THE DIAMOND ARM is a Russian comedy about diamond smuggling and one inept fool finding himself up against powers stacked against him. It's about a chap who through various plot twists ends up getting a stash of diamonds hidden inside his arm cast, and the shenanigans that follow when the gangsters to whom the diamonds belong give chase.Unfortunately for me I didn't find the comedy in this film to be particularly funny despite the best efforts. The humour is very specific to Russia in the late 1960s and thus doesn't really translate well to a modern Western viewer. Some bits are mildly amusing and that's about it. Saying that, the film does have good production values and enthusiastic actors, it's simply that I didn't find it funny in comparison to something more slapstick-orientated and accessible like OPERATION 'Y' AND OTHER SHURIK'S ADVENTURES.

Mistaken for a professional contrabandist, a bumbling tourist is given an arm cast full of smuggled goods and inadvertently becomes a government spy after going to the police in this energetic Soviet comedy. Once voted as the funniest Russian comedy of time, 'The Diamond Arm' certainly does an impressive job incorporating various forms of humour. The first five minutes, for example, play out as a dialogue-free silent comedy, but later on there are also pratfalls, sight gags and lines that crack with wit. At its zaniest, the chief smuggler has a red tinted dream in which he is tormented by a laughing black cat (!), though the most amusing moments come from characters narrating their thoughts out loud, whether it be the protagonist's paranoia over a taxi ride or his wife's concern that he is cheating on her. Less successful are the film's attempts at satire - or perhaps this angle is just lost on a western viewer. By some accounts, the film offers a sharp and biting parody of life under the Soviet regime, but ostensibly, it is just an offbeat motion picture about things going incredibly wrong. Yuriy Nikulin (reportedly a former circus clown) does okay as a man out of his depth, wearing the much sought-after cast, but the best moments are had by Andrey Mironov as the actual contrabandist who was meant to be given the cast. Whether it be repeatedly failing to knock Nikulin unconscious during a fishing trip, being kicked in the mouth during a drunken dance or fondling the precious cast, Mironov is simply sensational in a rather thankless role.

Perfect from the first till the last minute. Not a single word in this movie said in vain - this is absolute masterpiece of comedy. But I do not believe that it is possible to translate it properly into English - so, you have to know Russian language (and you've got to have a good idea of Russian realities of 70th) to be able to fully enjoy it. This movie was, I believe, the first soviet comedy which contained a short "sexual" scene (topless actress shot from behind). Many lines from this film are now living their own lives - you can hear quotations on TV, in people talks, in other movies - while some of those who uses it do not remember the words origin. Must have, must see - anyway!

I like this movie. Like all other Gaidai's films I saw, its very dense in humor, without empty gaps. For a non Soviet, it can give some insight to this country. Well, it helps if you have some background knowledge, like I have. the film is surely as critical as was possible, but the main thing is that it gives you a good feeling, laugh helps to forget bad things. My favorite is the scene in the restaurant, it shows the joy of drinking in a good company, I think Russian people really can create a good party. The music is also nice, Andrei Mironov is superb on the ship with his song about island of unlucky people in ocean. He also commented afterward his role i such a film: it is good to have one diamond arm, two is too much, tree is a catastrophe.