A Bomb Was Stolen (Romanian: S-a furat o bombă) is a 1962 Romanian dialogue-free spy film[1] directed by Ion Popescu-Gopo. It was entered into the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.[2]

A Bomb Was Stolen
Film Poster (from Czechoslovakia)
Directed byIon Popescu-Gopo
Written byIon Popescu-Gopo
StarringEugenia Balaure
CinematographyȘtefan Horvath
Music byDumitru Capoianu
Release date
  • January 1962 (1962-01)
Running time
65 minutes
CountryRomania
LanguageRomanian

Plot edit

The film begins with a nuclear bomb test. One of the bombs is stolen by gangsters, who hide the bomb in a bag. Inept police pursue the gangsters, and the bag containing the bomb is lost, and recovered by a passerby who does not know what's in the bag. The passerby goes about his day with the bag, pursued by the gangsters who are in turn pursued by the police.

Reception edit

The international press praised this film. In the English press, A Bomb Was Stolen received the label “an exuberant comedy” (Eric Shorter, Daily Telegraph, 25 August 1962), "a subtle and frequently hilarious satire" (Satiră din România, Edinburgh Evening News, 30 August 1962)[verification needed], "a satirical fantasy" (Bomba, Daily Worker, 3 September 1962)[verification needed]. The Soviet journalist I. Surkova, writing for Sovetskaya Kulture, considered the film “full of witty jokes.”[3]

Cast edit

Awards edit

In May 1962, the film participated at the International Film Festival in Cannes, being nominated for the official Palme d'Or Award.[4][5]

  • It got several awards:
  • Merit Diploma at the New Europe Film Festival in Edinburgh (1962)[6]
  • Third Prize at the International Film Festival in Thessaloniki (September 1962)[6]
  • The Special Prize of the Jury “Silver Olive” at the International Festival of the Comic and Humorous Comedy, Palazzo del Parco, Bordighera (1963)
  • Honorary diploma at the Vienna Film Festival

References edit

  1. ^ Dowd, Vincent (6 May 2011). "The spies who didn't come in from the cold". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Festival de Cannes: A Bomb Was Stolen". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  3. ^ I. Surkova - „Drumul spre gen (Note despre comedia cinematografică românească)”[verification needed], în Sovețkaia Kulture, nr. 1443, 1962.
  4. ^ Arhivele Festivalului Internațional de Film de la Cannes
  5. ^ Ileana Dima - „Proiecții rare la Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest”, în "Evenimentul Zilei", 30 septembrie 2012.
  6. ^ a b Călin Căliman - „Istoria filmului românesc (1897-2000)” (Ed. Fundației Culturale Române, București, 2000), p. 167.

External links edit