The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming (1966)

Best Quote: Remember last time, when she called about that Peeping Tom - you know who that was, don't you? It was that Luther Grilk's horse.
Plot: Amiable, slow-moving, comedy about stranded Russian sailors trying to get off an American Island without causing World War III.  There’s also a dull “Teenage girls will enjoy this” romance between an American girl and a hunky Russian sailor.

The Best thing is the Acting
Russians are Coming is full of great comedic actors (Brian Keith, Paul Ford, Jonathan Winters, etc) doing the thing that they do. Keith is the exasperated level-headed Sheriff, surrounded by idiots, Ford is the pompous fool, and Winters is the too-tightly wound deputy.  Alan Arkin is the standout as the Russian Commander who has to deal with all these crazy Americans.  But the comedy comes from the situations/ performers, not from the dialogue.Eva Marie Saint is OK but given little to do.

But Then There's Carl Reiner 
Incredibly, Reiner is given top billing.  Carl Reiner has a lot to answer for.  And not just Rob Reiner.

But also for his constant casting of himself in movies. He's a big comedic black-hole in Russians, and he's even worse in The thrill of it all and The Art of Love. Unlike Mel Brooks, Reiner wasn't funny. He was good BEHIND the camera. Or as a straight man. But he felt different.

Like the title – Everything gets repeated Twice
Carl Reiner is captured, escapes, re-captured and then escapes again.  Keith and Ford fight, then fight again, and then fight a last time. We get three scenes of Ben Blue trying to capture the same horse, and get at least 15 minutes of Arkin and his Soviet Sailors creeping around the country side.

There’s a lot of Padding and  Its no Mad, Mad, World
As stated, the movie moves at a leisurely pace. Its 2 hours long and takes 12 minutes for the first Soviet Sailor to speak to an American.  And we get lots of shots of characters driving around or going here and there. Some have compared Russians are coming to a Mad, Mad, Mad, World – which is completely wrong.  Until the end, Mad World had 4-5 subplots that were going on simultaneously and 10 of the funniest stars ever.  Russians are Coming has one main plot, and two subplots, one romantic and one funny.  And it’s not really ‘wacky’.

Side note: The movie is completely unbelievable.  
Yeah, its supposed to be a comedy. But! No Soviet sub would “run aground” on a US island. Even in the 60’s they had sophisticated navigation equipment. No Soviet sub would send sailors ashore with machine guns - that’s an act of war!  No USSR sub would need a “Power boat” to re-float itself.  No Soviet sub ever got within 10 miles of the US Coastline without us knowing about it.  And all the town folks who abet the Soviets in getting away, are in fact committing treason – since the Soviet Sub was invading US territorial waters and its sailors were threatening to kill American citizens.  Just sayin’.

So why did it win an Academy Award Nomination?
Politics.  It’s that simple. In 1966, Russians are Coming was a subversive liberal comedy. It pushed “the narrative”.  Y’see, the Soviets aren’t evil Commies, they’re lovable incompetent lugs who want peace and love kids just like we do.  Only a bunch of dumb hicks disagree.

If you can’t see the political angle, imagine Hollywood in 1939, making “The Germans are Coming, the Germans are Coming” about a bunch of lovable U-boat sailors landing on Martha’s Vineyard – with Frank Morgan as the U-boat Kaptain and Jimmy Stewart as “Hans” his young sidekick.  Of course, that movie wasn’t made. Instead, Hollywood was giving us “Confessions of a Nazi Spy”

Summary:  Today, the cast is the only reason to watch it. If you like seeing Brian Keith, Paul Ford, Jonathan Winters, and Alan Arkin go through their paces - you’ll probably like it.Other positives? A nice score and some pretty scenery (Northern California).  Otherwise, it’s a two hour sitcom - The Cold war Russians meet the Dick Van Dyke show. So, don’t let the Academy Award Best Picture Nomination fool you. . Rating 2.5 of 4