True Friends (film)
True Friends () is a 1954 dramatic comedy film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. Plot Alexander, Boris and Vasily are three old friends, who now barely see each other as they are busy with their professional life. They embark on long-planned voyage on a raft down the Yauza river, which turns into a series of comical accidents but also strengthens their friendship. Cast Vasili Merkuryev as Vasili Nestratov Boris Chirkov as Boris Chizhov Aleksandr Borisov as Alexander Lapin Alexey Gribov as Nekhoda Liliya Gritsenko as Natalya Sergeyevna Lyudmila Shagalova as Katya Alexey Pokrovsky as junior lieutenant Lyudmila Genika-Chirkova as Masha Mikhail Pugovkin as club entertainer Nikolay Smorchkov as Alexey Mazaev Yuri Sarantsev as Sergey Production True Friends was made in the aftermath of the death of Joseph Stalin, when political control over Soviet cinema relaxed considerably. Josephin Woll wrote that "his death liberated director Kalatozov... True Friends was his first Thaw project." Its script was submitted for approval in 1952, but it was only authorized for filming after Stalin's passing away. Reception With 30.9 million tickets sold, True Friends was the seventh highest-grossing Soviet film of 1954. Together with Salt of the Earth, it was Ex aequo awarded the Crystal Globe