A young cigarette vendor (the lovely Yuliya Solntseva) on the streets of Moscow has attracted the attention of three men. A bookkeeper (the homely Igor Ilynsky), a rich American (M. Tsybulsky) visiting Moscow on business and an aspiring film director (Nikolai Tsereteli). When she's taken off the Moscow streets and put into the movies as an actress, pandemonium follows. This romantic comedy with generous doses of slapstick suffers from too much going on which inflates it to a disadvantage. There's too much of Ilynsky's character for one thing, It doesn't help that Ilynsky's acting style seems to consist of an open mouth with his tongue hanging out and judging from his performance, he has seen too many Chaplin films and he comes off a very poor second. But there's a certain charm in the proceedings that manages to get out every once in awhile. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film is that it was almost 100% shot on location and thus we get a detailed look at mid 1920s Moscow from its streets and parks to its movie theaters and race tracks. Unusual for its time in that its devoid of any political statement. Directed by Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky. With Anna Dmokhovskaya, a delightful comedienne.
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