I had just finished reading the play by the Ukranian playwright Nicolae Gogol and I decided that I would have a look through Youtube to find out if somebody had uploaded a performance but what my search ended up throwing up me was, well, this movie (and I believe that it may be public domain since it is up of Youtube, and if a movie is not public domain, or not allowed on Youtube then I suspect that it will be pulled down pretty quickly). The play is about how a group of corrupt officials on a small Russian town in the 19th century hear that somebody is coming from St Petersburg (the then Russian capital) to perform a audit on the town's accounts, so they end up rushing about in a panic to try and cover up their nefarious deeds. Then enters a lowly clerk on a holiday and they immediately believe that he is the auditor and go out of their way to soften him up and offer him bribes.
The movie differs from a play a little (and is a little be more slapstick, but then again I have not seen it performed so I cannot comment on that aspect of it) in that the clerk is replaced by an out of work con-man (because he does not like deceiving people) and the play has a much happier ending. In fact the clerk in this film is a much more honest individual than the original in the play (who scampers out of town quick fast when he is discovered). Also, the clerk (for want of a better word because in the movie he is actually homeless and destitute and wonders into the town having not eaten for two days).
The movie is also set in some vague European Village in some vague empire because at one point it is suggested that the Emperor if Napoleon, and at another point it is said that the capital city is Budapest (which is a huge continuity error because Budapest was never the main capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and Napoleon never had his capital in Budapest (he was French, so it was always going to be Paris). However, putting aside that minor problem, and the fact that the main character is much, much nicer in this movie than in the play, it is still a pretty good rendition, and enjoyable to watch.
The movie differs from a play a little (and is a little be more slapstick, but then again I have not seen it performed so I cannot comment on that aspect of it) in that the clerk is replaced by an out of work con-man (because he does not like deceiving people) and the play has a much happier ending. In fact the clerk in this film is a much more honest individual than the original in the play (who scampers out of town quick fast when he is discovered). Also, the clerk (for want of a better word because in the movie he is actually homeless and destitute and wonders into the town having not eaten for two days).
The movie is also set in some vague European Village in some vague empire because at one point it is suggested that the Emperor if Napoleon, and at another point it is said that the capital city is Budapest (which is a huge continuity error because Budapest was never the main capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and Napoleon never had his capital in Budapest (he was French, so it was always going to be Paris). However, putting aside that minor problem, and the fact that the main character is much, much nicer in this movie than in the play, it is still a pretty good rendition, and enjoyable to watch.