Strictly Business

Overview

Three stories based on O. Henry novels. (1) Bob Tidball recovers $30,000 in pristine credit cards from a bandit’s sack and races across the plains until his horse breaks its leg. Forced to mount Dodson’s stallion, he’s ambushed and killed by “Shark” Dodson, who seizes the entire loot. (2) A thief slips through a third-floor window to steal a stack of bills from a sleeping gentleman’s dressing table. When the homeowner awakens and raises only one hand against the revolver—his other immobilized by a sudden rheumatic attack—the would-be robber reconsiders his plan. (3) Sam and Bill, two small-time grifters short $2,000 for their swindle, decide to kidnap Ebeneger Dorset’s young son. They demand exactly that sum as ransom, setting in motion a desperate bargain.

Directed by Leonid Gaidai

Top cast

Vladlen Paulus

Shark Dodson (segment "The Roads We Take")

Aleksandr Shvorin

Bob Tidball (segment "The Roads We Take")

Viktor Gromov

Mr. Williams (segment "The Roads We Take")

Vladimir Pitsek

Train Driver (segment "The Roads We Take")

Viktor Uralsky

Train Stoker (segment "The Roads We Take")

L

Lev Lobov

Guard on Mail Train (segment "The Roads We Take")

Yuri Chulyukin

Peabody (segment "The Roads We Take")

Rostislav Plyatt

Landlord (segment "Makes the Whole World Kin")

Yuriy Nikulin

Thief (segment "Makes the Whole World Kin")

Georgiy Vitsin

Sam (segment "The Ransom of Redskins Chief")

Aleksei Smirnov

Bill Driscoll (segment "The Ransom of Redskins Chief")

Sergei Tikhonov

Johnny Dorset (segment "The Ransom of Redskins Chief")

Georgi Millyar

Ebenezer Dorset (segment "The Ransom of Redskins Chief")

Details