This is a warm and funny movie from an earlier time. Clever and fun. Character driven without the silly special effects so common in modern movies. It relies upon good writing, quality acting and genuine physical comedy to do the job. I see that some reviewers did not like the ending, but this is integral to achieving the positive message that the movie wanted to convey. During the Cold War, people were in credible fear and this was an attempt to calm the fears while also giving a message of hope. If you do not appreciate this movie, you need to look at our history and once informed, consider it in the context of the day. Otherwise, from the late Brian Keith, "I thought all the nuts went home on Labor Day." :-)

How well I remember seeing The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming way back in theater and enjoying this wonderful satire on Cold War paranoia. Norman Jewison put together a great cast of scene stealing players and it's great to see these guys try to top each other.A Russian submarine keeping an eye on our naval movements off the American shore runs aground on the shore of eastern Long Island which is quite like it was in 1966, sparsely populated with small towns. Non speaking English Captain Theodore Bikel sends Lieutenant Alan Arkin ashore with some men including young seaman John Philip Law without any real instructions.People spot these Russian speaking sailors and the panic starts. Arkin arrives at the house of Carl Reiner who is a composer with wife Eva Marie Saint and son Sheldon Collins and niece Andrea Dromm. Law makes his own separate peace with Dromm. Nice piece it is too.Arkin and Reiner are great together, Arkin with his fractured English and Reiner trying to both be civilized and live up to his son's expectations of killing the dirty Reds who've invaded.When word gets out Brian Keith as sheriff and deputy Jonathan Winters have to compete with Paul Ford at his blusteriest who is ready to form a militia on the spot. What an advertisement for Second Amendment absolutists.Lots of funny stuff involving these Russians stuck in a place they've been taught to fear as enemies and the Americans who've been cut off in this remote part of Long Island who are paranoid over an invasion. Let's say a humanitarian situation brings this part of the Cold War to a complete thaw.But I will say that I doubt in those days there was a Soviet equivalent. Is there a film out there called The Yankees Are Coming The Yankees Are Coming. This is still a very funny film.

So I watched "The Russians are coming The Russians are coming" made in 1966. So is this a classic or even a good movie, well I got say ehhhh once again. This movie has a great cast (including one of my personal faves Jonathan Winters), a great director, and an interesting premise, but ultimately falls apart in the end. I think it falls apart because it is basically supposed to be a lighthearted comedy, so it is supposed to have a happy ending, but it just seemed contrived to me. I did enjoy watching a movie that apparently took place in a time when not only didn't people have cell phones, but they used switchboards and cranked their phones. Another thing I enjoyed were how there were no subtitles for what the Russians were saying, I don't know if it was intentional, but it put the audience in the same world with the characters who couldn't understand them either. So should you skip this one, well I don't know, I did find much of this film very funny including Alan Arkin (still relevant today wow!), but the ending bothered me, maybe you my one reader may feel differently. if you like concise reviews of interesting films please read my other reviews at http://raouldukeatthemovies.blogspot.com/

I remember watching this as a child with my parents and enjoying it. I watched it again recently and enjoyed it more because I understood a lot of the humor I missed as a child, even laughing out loud in some parts. It's perhaps a little slow in parts, but maybe because I've grown used to modern, non-stop-wise-cracking comedies.There are some aspects that are remarkably unrealistic: a Russian sub captain wanting to "sneak a peak" at the USA, a Russian Sub captain threatening to shell a town instead of using diplomatic detente (really-- I'm sure ALL the sailors knew how serious the tensions between the two powers were).There are some aspects that are remarkably realistic: how the rumor of invasion grows wings and develops purely invented details, how quickly mob mentality takes over, how everyone thinks they know what's going on but clearly do not (I note that the Russians are maybe more scared than the Americans, as they always seem to be perspiring.) Indeed-- one of the themes of the film seems to be mis-communication, and how quickly misunderstanding can turn into war.I was also thinking about "treason" while watching the film. The idea is brought up at least twice on screen. Carl Reiner's "Whittaker Walt" clearly is just trying to be a good samaritan, and doesn't want to see anybody get hurt, neither Yankee nor Slav. By the end of the film I was reminded of that sappy Sting song with the lyric "I'm sure the Russians love their children too"-- clearly the whole town has come to the same conclusion, and decides it's maybe better to be (perhaps) treasonous against their own country than to be (definitely) treasonous against their own humanity. (Besides-- how would it aid the US to go to war over a minor misunderstanding caused by a bumbling sea captain?)