A Russian submarine gets stuck on a sandbar after getting too close to Gloucester Island, Massachusetts. Lieutenant Rozanov (Alan Arkin) leads a group to find a motor boat to pull the submarine back out into the ocean. New Yorker musical playwright Walt Whittaker (Carl Reiner) and his family had rented a house and are the first to encounter the Russians. As rumors spread, fear and chaos ensue. Police Chief Link Mattocks (Brian Keith) tries to keep calm despite his bumbling deputy Norman Jonas (Jonathan Winters). To make matters worst, old-timer Fendall Hawkins organizes a riled-up militia.It's a lot of people yelling and talking over each other. It's a lot of misunderstandings and not-listening. It adds up to a mad-cap comedy of mostly annoying people. This era of comedy is not always that funny to me. It's half-funny and half-frustrating. There are very few appealing characters but there is some idiotic fun.

Norman Jewison directed this cold war comedy about a Russian submarine that accidentally runs aground on a New England coast after they were sightseeing. Needing help, Lt. Rozanov(played by Alan Arkin) tries to enlist the locals to help them dislodge the ship, but instead manages to convince them that they lead an invasion. Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint play a married couple who raise the alarm, getting the attention of the police chief(played by Brian Keith) and his hysterical assistant(played by Jonathan Winters). How can they come to an understanding, and prevent WWIII? Some funny scenes cannot save this strained and contrived farce that becomes increasingly absurd as it goes along, leading to a most unrealistic resolution. The talented cast does its best.

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/

"We have... GOT... to get organized!"This is the story of a Russian sub running aground somewhere in New England, at the height of the cold war. A small party of sailors is sent on a mission to "infiltrate" the town, get a boat and tow it out of it's predicament. Comedy ensues.As far as comedies go, this is one of the more entertaining ones. It features a lot of great actors, a great script, good music and beautiful cinematography. The situations are funny, the story follows the rules of drama, starting small and growing and growing until it explodes out of all proportion. It is a fun movie to watch, even if it might not be the laugh-out-loud type.The directing is great. Norman Jewison does an excellent job, the camera work is very good, the angles are well chosen, the framing is perfect, even if he tends to use a lot of tight shots. Some of the scenes could have used a little more room to grow.The actors are great and the languages they speak are hilarious: American, Russian and body language, they all are great (even if no self respecting Russian would ever speak that way). Alan Arkin excels at using his body language and his impersonation of a soviet officer is memorable. Carl Reiner, Brian Keith and Jonathan Winters are hilarious. The music is good, funny and witty.As with other movies made by Mr. Jewison, this one has a message: people do not want to hate each other; it is a waste of time. And talking about time, the movie is a bit too long, at a little over two hours. Problem is I wouldn't know which part to leave out.The Russians are coming. A very entertaining comedy from 50 years ago, with one of the most hilarious trailers I have ever seen. 9/10.