The real great schemer: who was the real prototype of Ostap Bender. Biography

Ostap Bender is the main character of the famous novels by Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf”. Without a doubt, Bender is one of the most striking characters in Russian literature, each of whose lines has long been analyzed into quotes. This is an amazingly charming swindler, smart, subtle and incredibly inventive, whose goal, faith and eternal passion is money. He does not hide his sincere love for banknotes, and his whole life is subordinated to their extraction. Despite the fact that in the end all his grandiose projects fail, Bender always remains a winner - even with his throat cut, even robbed and caught, as happened to him in the denouement of both novels.

He calls himself Ostap-Suleiman-Bertha-Maria-Bender Bey, as he introduced himself in the novel “The Twelve Chairs”, and in “The Golden Calf” he called himself Bender-Zadunaisky, although throughout the entire novel he is simply called Ostap Ibrahimovich. Ostap's year of birth is also ambiguous - in "The Twelve Chairs" he was 27 years old in 1927, while in "The Golden Calf" he mentioned that he was 33 years old ("the age of Christ"), the time of action is 1930. So, we can consider Ostap Bender’s birth year to be 1900 or 1897.

From the scattered and sometimes contradictory stories of Ostap, which he told to various characters on different pages, Ostap’s childhood passed either in Mirgorod or in Kherson, and in 1922 he was in Tagansk prison. And it was after leaving prison that he developed his famous “400 relatively fair ways of taking money from the population.”

So, appearing for the first time in the novel “The Twelve Chairs,” Bender arrives in Stargorod, where he immediately begins to develop vigorous activity. It’s funny that many critics immediately saw in the “young man of about twenty-eight” a former recidivist prisoner. Indeed, Ostap Bender had nothing, he didn’t even have a coat, but at the same time he managed to look like a real dandy and a heartthrob.

Bender's charisma literally captivates the reader from the first appearance - every phrase is a pearl, every decision speaks of genius. It is not surprising that he instantly becomes a leader in any society. “I will command the parade!” - this famous phrase of Bender has long become a saying, and, they say, this phrase in this wording had to be abolished in official documents.

During the course of “The Twelve Chairs,” Bender has to lead what is, in his opinion, not the most intellectually burdened group of adventurers just like himself, but Bender never loses his famous optimism, even in the most deplorable circumstances.

Bender's mind is unusually flexible - sometimes he comes up with simply brilliant plans right in the course of events - so, while still entering Stargorod in one suit, the young man was not at all sure what he would do in this city - whether he would become a polygamist, or would distribute the painting "Bolsheviks" writing a letter to Chamberlain." And in the end, he meets Ippolit Matveevich Vorobyaninov, who tells him the amazing story of Madame Petukhova’s family diamonds. So, Ostap’s plans changed instantly, and the new friends decided to set off to get treasures.

Money is the idol, the idol and the meaning of Ostap’s whole life; he sincerely and selflessly loves these “yellow circles”.

“Since there are some banknotes wandering around the country, there must be people who have a lot of them,” Ostap is sacredly sure of this and is ready to put his life into searching.

Alas, the search for the family diamonds, which sometimes seemed so close, was not successful for Bender. Moreover, at the end of the novel, Ostap is killed by the former leader of the nobility Vorobyaninov. By the way, they say that the authors of the novel, Ilf and Petrov, had serious contradictions about the ending of the novel - should Bender be left alive or killed? In the end, everything was decided by lot - and Kisa Vorobyaninov struck the razor along the defenseless neck of the sleeping Ostap...

Surprisingly, the lack of happy endings in both novels does not sadden the readers at all, although all of them, no doubt, succumb to Bender’s charisma and sincerely wish him luck in his scams. So, the end of each book seems to promise - Ostap Bender will return again, with a new adventure and new congenial ideas.

By the way, they said that Ilf and Petrov announced a third novel with Bender, and its title was even published in the press - “Scoundrel”, but this novel, alas, never saw the light of day.

There are many versions of who was the prototype of Ostap Bender - some even name the name Valentin Kataev, although Kataev himself said that it could be one of the writers’ Odessa childhood friends.

The image of Ostap Bender was embodied on screens by several brilliant Russian actors, among whom the most prominent are Sergei Yursky, Archil Gomiashvili, Oleg Menshikov, and, of course, Andrei Mironov.

Monuments to Ostap Bender stand today in many Russian and Ukrainian cities - St. Petersburg and Kharkov, Pyatigorsk and Kremenchug, as well as in Elista, Yekaterinburg, Berdyansk and many others.

Despite the fact that the first novel by Ilf and Petrov was published more than 80 years ago, Ostap Bender remains one of the most recognizable, bright and timeless characters today, and each of his lines has long become a quotation. Critics and literary scholars can argue about how exactly the authors managed to create such a controversial image - at its core, Bender was an ordinary swindler and scoundrel, and at the same time it is simply impossible not to love him. Charming and gallant, daring and noble in his own way, stylish and poor - this is him, Ostap Ibrahimovich Bender, “the son of a Turkish subject.”

Name: Ostap Bender (Ostap-Suleiman-Bertha-Maria Bender Bey)

A country: USSR

Creator:

Activity: adventurer, "great strategist"

Family status: not married

Ostap Bender: character story

The “ideological fighter for banknotes”, who dreams of walking through the sultry Rio de Janeiro in white pants, has graced Russian literature. Ostap Bender captivates with his thirst for life, his ability to deal with defeats with humor and his iron-clad perseverance in achieving his desired goal.

Story

In the early spring of 1927, employees of the newspaper “Gudok” received the position of “literary blacks” - a writer who also worked for the publication instructed a couple of novice reporters to put into literary form the idea of ​​​​jewels hidden in chairs. Journalists got down to business with enthusiasm.

Having looked around, we chose heroes for the new work from our immediate circle and just acquaintances. Among the episodic characters appeared the adventurer and swindler Ostap Bender. But from the very beginning he turned out to be so bright and charismatic that he constantly strove to come to the fore. The authors resigned themselves and decided to give the hero the right to fully realize himself.

It took a little more than four months to write the future legendary book. Having received the first manuscripts, Valentin Kataev was surprised - there was almost no trace left of the idea. However, he admitted that the guys did a brilliant job and have the right to consider themselves mature writers. At the beginning of 1928, the novel was put to rest, and the editor of the magazine “30 Days” approved it for publication.

The book “12 Chairs,” consisting of three parts, had a triumphant future ahead of it. Still would! The picaresque novel not only captivates with the adventures of Ostap Bender and (aka Kisa Vorobyaninov), who went in search of treasures stored in furniture. He attracts with sparkling humor - the book was immediately stolen for quotes suitable for any occasion.

The value of the work is also in the scattering of characters, each more colorful than the other. Just look at the wife of engineer Shchukin, who easily parted with her chair in exchange for a tea strainer. The heroine's vocabulary is limited to 30 words. The authors collected these phrases and expressions from their notes in notebooks and took them from the languages ​​of their friends. Ellochka, symbolizing the consumer society, does not age. And today you can meet many women of narrow minds who strive to live for their own pleasure in a man’s bosom.

The story of Ostap Bender's adventures begged for continuation. Ilf and Petrov began working on their next novel in 1929, and a couple of years later, the same magazine “30 Days” began publishing chapters of “The Golden Calf.” It is curious that the book was first published as a separate edition in the USA, but Russian readers received it a year later.

In the drafts of Gudok reporters, which were collected in a folder labeled “Case No. 2,” the work bore whatever title: “Calves,” “Burenushka,” “Half-Heifer,” and even “The Great Schemer.” The authors admitted:

“It was difficult to write, there was little money. We remembered how easy it was to write “12 Chairs” and envied our own youth. When we sat down to write, there was no plot in my head. It was invented slowly and persistently.”

The torment was not in vain - the second novel turned out even better than the debut work. In The Golden Calf, Ostap Bender, in company with the “children of Lieutenant Schmidt” Shura Balaganov and Panikovsky and with the owner of his own car, Adam Kozlevich, hunts for the money of the “real Soviet millionaire” Alexander Koreiko.

With the inconspicuous and modest, but very rich employee of the accounting and financial department, Ostap is connected by two passions - the love of money and tender feelings for the girl Zosia Sinitskaya. This time, luck smiled on Bender, or, as he accurately noted: “An idiot’s dreams came true!” The hero managed to get the savings of the underground schemer Koreiko, however, his dreams of Rio de Janeiro still did not come true...

According to rumors, Ilf and Petrov were going to write a third book about the “great schemer”; an announcement of a novel under the working title “Scoundrel” was even leaked to the press, but the authors did not please the fans.

Image

Ostap Bender appears before readers as a 27-year-old attractive young man and immediately captivates with his intelligence, ingenuity and sense of humor. A charismatic liar, endowed with acting talent, a favorite of women... In “The Golden Calf” Ostap reaches age, here the character is deeper, and the jokes and phrases are more sophisticated.

The clothes of the tramp, unpretentious in food and shelter, from the first book indicate that he has just left places not so distant - the plot of “12 Chairs” begins in early spring, and the man has neither a coat nor socks. But he is wearing smart shoes and a fashionable suit. The scarf and cap become integral attributes of the character, which Bender does not part with until the end of the second book.

Every phrase of Bender is a pearl, and every decision is brilliant. It is not surprising that he takes the place of leader in a company of petty swindlers. However, colleagues in the search for treasures and banknotes are not burdened with intelligence, and it is not difficult to lead them. Ostap is sincerely in love with life and remains an optimist even in the most disastrous situations. The main passion of the energetic scoundrel has always been and remains money.

The character’s past is vague, only occasionally do details of his life slip through: supposedly a graduate of the private Illiad gymnasium, during the Civil War he lived in the Ukrainian Mirgorod, traded in smuggling, and also amused the audience of fairs by showing a bearded woman (in fact, he dressed a full monk in a lady’s outfit). An enterprising young man would have been able to make a “legal” career, but he preferred to wander in the hope of getting a “plate with a golden border.”

The name Ostap Bender is not so simple. The hero introduces himself in an original way - in “The 12 Chairs”, upon meeting, he calls himself none other than the Turkish citizen Ostap-Suleiman-Bertha-Maria-Bender Bey, and in “The Golden Calf” he turned into Bender-Transdunaysky. The authors gave the character the patronymic Ibrahimovic, which Eastern fans took as one of their own, attributing Turkic roots. However, Ilf and Petrov, most likely, simply wanted to show the internationality of the hero - every nation has its own brilliant adventurer.

The character has many prototypes - from Kataev himself to the character of the theatrical production “Zoykina’s Apartment” Amethystov, an eloquent rogue and a talented swindler.

The main prototype of the handsome schemer is considered to be a friend of the authors, Osip Shor (friends called him Ostap), a former criminal investigation inspector. Young Osya's return from studying from Petrograd to his home in Odessa dragged on for a year, during which time the young man got involved in a bunch of adventures: he presented himself as the fiancé of a rich lady, an ace in the game of chess, and an artist. Bender’s “parents” borrowed the most vivid adventures for novels.

Movies

Russian and foreign directors have made several films based on the books by Ilf and Petrov. Some managed to brilliantly convey the character of an adventurer, while some films are considered downright unsuccessful. The role of Ostap was played by Hungarian Ivan Darvash, an Odessa resident, and even a singer. The experiment on the Bender theme was not a success for Ulyana Shilkina: the hero’s performance received low ratings from cinema connoisseurs.

Some directors allowed themselves to fantasize about the further adventures of the charming swindler. Yuri Kushnerev in the 1980 film “The Comedy of Bygone Days” united Ostap () and Kisa Vorobyaninov () with the heroes of Gaidaev’s comedies Coward () and Experienced () in search of treasures.

In the list of iconic films based on the works of Ilf and Petrov, critics include the following productions:

"12 Chairs" (1966)

For the first time on television, Soviet actor Igor Gorbachev played Ostap Bender. The performance of Leningrad Television was directed by Alexander Belinsky.

"Golden Calf" (1968)

And this is the debut film adaptation of the second novel about the adventures of an Odessa swindler under the direction of Mikhail Schweitzer. I tried on the image of the main character, whose age coincided with the age of the book Bender.

"12 Chairs" (1970)

The American interpretation of the journalists' work "Beep" fully corresponds to the author's characteristics of the character: the actor Frank Langella is young, handsome, with the bearing of a military man.

"12 Chairs" (1971)

Quotes

Quotes invented by the tandem of Gudok reporters are firmly rooted in the vocabulary of Soviet citizens, being inherited by the modern generation. One of the most famous:

“Ostap was carried away. Things seemed to be getting better...”

Even those who are not familiar with the works use the brilliant phrases of the “great schemer”:

“You are, after all, not my mother, not my sister, not my lover.”

“A sultry woman is a poet’s dream”

“I will command the parade!”

“Whoever says that this is a girl, let him be the first to throw a stone at me!”

“The ice has broken, gentlemen of the jury!”

“Perhaps I should also give you the key to the apartment where the money is?

“How much is opium for the people?”

“A car is not a luxury, but a means of transportation”

“You did not come from a monkey, like all other citizens, but from a cow. You think very slowly, just like a cloven-hoofed mammal. I’m telling you this as an expert on horns and hooves.”

“Rio de Janeiro is the crystal dream of my childhood, don’t touch it with your paws”

“The work of helping drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves”

“Money in the morning, chairs in the evening!”

“No, this is not Rio de Janeiro! This is much worse!

• The author of the story “Son of the Regiment” Valentin Kataev is the brother of Yevgeny Petrov. Evgeny Petrovich took a pseudonym, deciding that “Bolivar of Literature” would not be able to handle two Kataevs.
• The name of Kataev as the ideological inspirer of “12 Chairs” should have appeared on the list of authors, but the writer refused such an honor, because the idea was significantly redrawn. All he needed was dedication. Ilf and Petrov spent the first fee on a gift for their mentor - they gave him a gold cigarette case.

• The name of the character in picaresque novels is immortalized in monuments - sculptures of the adventurer were erected in St. Petersburg, Pyatigorsk, Yekaterinburg, Kharkov and other cities. And in Odessa, the attention of residents and guests of the city is attracted by Ostap Bender’s chair of impressive size - it is a meter in diameter.
• A third of a century after the publication of the novel “12 Chairs,” an amazing event happened in the life of Osip Shor - a possible prototype of Ostap married a lady who, in appearance and character traits, was the spitting image of Madame Gritsatsueva.

• In Gaidai's film, Bender performs for Madame Gritsatsueva a sad song about the suffering of a pirate in love. According to the script, the film was supposed to include two compositions, but one, called “Striped Life,” was removed by order from “above.” USSR Minister of Culture Ekaterina Furtseva explained that the country had enough of the song “But we don’t care,” sounding from every corner, and “Striped Life” faces the same fate.

And Evgeniy Petrov published his adventurous novel “The Twelve Chairs”, it was clear to everyone that the film adaptation of this masterpiece was a matter of time. To date, 10 projects have been filmed based on this story. And also 5 more film adaptations of the novel “The Golden Calf”, which is a continuation of “The Twelve Chairs”. Various artists played the main character named Ostap Bender. The actors tried to create their own unique image of the Great Schemer. Who did it better?

Who is Ostap Suleiman Berta Maria Bender Bey

First of all, it’s worth remembering a little about Ostap Ibrahimovich Bender himself.

He is the main character of two novels: The Twelve Chairs and The Golden Calf. Little is known about his childhood and teenage years. The hero himself only said about his past that his father was a Turkish subject. Contemporaries of Ilf and Petrov argued that this circumstance indicated that the Great Schemer was from Odessa. In addition, it is likely that his parents were Jewish traders who at that time took Turkish citizenship so that their children would not be forced to fight in the Russian-Turkish wars.

In “The Twelve Chairs” Ostap’s age is 27 years old, and in “The Golden Calf” he is 33. It turns out that Bender was born either in 1897 or 1900.

The outfit in which the Great Schemer first appears on the pages of the novel indicates that he has recently been released from prison: that is why he is dressed out of season, and he does not have housing (at that time the state took away living space from convicts).

At the beginning of The Twelve Chairs, Bender dreams of becoming a polygamist, but he does not have enough money for decent clothes to start this “venture.” Having made friends with the janitor, he witnesses the return of Ippolit Matveevich Vorobyaninov to the city, looking for his mother-in-law's treasures hidden in one of the confiscated chairs. Having agreed to look for the treasure together, the heroes actively begin to search for treasures throughout the USSR.

Throughout the book, Ostap and Ippolit Matveevich, by hook or by crook, obtain 11 chairs, which turn out to be empty. On the eve of the discovery of the latter, Vorobyaninov kills Bender so as not to share. But it turns out that the treasures were found long ago - a new club was built on them.

In "The Golden Calf" it turns out that Ostap manages to survive the assassination attempt. The authors of the novel do not tell how exactly this happened. Most likely, the owner of the apartment where the treasure hunters lived returned home earlier and managed to save the wounded man.

In any case, in “The Golden Calf” Ostap Ibrahimovic appears before the readers alive and ready to earn more. This time he has a whole team of assistants. Together they are trying to collect dirt on the underground Soviet millionaire Alexander Koreiko.

The first film adaptations of novels about Ostap Bender

Soon after publication, the novel “The Twelve Chairs” was translated into foreign languages, gaining popularity outside the USSR. The Poles were the first to film it in 1933. Despite the fact that they retained the original title, the plot was greatly changed, and in addition, the characters in the film had Polish names. Ostap Bender in it is Kamil Klepki performed by Adolf Dymsha.

The Cubans were the second to film the work of Ilf and Petrov in 1962. Like the Poles, they adapted the plot, in connection with which Ippolit Matveyevich turned into Hipólito Garigo, and Ostap Bender was hiding under the name of the clever servant Oscar. The actor who played this role is Reynaldo Miravalles.

In 1963, the Cuban “Twelve Chairs” was shown at the World Festival in Moscow. Probably, this film gave Soviet artists the idea that it was time to film the famous work themselves. And in 1966, the two-part television play “The Twelve Chairs” was released.

The main character was played by Igor Gorbachev. This actor became the first performer of the role of Ostap Bender in the history of Soviet cinema. It is noteworthy that Alisa Freindlich played Ellochka the cannibal. Despite the rather sparse scenery, the picture turned out to be quite worthy for its time, and Gorbachev's Great Schemer was quite funny, but it lacked the lightness and intelligence that subsequent performers brought.

Film "The Golden Calf" 1968

Oddly enough, the first novel about the Great Schemer, on the basis of which a full-length film was made, was The Golden Calf. Chronologically, he is the second.

In this black and white film, the audience saw the cheerful and resourceful Ostap Bender (actor Sergei Yursky), with whom it was simply impossible not to fall in love. Yursky at that time was already known for his role in “Republic of SHKID”. Despite the fact that in some scenes he clearly overacted, he was a great success in the role. Bender Yursky managed to maintain his optimism until the last frames of the film, which clearly contrasted with the book, in which Ostap burned out from the inside, disappointed in himself and his life.

By the way, it was Sergei Yursky who turned out to have the brightest Bender; even Archil Gomiashvili could not achieve such lightness in his acting. Yursky was 33 years old at the time of filming, like Ostap. By the way, at first the actor refused to participate in the project, and Vladimir Vysotsky applied for the role of the descendant of the Janissaries. But later the actor was persuaded to “command the parade.”

Frank Langella in the 1970 American film adaptation of The Twelve Chairs

In the USA, the novels of Ilf and Petrov were also very popular. Therefore, in the early seventies, the young director Mel Brooks, today known for B-category comedies (Spaceballs, Dracula: Dead and Loving), made a film of the same name based on it. It is worth noting that the Americans clearly did not skimp on the decorations, while many funny moments from the novel were not included in the film, and others were greatly distorted.

A pleasant feature of Brooks's The Twelve Chairs was its relatively happy ending. In it, Vorobyaninov does not kill Ostap, but, on the contrary, persuades him to continue traveling together.

The main role in the project was played by Frank Langella (“Dracula” 1979, “Junior”). It is worth noting that he perfectly got used to the image of a resourceful swindler and did not overact. However, Langella's Bender turned out to be too American, and therefore it was not accepted by domestic viewers, like the film adaptation itself.

Film “12 chairs” by Leonid Gaidai 1971

A year later, the film “12 Chairs” was released in the USSR. Its director was Leonid Gaidai. This brilliant comedy creator managed to make a masterpiece that matches the spirit of the book.

Many famous artists auditioned for the role of the tandem treasure hunters, including Andrei Mironov and However, the picky Gaidai rejected them. Instead, he entrusted the role of the boorish one to Sergei Filippov, who starred in the film despite cancer. And a Georgian actor named Archil Gomiashvili was invited to play the descendant of the Janissaries. At first he refused, although he had previously toured Georgia with a musical based on The Golden Calf. Moreover, the filming of “12 Chairs” began with another actor. However, he not only looked unfunny, but also got lost against the background of Filippov. Ultimately, Leonid Gaidai persuaded Gomiashvili to play Bender.

According to the majority, Archil is one of the best performers of this role. The actor managed to create the image of a resourceful and unprincipled, but charming scoundrel. However, he spoke in the film instead of the performer since Gomiashvili himself had a noticeable accent.

Ivan Darvas as Ostap Bender in the Hungarian film adaptation of The Golden Calf

4 years after Gaidai’s two-part film, the rascal Ostap Bender appeared on Hungarian television screens. The actor who played this role is Ivan Darvash. He is very famous in his homeland, but in the USSR and the CIS he is practically unknown. In the case of Darvash, the situation with Frank Langella was repeated, when the actor played his role with dignity, however, not understanding the national specifics of the work, he was unable to truly reveal the inner world of his hero.

“12 Chairs” by Mark Zakharov with Andrei Mironov in the title role

5 years after Gaidai, another famous Soviet director, Mark Zakharov, decided to film his version of the novel by Ilf and Petrov.

This is how the four-part film “12 Chairs” (1976) appeared. Subsequently, Leonid Gaidai often made fun of Zakharov’s film adaptation, calling it a “crime.” But in vain, because most film fans are still arguing with foam at the mouth which of the films is better, because the main role in the new film was played by the brilliant Andrei Mironov.

Ostap Bender in his performance turned out to be completely different from all the previous ones. He was no longer as young and optimistic as Yursky and Langella; so resourceful and charming, like Gomiashvili’s. But the Great Schemer acquired intelligence, which was harmoniously combined with impenetrable arrogance. In addition, the main feature of Mironovsky Ostap was his singing. The song “My Sail Is White” became a real hit and helped the actor reveal the inner world of his character, something that Gomiashvili was deprived of from Gaidai.

It is interesting that the 1976 film “12 Chairs” starred some artists who had previously played in Gaidai’s film. Among them are Savely Kramarov and Georgy Vitsin.

Summarizing the long-term debate about whose film is better, we can say with confidence that although both films were based on the same novel, each of them is unique in its own way. The same thing happened with the leading actors: Mironov and Gomiashvili created two wonderful, but completely different images of the Great Schemer, each of which has its own zest.

Ostap Bender performed by Sergei Krylov in the film “Dreams of an Idiot” 1993

After Mark Zakharov’s film, no one tried to film the works of Ilf and Petrov for 17 years. However, after the collapse of the USSR, film production became commercial, and many directors got the opportunity to film their bold projects. Among the attempts to take a fresh look at classic works was the film “Dreams of an Idiot” (1993), based on “The Golden Calf.”

This film retains the main plot elements of the original. However, they are all adapted to modern times, and the cheerful, charming Ostap has turned into a forty-year-old balding philosopher, who spent the first half of the film trying to get money, and then not knowing how to properly manage it. It is noteworthy that the ending is changed - Bender finds Zosya and confesses his love to her. The girl responds to his feelings, and, taking him with her, they go off into the distance together.

The main character was played by someone famous in the nineties. Despite numerous criticisms, it is worth noting that Bender in his performance is not so bad. Yes, he does not correspond to the book prototype and is much inferior to the previous performers of the role, but it is worth remembering that “Dreams of an Idiot” is a free adaptation of “The Golden Calf”.

Krylov's Bender turned out to be faded and inexpressive, but kind and sincere in his own way. This deviation from the canon is also a variant of reading the novel. Despite the many shortcomings of the film adaptation, the most questionable thing was how Sergei Krylov was able to get this role, because he is more than a weak actor.

as Ostap Bender in The Twelve Chairs by Ulrike Ottinger

11 years after the film “Dreams of an Idiot,” German director Ulrike Ottinger made the film “The Twelve Chairs.” In it, the main role was given to the famous comedian from Odessa Georgy Deliev.

Oettinger's painting was very modernized, but Ostap's costume, and he himself, were too clownish.

It is worth noting that Deliev played very well. He, of course, lacked the lightness and charm of most of his predecessors, but he clearly surpassed not only Krylov, but also an actor named Nikolai Fomenko, who became the next performer of the role of the Great Schemer.

The musical “The Twelve Chairs” 2005 with Nikolai Fomenko in the title role

Speaking about this film adaptation, most viewers asked the question: “Why was it filmed at all?” Despite the constellation of pretty good actors (Ilya Oleynikov, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Dmitry Shevchenko, the film turned out to be very weak.

The actors overacted, especially Nikolai Fomenko, who had previously established himself as a very good artist. Although he quite accurately conveyed Ostap’s boorish character, his character completely lacked charm, and he looked more like a racketeer than a cunning swindler.

Oleg Menshikov as Ostap Bender in the television series “The Golden Calf”

To date, the last film dedicated to the Great Schemer is the eight-episode television series “The Golden Calf” (2006). The talented actor Oleg Menshikov played in it.

Ostap Bender in his performance is considered one of the worst (those who think so are probably not familiar with the works of Deliev, Fomenko and Krylov). However, this opinion is somewhat biased due to the poor quality of the picture as a whole.

Of course, Menshikov is inferior to Yursky, but the version of Ostap Ibrahimovich depicted by him is also very interesting and seems closer to the book original. Many reproach the actor for the excessive softness of his character, but if you remember the novel itself, then the Great Schemer in it is no longer the carefree optimist that in “The Twelve Chairs.” Throughout the book, he begins to show his weaknesses and gradually becomes more and more disillusioned with the surrounding reality and people. However, he constantly tries to keep his cool and continues to joke. This is exactly the kind of Bender Menshikov tried to portray.

Ostap Bender is a hero who has long become a cult hero, and most of his phrases are catchphrases. He has been played by various people in film and television. The debate about who did it better continues to this day. By general opinion, three leaders can be identified: Yursky, Gomiashvili and Mironov. However, each viewer chooses for himself whose performance he likes best. I would like to believe that in future years there will not be another mediocre film adaptation of these famous novels, since it is unlikely that there will be anyone capable of playing the Great Schemer better than what has already been done.

Full name: Bender Bey, Ostap Suleiman Ibrahim Bertha Maria.
In the Russian manner: Bender, Ostap Ibrahimovic.
Date of birth: July 25, 1900, 20 hours 15 minutes.
Place of birth: Odessa.
Nationality: half-Turk, half-Russian.
Profession: combinator.
Father: Ibrahim Bender Bey, Turkish citizen.
Mother: Maria Bender, Russian countess, lived on unearned income.

Well, who doesn’t know the Great Combinator Ostap Bender? Perhaps only the most backward layers of the population of the black tribe Mumba-Yubma, whose vocabulary is less than 300 words. All moderately intelligent people (even Moomba-Yumbians.....from the carved drawings on wooden bark) know at least by hearsay who Bender was and what he did. And even more so for those who own a TV: how many wonderful films have been made about the adventures of Ostap! In addition, a lot of jokes have been told about the Great Schemer! In short, everyone knows about Ostap Bender, they talk about him, they make films, they tell jokes. And how many phrases have we borrowed from the mouth of the Great Combinator (“the key to the apartment where the money is”, “how much is opium for the people?”, etc.). U-ummmmm. Thus, Bender is a rival of Julius Caesar himself!!! That's how he's known.
However, it is unknown how the fate of the Great Combinator would have developed (and whether he would have become a Great Combinator at all) if, having been born in Odessa, he had not dreamed from that very Odessa childhood of the more than distant, but beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro (this is where- then in Brazil)! This was the dream of his whole life - all his actions were aimed at fulfilling it. However, you can’t go to Rio on a dream alone, and Ostap never had a lot of money, while for such a trip you need a lot of it. He didn’t always have them for food. You could, of course, devote yourself to some specific, honest occupation and earn money from it: of course you’ll be well-fed, but in Rio..... That’s why Ostap became a combination operator, he became a combinator to fulfill his childhood dream! Well, the Great is the merit of Bender’s talent, talent, as they say from above.
But while the schemer became Great, not wanting to find a certain refuge in life, fate threw him to different parts of the Russian Empire, and then the Soviet Union. Ostap was almost completely indifferent to politics; he was neither white, nor red, nor even brown. For him, the main thing was Rio de Janeiro and how to get there, and under whose authority it made no difference to him to fulfill his dream. And so in 1927, having visited all corners of our vast Motherland, the son of a Turkish citizen and a countess with unearned income finally found himself in Stargorod without socks, without a key, without money and without an apartment where they could lie. All he had left of his clothes was an old suit, the same old scarf and orange boots - it was in this form that he was destined to go down in history.
Having stopped in Stargorod for an indefinite period, Ostap Bender began to think about how to arrange his life further. And while the Great Schemer was thinking, he met the former leader of the district nobility, once an important man, and now a small provincial employee, Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, known among his relatives under the cute nickname Kisa. This same Kisa, under pressure from Ostap, tells the Great Schemer about the death of his mother-in-law, who, while dying, told him about the family treasures she had hidden in one of the twelve chairs of her furniture set. Everything in Bender’s soul instantly turned upside down - this is the fulfillment of his cherished dream! Oh Rio, Rio!!! However, before celebrating, Ostap was forced to find out that the Kissin set was sold in parts to different owners. Having somehow agreed with Vorobyaninov on how to divide the future loot, the Great Schemer, together with his new comrade, goes in search of chairs throughout the Soviet Union. However, what two people know, a pig knows. Soon, the unfortunate priest Fyodor Vostrikov stands in the way of Ostap Bender and Kisa Vorobyaninov, who confessed to the dying mother-in-law of Ippolit Matveevich and thus learned the secret of the family diamonds. In the bitter feud and constant travel, Father Fyodor manages to obtain a considerable number of chairs. But they turned out to be empty. The unfortunate priest was unable to survive such a blow and he goes crazy and ends up in a madhouse. Ostap and Kisa continue their search and, having opened all the chairs, get the last one, in full confidence that there are finally long-awaited diamonds there. Wherever Bender, Vorobyaninov and Father Fedor visited, hunting for treasures - in Ukraine, Moscow, the Volga region, the Caucasus! Therefore, it is not surprising that, unlike Ostap, a man with a strong will and strong character, the minds of the other two could not stand it. Fedor, as we already said, ended up in the SD (Madhouse), and Vorobyaninov, thirsting for a full, and not divided, reward for his torment, cut the throat of the sleeping Great Schemer with a razor, frightened by the latter’s joke: “Kisa, I won’t give you anything - you’ll be mine.” secretary, okay, I’m just kidding!” However, there were no jewelry in the last chair - they had long been found by the watchman of the railway club, where one chair accidentally ended up, and a new club building was built on them (all the above-described events in the novel by I. Ilf and E. Petrov “The Twelve Chairs”) !
Ostap Bender's First Great Combination not only failed, but also almost ended in the death of the son of a Turkish subject. However, Ostap was not the type to die at the hands of an old-regime maniac; he was not born for this. Bender miraculously managed to survive the cat's razor and continued his glorious life, forced to admit defeat and temporarily “lay low.”
Three years later, in 1930, Ostap learns that in the city of Chernomorsk, an employee of the Hercules institution named Koreiko, since the Civil War of 1917-1922, has been getting rich in speculation and embezzlement, and thus made no more, no less, but a million rubles! The great schemer decided, frightening Koreiko with exposure, to take away his million and, having finally solved his financial problems, end up in the coveted Rio de Janeiro! In this combination, Bender is helped by three accomplices: the old man Panikovsky, an experienced pickpocket, apartment and simply petty swindler, dating back to tsarist times, the mature Kozlevich, a former burglar and now “tied up” working as a taxi driver, and young Balaganov, a swindler from Soviet times, posing as his son famous revolutionary. It was from Balaganov, whom he met in the provincial town of Arbatov, that the Great Combinator learned about Koreiko’s millions in Chernomorsk. Bender and Balaganov captivate Kozlevich and then Panikovsky with stories of impending wealth. In Kozlevich's car, the company rushes to Chernomorsk.
In Chernomorsk, Ostap Bender completely exposes Koreiko, but the latter manages to escape from the Great Schemer outside the city.
Bender, a highly assertive man, sets off in pursuit, which is clearly not to the liking of his accomplices who love easy but big money. On the way, the old Panikovsky dies, unable to withstand the severity of the chase, Kozlevich and Balaganov leave, surrendering to failures and disappointed in Ostap’s promises. The great schemer continues the fight and finally catches up with Koreiko, receiving the coveted million. However, Bender missed the most important fact, the fact of his residence in Soviet Russia, where you can’t just go abroad without a specific state-important matter, even for a lot of money, and therefore you can’t get to Rio, you can’t buy a car or an apartment in the capital - all this in the USSR it is granted for services to power, and not for money. Therefore, the triumphant is forced to live in trains and hotels, constantly and aimlessly traveling. And besides, impersonate either a famous scientist, or an artist, etc. and so on. Otherwise, he will not get either tickets or hotel rooms. In addition, wealth has to be hidden. In general, there is no shine - only fears, worries and troubles.
Disappointed Ostap Bender returns to Chernomorsk to the girl he loves. However, the beloved has already married, gently turning off the Great Schemer. And then Ostap makes a radical decision: he bought gold and set his sights on fleeing abroad - the last opportunity to get to beautiful Rio de Janeiro! However, here too Bender fails: foreign border guards completely robbed him and almost killed him. Completely defeated, the Great Combinator returns with nothing, uttering the historical phrase: “No need for applause! I didn’t make the Count of Monte Christov. I’ll have to retrain as a house manager.” (all the above-described events in the novel by I. Ilf and E. Petrov “The Golden Calf” ).
The figure of Ostap Suleiman Ibrahim Bertha Maria Bender Bey still delights everyone, despite all his failures - the main thing is not victory, the main thing is a beautiful game - this is what the legendary Great Combinator believed and he was completely right! His further fate is shrouded in mystery - we can only be sure of one thing: despite his last phrase, known to us, he did not become a house manager - that’s not his character, although he most likely never ended up in Rio either.

Few people know that Ostap Bender is not a collective character. He had a real prototype - Odessa criminal investigation inspector Ostap Shor, whose life was no less exciting than that of his literary brother.

Editorial Faktrum in admiration publishes material from the online magazine “Culturology”, revealing interesting facts from his biography...

...In the spring of 1927, an imposing middle-aged man entered the editorial office of the Gudok newspaper. He went to two young reporters, whose last names were Ilf and Petrov. Evgeny Petrov familiarly greeted the newcomer, because it was his brother Valentin Kataev. The Soviet writer winked conspiratorially at both of them and declared that he wanted to hire them as “literary blacks.” Kataev had an idea for a book, and young reporters were encouraged to put it into literary form. According to the writer’s idea, a certain leader of the district nobility, Vorobyaninov, tried to find jewelry sewn into one of the twelve chairs.

The creative tandem immediately got to work. Literary heroes Ilf and Petrov were “written off” from their environment. Almost everyone had their own prototype. One of the episodic characters was a mutual friend of the writers, a certain inspector of the criminal investigation department of Odessa, whose name was Ostap Shor. The authors decided to keep the first name, but changed the last name to Bender. As the book was written, this episodic character kept coming to the fore, “pushing the rest of the characters with his elbows.”

When Ilf and Petrov brought the manuscript to Kataev, he realized that the work turned out completely different from what he had originally intended. Valentin Petrovich decided to remove his name from the list of authors, but demanded that Ilf and Petrov print a dedication for him on the first page of the published novel.

When the novel gained enormous popularity, fans began to look for the prototype of the main character. Some Arab scholars seriously argued that Ostap Bender was a Syrian; their Uzbek opponents adhered to the point of view regarding his Turkic origin. Only at the end of the twentieth century the name of the real Ostap Bender became known. He was Osip Veniaminovich Shor. His friends called him Ostap. The fate of this man was no less exciting than that of his literary character.

Ostap Shor was born in 1899 in Odessa. In 1916, he entered the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute, but the young man was not destined to graduate. The October Revolution took place. The journey home took Ostap about a year. During this time, he had to wander, get into trouble, and hide from his pursuers. Some of the adventures that Shore later told his friends about were reflected in the novel.

When Ostap Shor reached Odessa, it changed beyond recognition. From a prosperous city of enterprising businessmen and Italian opera, it turned into a place where criminal gangs ruled. This was not surprising, since in the three years after the revolution in Odessa, power changed fourteen times. Residents of the city united into people's squads to fight crime, and the most zealous fighters for justice were awarded the title of criminal investigation inspectors. That is exactly what Ostap Shor became. His height of 190 cm, remarkable strength and a keen sense of justice made Shor a thunderstorm for the criminals of Odessa.

Several times his life hung by a thread, but, thanks to his sharp mind and lightning-fast reaction, Ostap always managed to escape. The same cannot be said about his brother. Nathan Shore was a famous writer who worked under the pseudonym Nathan Fioletov. He was about to get married. Nathan and his fiancée were choosing furniture for their future apartment when three people approached him and, asking for his last name, shot him at point-blank range. The criminals simply confused Ostap with his brother.

Ostap Shor took his brother’s death very painfully and after some time he left the UGRO and went to Moscow. Due to his impulsive nature, Ostap constantly got into all sorts of troubles. The expression of the literary character: “My dad was a Turkish subject” belongs to Shor. When the question of military service arose, Ostap often uttered this phrase. The fact is that children of foreigners were exempt from military service.

To hint at the work of the real Ostap in the criminal investigation department, Ilf and Petrov several times in the novel indicated with specific phrases that their main character is a good detective. In the chapter “And others.” Ostap Bender is busily drawing up a report from the scene of the incident: “Both bodies lie with their feet to the southeast and their heads to the northwest. There are lacerations on the body, apparently inflicted by some kind of blunt instrument.”

When the books “12 Chairs” and “The Golden Calf” were published, Ostap Shor came to the authors and insistently demanded to pay for the image copied from him. Ilf and Petrov were perplexed and tried to justify themselves, but at that time Ostap laughed. He stayed with the writers overnight and told them about his adventures. In the morning, Ilf and Petrov woke up in full confidence that they would publish the third part about the adventures of the great schemer. But the book was never written, because Ilya Ilf fell ill with tuberculosis.

Ostap Shor himself lived to be 80 years old. All this time he wandered around the Soviet Union. In 1978, Valentin Kataev’s biographical novel “My Diamond Crown” was published, which contained clear hints about who the image of Ostap Bender was based on.