive, not to release the film. For seven years, until 1988, the tape lay on the shelf. " They say another reasonaccording to which the fairy tale was not released on screens for so long, was that it seemed to the film leadership too bourgeois and pro-Western.
Alexander Sold in the film * Sold laugh *, 1981.
Alexander Prodan, who played the role of Tim Thaler, considered his participation in the film a mystical coincidence and a sign of fate. He got to the shooting quite by accident - his family had nothing to do with the world of cinema, the boy was engaged in badminton, and once, when he was in a hurry for another training session, director Leonid Nechaev approached him on the street and offered to come to audition. At that time, he did not know the boy's name, and was very surprised when he learned that a young actor named Prodan would play the main role in "Sold Laughter". Later, the actor recalled: “I thought then: the rally, probably, and the name was specially guessed. And the parents wanted to call the police at all, to find out what kind of person is harassing the children on the street. Then I decided to send the photo - it became interesting. A couple of days later they called and offered to come to the screen test. "So at the age of 11, unexpectedly for himself, he became an actor.
Alexander Sold in the film * Sold laugh * and into adulthood.
This role was not easy for him: the naturally laughing boy had to "keep his face" in the frame - after all, his hero sold his laughter. He constantly complained to the director: "Uncle Sloth, my face hurts, I can't take it anymore!" After “Sold Laughter” Alexander Prodan acted in films for another 10 years, until 1992. And then a crisis broke out in the cinema, and the actor was forced to change his field of activity. He himself never considered this role fatal - he saw in this only a combination of circumstances. After school, Prodan graduated from the Belarusian Polytechnic Academy, worked as an installer of radio equipment, as a moderator at a forum, and even as a seller in the market.
Alexander Sold out today.
Today he lives in Minsk and works in the marketing department of an Internet provider company. He returned to the screens only once, having played in 2007 at the request of Leonid Nechaev in the film "Thumbelina". He never regretted that his acting career did not work out, believing that the main thing in life is family, and a man must take care of her, even if he has to change several professions.
Evgenia Grigorieva in the film * Sold Laughter *, 1981.
But the fates of other young actresses were more successful. In the book, the owner of the bakery, Frau Beber, had no children, and Nechaev decided to turn the strict elderly lady into a young single mother with two daughters. The eldest Gaby, who followed Tim Thaler everywhere, was played by Evgeny Grigoriev, the daughter of director Boris Grigoriev. She began acting in films at the age of 7, and this film was not her debut. After graduating from the Moscow Art Theater School, she continued her acting career, taking the pseudonym Elena Morozova. Today, her filmography includes more than 70 works, the most famous of which are roles in the films "The Diary of His Wife", "Kunstkamera", "Kamenskaya-2", "Rostov-Papa".
Elena Morozova (Evgenia Grigorieva) in the film * Diary of his wife *, 2000.
Anastasia Nechaeva in the film * Sold Laughter *, 1981.
The youngest daughter of Frau Beber Marie was played by Anastasia Nechaeva, the director's own daughter. As a child, she starred in 5 films, but in the future did not continue her acting career, graduated from the Minsk State Institute of Culture and works as a director on television.
From left to right: Alexander Prodan, the director's wife Nadezhda, Leonid Nechaev, Denis Zaitsev and the director's daughter Anastasia with her son Vanya.
