The Anxious Night

The action takes place on one of the nights in October 1917 and is limited to the walls of a St. Petersburg apartment occupied by the wealthy noble family of the Starodubtsevs. The elder sister Anna (Elena Kuzmina) is a helpless, spoiled woman, far from life. She is unable to understand that her husband, Lieutenant Almazov, is one of the leaders of the counter-revolutionary conspiracy. The younger sister Maria has already chosen her path - she is with the revolutionaries, with the Bolsheviks. The landlord Yarlykov, having lost everything, dreams of running away from Russia, taking with him something more valuable. In the dramatic events taking place in the Starodubtsev family, echoes of the huge, decisive clashes of the revolution are guessed.

Directed by Tatyana Berezantseva, The Anxious Night leans on a strong ensemble — Boris Chirkov, Elena Kuzmina, Anatoliy Ignatyev — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1958.