Stories from the set

The plot of the film is based on a real story — a meeting of the garage construction cooperative of «Mosfilm», of which Eldar Ryazanov was a member. And just as in the film, at a meeting of the garage construction cooperative, in connection with the construction of a highway that was to run through the territory previously allocated for the construction of garages, the question of expelling several «superfluous» members was decided. The unexpected and paradoxical behavior of his colleagues deeply struck Ryazanov and prompted the idea of writing a screenplay based on the events that had occurred. The construction of the highway, the expulsion of some members, the dishonorable behavior of people in the situation that arose — these are real events.

The museum that Liya Akhedzhakova's character walks through at the beginning of the film is the Zoological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg.

The film was shot in 24 shooting days; including weekends and preparation, filming took a month and a half. Production was fully completed by May 1979.

At the moment when Liya Akhedzhakova's character says the line "Well, I, I locked the door!", Kostolevsky is standing behind her in a brown jacket. And when a moment later he says "Strong little thing", Kostolevsky is wearing a light-colored raincoat.

The role of Professor Smirnovsky was intended for Vyacheslav Tikhonov, but he turned it down.

Rolan Bykov auditioned for the role of the trombonist.

The plot of the film was based on a real story — a meeting of the Mosfilm garage-construction cooperative, of which Eldar Ryazanov was a member. And just as in the film, at a meeting of the garage-construction cooperative, in connection with the construction of a highway that was to run through the territory previously allocated for the construction of garages, the question of expelling several "extra" members was being decided. The unexpected and paradoxical behavior of his colleagues deeply struck Ryazanov and prompted the idea of writing a screenplay based on the events that had occurred. The construction of the highway, the expulsion of some of the members, the dishonorable behavior of people in the situation that arose — these were real events.