Last inch / Poslednii duim
This Saturday the TVC channel showed this film. And I remembered those years. I was 19 years old when the film came out. Before this film, no one had James Aldridge's books, but my aunt, a big bibliophile, during this period of huge shortage of books, especially by foreign authors, got hold of Aldridge's novel somewhere." Diplomat". This novel was published only because at that time James Aldridge was considered a communist, the government of the USSR welcomed his views.
And the incident that served as the plot of the film actually happened to James Aldridge. In 1957, he traveled to Egypt and vacationed on the Red Sea. They told them that there were amazing fish in this sea. And James one day decided to go down to the depths to take some underwater photos. He was amazed by the beauty of the newly discovered underwater world of the Red Sea. Of course, at that time there were no such advanced scuba gear, but nevertheless it was possible to dive to depths. And during filming, James suddenly felt that a shadow was hanging over him. When he looked up. then above him he saw a huge shark, which was carefully watching him. James was already saying goodbye to life, literally frozen with fear, but... the shark, having studied him, turned and swam away. Once safely ashore, James was shocked. And the plot of a story about shooting sharks came to his mind. So in 1957 the story “The Last Inch” appeared. In 1958, the story was filmed in the USSR and immediately all critics and viewers put it in the first rank among the best film adaptations by foreign authors.
Filmmakers:
Directors: Nikita Kurikhin, Theodor Vulfovich
Cast: Vyacheslav Muratov, Nikolai Kryukov, Mikhail Gluzsky, Ali Aga Agayev, Mukhlis Janizade,
Alexey Rozanov and others
Cinematographer: Samuil Rubashkin
Composer: Moses Weinberg
The plot of the film The Last Inch / Poslednii duim
43-year-old American, former military pilot Ben Esley(Nikolay Kryukov)after the war again
ended up in North Africa, in the skies of which he fought with the Germans.
Just recently Ben was flying overEgyptian desert, transporting geological prospectors from place to place
oil producing company, andnow he was glad of any work that came his way, because he had to
When from his friend Gifford (Mikhail Gluzsky) Esli received an offer to film under
water sharks in the Red Sea, then at first refused. But it was too tempting to get two
thousands of dollars that TV people were ready to shell out for footage of toothy
predators, and in the end he agreed.
Ben went to the deserted Shark Bay on hisplane with my son. For both it is
the dangerous journey became a real test.
The history of the film The Last Inch / Poslednii duim
The premiere of the film “The Last Inch” took place on June 10, 1959. Story by James Aldridge
"The Last Inch"on which the film was based, written in 1957 and in the same year
translated into Russian. The English edition of the book was carried out later - in 1960. For
screenwriter Leonida Belokurova and directors Theodor Vulfovich and Nikita Kurikhin
"The Last Inch" became a debut in feature cinema.
About the role Ben Esley dreamedGeorgy Zhzhenov, and it was he who was invited to play the main character
future painting. But when the screen tests were filmed, the directors changed their original
plans and decided to take on the role Ben Nikolai Kryukov. Previously, Kryukov appeared in episodic
roles in several films, and “The Last Inch” became the first major and most
famous for his film work. Subsequently, the actor took part in the filming of many popular
films - "Virgin Soil Upturned", "Andromeda Nebula", "Bronze Bird", "The Long Road to
dunes", "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson", "Petrovka, 38".
Slava Muratov, making his screen debut in the role Davy, a year later he starred in a short film"Dad or
Mother?",and with this his journey in cinema was completed. As an adult, Vyacheslav acting
He preferred military service to his profession - having graduated from the Leningrad Higher Military Engineering
construction school, he became a career officer. Wrote the music for the film Moses (Mstislav)
Weinberg (" Tiger Tamer", "The Cranes Are Flying", "Winnie the Pooh", "Afonya"), and composed the lyrics
Mark Sobol.
“Song about the dead pilots” (“A landmine thunders in a heavy bass...") performed Mikhail Ryba,
whomfor his unique vocal abilities (bass profundo) he was called the “Soviet Paul Robeson”
(Paul Robeson)". The singer's voice can also be heard in the paintings"Carnival Night", "Quiet Don",
"Marinesalt" and the cartoons "Moidodyr", "The most, the most, the most, the most...".
The film was shot in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea. Some of the underwater filming was
O shot by cameraman Anatoly Popov and his colleagues from the Mosnauchfilm studio,
some footage was provided by French filmmakers from the Requin film company
Associe."
Immediately after its release, the film was a resounding success, primarily among children and
to a youthful audience, and the songs from the film are still popular today.
In 1960, at the All-Union Film Festival in Minsk, the film “The Last Inch” was awarded the Second
award in the category of children's films, and its creators were awarded the First Prize for their work
operator ( Samuil Rubashkin), Second prize for director's work ( Theodor Vulfovich and Nikita
Kurikhin), Second Prize for the work of the composer (Moses Weinberg) and Second Prize for Main
male role ( Nikolai Kryukov).
Interesting facts about the film The Last Inch / Poslednii duim
— The role of Nikolai Kryukov was voiced Yuri Tolubeev, and the mechanic (actor Mukhlis Jani-Zadeh) is on
airfield from which Ben and Davy went to Shark Bay, speaks in a voice Sergei Yursky.
— Aldridge has Ben and his son flying on a plane Fairchild 24G, and in the filming of the film they used
similar in appearance to it, domestic Yak-12.
— In Aldridge's story, the action takes place in the desert near a fishing village near
name Hurghada
- Since the 1980s, this place on the shores of the Red Sea has become a popular resort all over the world. IN
the film uses a fictitious title "Murghada".
FILM "THE LAST INCH"
Busel Anastasia Veniaminovna.
GBOU secondary school No. 216 with in-depth study of the Polish language named after. A. Mitskevich
Why did Aldridge call his story "The Last Inch"? (notes of a literature lesson in 7th grade, April 15, 2016)
Textbook: Literature. 7th grade: textbook for general education. institutions. At 2 o'clock. Ch 2/Aut.-state. V.Ya.Korovina. – 11th ed. – M. – Education, 2004
This lesson is the final one in the “Growing Man” block. “Growing Man” is a topic in which the subject of study is works of art, where the main character is a teenager or stories that help to form a moral principle in the student.
There are 12 lessons on this topic, with a seminar and an essay as the final lessons. Here's a lesson plan for the topic.
A growing man.A word about L. Tolstoy. The theme of childhood in the work of the great writer.
Discovery of the world by the main character. Psychologism of descriptions.
Images of adults in the story. Childhood as a moral guideline.
M. Gorky. "Childhood". Depiction of the "leaden abominations of life"
“Bright, healthy, creative in Russian life.” Images of Alyosha, grandmother, Gypsy, Good Deed.
Learning to analyze an episode of a work.
Reading and analysis of L.N. Andreev’s story “Bite.”
Research reading of A. Platonov’s story “Yushka”.
“No one is calling me...” “Unknown Flower” - a fairy tale
E.I. Nosov “Doll”. Training in holistic analysis of a work.
Y.P.Kazakov “Quiet Morning”. Holistic analysis of the story.
Why did Aldridge call the story "The Last Inch"?
Seminar “Literature about teenagers and for teenagers. 19-20-21 century. Different times, same problems"
RR. Composition
Lesson objectives: introducing students to the personality and work of J. Aldridge; consolidating students’ knowledge and ideas about the diversity of world literature, at the same time about thematic, ideological and moral unity; deepening students’ understanding of the specifics of fiction, continuing to work on the concept of composition, climax; education of emotional responsiveness.
The lesson uses a presentation.
During the classes:
Organizing time.
Teacher's word.
For 11 lessons now we have been talking about a growing person, about a teenager in literature. And by today you have read James Aldridge’s story “The Last Inch” and prepared 5 questions with the word “Why?” (so-called “thick” questions). For some reason, it seems to me that each of you has this question - the question that I put in the title of the lesson (see slide 1).
I will check all your questions, collect notebooks, and I hope we will answer almost all of them. For now, let's get to the author.
What did you read about him in the textbook? (years of life, main events)
Look at the slide (see slide 2). I wrote down the titles of some of his stories and novels. Just looking at the titles, what kind of person is Aldridge describing? What interests him in a person? (a strong, courageous person, a hero, capable of action, feat)
Does The Last Inch fit into this scheme?
Direct work with the story. Questions from the audience.
Who are the heroes of the story?
Who is Ben? What do we learn about him from the first lines of the story?
How does Ben's son appear before us? Through whose eyes does the reader look at Davy? (through Ben's eyes, because for him the boy is a burden)
Where does the story take place? (Red Sea, Egypt)
Why did Ben completely forget about his son when he got to Shark Bay? What interested Ben in the bay? (Job)
Why did Ben take this job? (after the students’ answer, it is important to note that we have the whole story before us and we do not know about Ben’s previous life. This is not the first work given in the textbook in an abbreviation - there was also “Taras Bulba”. And I emphasize that always an incomplete work must be carefully analyze, so from the 8th grade we will read literature only in its entirety).
Why was the boy afraid of the bay and the desert?
Working with the composition of the story (see slide 4).
We met the characters and found out where the events take place. This is the exposition of the story.
What is the plot of the story? (Ben and Davy fly to the bay. Ben falls into the sea. Ben is bitten by a shark)
Describe the underwater world through Ben's eyes? Who is he comparing sharks to? (see slide - we find out that it was not a cat shark that was meant, but a tiger shark)
What happened underwater? What mistake did Ben make?
Why did Ben manage to cope with the situation and get ashore? What was he thinking about during the fight? (about himself, about life, he was driven by the thirst for life)
And only then does he remember his son. His death could lead to the death of the child.
What phrase characterizes Ben as an intelligent and experienced pilot and warrior? (he must make Davy think for himself)
Why is every minute on the plane described in such detail?
What's going on in Ben's mind? What is difficult for him to do? (there is an internal struggle in him, he must find an approach to his son, that is, remove the rigidity and rudeness in himself, so as not to scare Davy)
How father and son save each other7
At what point does Ben realize that Davy is not a weak boy, but a strong child? (the father hears familiar notes in the voice, understands that Davy is his father’s son - strong, confident, and at this moment, there, in the air, the boy grows up)
Why did Davy think he could never cry again?
Which episode is the climax of the story? (the moment when the father cries and the son can no longer cry - they switched places and changed internally)
What is the last inch that Ben thinks about with horror?
Why did Ben suddenly collapse in the hospital and not recover?
What happened to Davy? Why didn't he even have a shock?
Let's read the last paragraph. What became important to Ben? (Ben has become a different father, and they have their whole lives ahead of them to get to know each other)
Let's return to the title of the lesson. Why is the story so named? (first the students speak out, then we look at the slide, we come to the conclusion that there is a direct and metaphorical meaning here - Ben and Davy have walked the last inch and approached each other. The last inch is here: both between father and son, and between life and death, and between feat and powerlessness)
Conclusion and reflection.
In almost every lesson, we spend the last 5-7 minutes on written work, answering any question related to the topic, and summing up. I don't want to ask you questions today, I want you to ask me a question. A question that arose after the lesson, or a question that you came up with at home, but we did not answer it. BUT! Explain why this particular question interests you. I promise to answer. (see slide 10)
(The usual task was also prepared (see slide 9), but this time the students themselves asked for “something new and interesting”)
The questions written by the children were very different. There were those who repeated the questions from the lesson (maybe they listened to the question or answer), there were also questions that they did not have time to answer, some students wrote that there were no questions because they had covered everything during the lesson
I liked the following questions:
Why is nothing said about Davy's mother? Usually at critical moments in life everyone remembers their mother, but Davy didn’t remember. (Pasha S.)
Why didn’t Ben tell Davy anything about his service and work, because usually fathers talk about this with their children?
How will life turn out for Ben and Davy?
PS. I did not mark where passages of text should be read. This seems self-evident to me. During the lesson, naturally, leading questions were asked. After all, I didn’t write a transcript of the lesson, but a summary.
The lesson was attended by the deputy director for educational work, Svetlana Igorevna Pyatibratova.
List of 7th grade students (present at the lesson)
Asobidinov Shokhrukh
Davoyan Tengiz
Gusarova Yulia
Kislyakova Natalya
Kulekin Pavel
Moscow Daniil
Ostapchik Artem
Mukhin Kirill
Popovich Maria
Pudenkova Alisa
Shokhova Olga
Sapaev Islam
Sumin Pavel
Tatzhiev Alik
Romanenko Vladimir
Aldridge James - Test questions for the novel by D. Aldridge “The Last Inch”
Test questions with selective answers for D. Aldridge's short story “The Last Inch”
What was David worried about?
control questions with selected answers to D. Aldridge's novel “The Last Inch”
How did it happen that Ben, an experienced pilot, was forced to do “non-flying work”?
The oil company where Ben served abandoned expensive oil developments on the Indian Ocean, and a large group of pilots was forced to retire. To earn money, Ben rented a plane, film equipment, and scuba diver equipment and went to Shark Bay on the Red Sea. Here he was going to take pictures of sharks, getting as close to them as possible.
What does Ben see as the meaning of fatherhood? Why doesn't he know his son?
Going to film the sharks, Ben expected to get a lot of money, since the film company paid dearly for such risky filming. The money was needed by a family with whom he had not lived for a long time. The son grew up, it was necessary to pay for his studies, the services of a governess and for everything that the child needed. By providing financially for his son, Ben believed that he was fulfilling his fatherly duty. Rare short meetings with the boy did not contribute to their friendship and mutual understanding. The father did not know his son: his habits, interests, character...
Why did Ben decide to take his son with him to Shark Bay?
Why was it difficult for father and son to communicate? Did they have nothing to say to each other? Did they not understand each other?
The boy needed love, affection, understanding, but he did not receive them from either his mother or his father. Therefore, on the plane and on the shore of the bay, they only exchanged individual words, and Ben also gave instructions on how to arrange the place where they would spend several hours, how to behave for their son during his father’s absence.
What was David worried about?
What helped father and son understand each other?
Just before leaving the water, Ben was attacked by a shark and injured. His strength left him, and he lost consciousness at times. In moments of enlightenment, the father hurried to tell his son everything he needed: what and how to do in order to drag him to the plane, load him into the cockpit, lift the plane, gain the required altitude and land the plane. And the son, in turn, tried to more accurately carry out everything his father said. This was the time when they understood each other. Trouble and the desire to survive helped David, a ten-year-old child, through superhuman efforts to save his father and himself.
How could the losing strength father help David?
What is the meaning of the victory of father and son?
Devi conquered his fear and matured (he did back-breaking work when returning from Shark Bay; he, like his father, used the last inch to land the plane). The son found his father, discovered him for himself and saved his life. During this time, Ben learned a lot about his boy, who “could do everything” and even more. Father and son actually became family. They were united by the desire for life, the will to win, common victory, courage and loyalty to duty... and the “last inch”...
Margarita
ZOLOTAREVSKAYA
"The Last Inch" by James Aldridge
Materials for the lesson
Before reading the story, the meaning of words unfamiliar to students is explained in order to facilitate its perception.
- "Oster"- a small plane;
- inch(from Dutch- thumb) - a unit of length in the system of English measures, equal to 2.54 cm ( foot - 30.48 cm, equal to 12 inches);
- mile- a unit of length in the English system of measures, a nautical mile is equal to 1.852 km, a land mile is 1.609 km;
- apathy- a state of indifference to the surrounding world;
- adventure- a risky business (not always honest), designed for random success;
- scuba- apparatus for breathing under water;
- speedometer- a device for determining speed.
The study of the story begins with clarifying the plot and composition in the process of an analytical conversation, repeating the relevant theoretical and literary concepts.
Plot- a set of actions and events in which the main content of a work of art is revealed. The plot reflects the clashes and contradictions characteristic of life, the relationships between people and the attitude of writers towards them.
In the story “The Last Inch,” father and son practically do not know each other, do not experience kinship of souls, they travel on a small plane to a Red Sea bay cut off from the world. The father is forced to earn money by filming sharks. This is an unsafe activity. During filming, he was injured by sharks. At the cost of incredible efforts, father and son get to Cairo. The overall goal is to survive! This brings them closer. They begin to understand each other.
Composition- this is the construction of a literary work, the arrangement of all its parts in a certain sequence and relationship.
The composition of the story includes:
the beginning- Ben is forced to take his son with him;
action development- flight to the bay, preparation for shooting, descent under water;
climax- Ben's injury; the incredible efforts of father and son to survive;
denouement- successful landing at Cairo airfield; the beginning of a new, truly family relationship.
Questions and tasks for analyzing the story
What is said about the boy's mother?
(She hated the Canadian settlement where they lived. She missed her native England. She was overcome by apathy. She left her family and returned to England.
“...Mother is not interested in him...”
“...So far she has not shown any interest, although three months have passed since she left home.”)
Who was Davy's father? Trace the father's relationship with his son before the flight to filming.
(Father is 43 years old. A high-class pilot. Having lost his job, Ben, in order to feed his family, takes on unsafe underwater filming of sharks.
“Somewhere deep down Ben understood that the boy was a stranger to both of them.” He was “sharp and taciturn” with him. In one of his very rare acts of generosity, Ben tried to teach the boy how to fly an airplane, and although the son was very capable and quickly mastered the basic rules, “every comment from his father brought him to tears...”)
How does Davy feel in the family?
(The boy is ten years old. He feels lonely: his father is busy with his work, pays little attention to him, does not like to answer his children’s questions. Davy feels his father’s superiority over him.)
Follow the relationship between father and son during a flight to the bay.
(The boy feels bad both from the motion and because his father speaks to him “with irritation.”
“The boy looked very unhappy”; He answers questions “in a quiet and shy voice, not like the rude voices of American boys”; “Ben didn’t know how to console his son, but he told the truth.”)
How does the father-son relationship play out in the bay before Ben's shark attack?
(The father does not communicate with his son, he is busy preparing for the shooting of sharks, he only asks to carry out his instructions. Davy is depressed, silent, tries not to ask questions. They are together, but there is no mutual understanding. But it is clear that the father loves his son and cares about him.
"Ben<…>when I got to the bay, I completely forgot about the boy and gave him orders from time to time<…>Ben was too busy to pay attention to what the boy was saying.”
“- Be careful not to go near the water! - ordered the father. - Sit under the wing in the shade<…>
- Does anyone ever come here? - Davy asked him<…>
Davy didn't ask any more questions. When he asked his father about something, his voice immediately became gloomy: he expected a sharp answer in advance. The boy did not even try to continue the conversation and silently did what he was ordered.”)
- How do father and son behave after Ben is wounded and during the flight to Cairo?
(At first the boy was confused, but he controlled himself and showed restraint and willpower.
"- What should I do? - Davy shouted. - See what happened to you!<…>
“I tried to steal him,” Davy said in a falling voice.<…>
- No! - Davy shouted with rage, - I’m not tired<…>
Is it really possible to live with your son for years and not see his face?<…>
“I can’t do that,” the boy said, and Ben thought he heard a sharp note of impatience in his son’s voice, somewhat reminiscent of his own voice...
"Good guy! - Ben thought. “He hears everything.”
The wounded Ben was afraid not for himself, but for his son, realizing that he would not be found in the bay.
“If he dies, the boy will be left alone, and that’s scary to even think about. This is even worse than his own condition...”
Overcoming severe pain and losing consciousness, the father gives the confused child an example of courage and calmness, instills in him confidence in his abilities and hope for salvation.
Ben only realized in a moment of danger that he did not know his son, that, living together, they were alone and did not understand each other. Now he “saw” him, that is, he saw that Davy, although a child, was a courageous man; the father becomes extremely sincere with him and guides his actions, addresses him as an equal and with paternal restrained tenderness, praises the boy.
“We have to steal it, okay? - Ben shouted, as usual, but immediately realized that the only hope for salvation for the boy and him was to force Davy to think for himself, to confidently do what he should do<…>
- I'll tell you, son, and you try to understand<…>
Ben didn’t remember when he cried, but now he suddenly felt causeless tears in his eyes. No, he doesn't intend to give up. Never!
- Your old man is falling apart, huh? - Ben said and even got a slight pleasure from such frankness<…>Fine. Well done! Now turn the black switch next to me. Great…")
What does Ben think about what happened while in the hospital, what worries him?
(“When Davy was brought in, Ben saw that it was the same child, with the same face, which he had recently seen for the first time. But the point was not at all what Ben saw; it was important to find out whether the boy had managed to do something something to see in your father.”)
What character traits did father and son display in a moment of danger?
(With the help of the teacher, the children conclude that this story is about the relationship between father and son, about overcoming misunderstandings of each other, about the strength of a person’s spirit in the fight against danger and about victory over fear and despair, about mutual assistance between people.)
Finding out the meaning of its title will help you understand the idea of the story.
In English the word inch(inch) is part of several phraseological units. For example, every inch(upside down), which means: 1) entirely, completely; 2) in everything - in thoughts, actions. Phraseological combination inch by inch(inch by inch) means “very carefully, but carefully.” “Inch by inch” father and son move towards each other. After the tragedy in the bay, the heroes of the story step by step, making incredible efforts, move towards victory.
An inch is a very small distance, only 2.5 cm, but it sometimes turns into an abyss that people cannot overcome throughout their lives. Fortunately, Ben and Davy were able to pass the tests with honor and not only survived, but also overcame this most important “last inch” that brought them closer together. Already during the flight to Cairo, and then in the hospital, Ben does not stop (every inch - “entirely, completely”) thinking about his son.
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