Banned in the Soviet Union for its "negative" content and never released, Kalatozov was forced to retreat from filmmaking for seven years because of this film. The film sets out to illustrate the old adage, "For want of a nail, the battle was lost," showing how the inferior quality of something so trivial as a nail in a soldier's boot leads inexorably to the capture of an armored train. Kalatozov had intended to demonstrate the crucial and universal importance of efficiency in Soviet industry, but the government decided that his fable gave a negative impression of the Red Army's capabilities.
Mikhail Kalatozov
Director
Leonid Perelman
Writer
Aleqsandre Jaliashvili
Worker
Siko Palavandishvili
Red army soldier
Akaki Khorava
Chief of the train
Arkadi Khintibidze
Prosecutor
Kirile Macharadze
Chairman of the court (uncredited)
The Kill Team64%
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell68%
Waiting for Anya62%
Ararat61%
The Monuments Men60%
For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada68%
Jacknife63%
Seal Team Eight: Behind Enemy Lines60%
Walking with the Enemy62%
Fort Bliss64%
Behold a Pale Horse60%
The War Below67%
Girl in the Box67%
Jarhead: Law of Return65%
Fires Were Started60%
Free State of Jones67%
The Thin Red Line74%
Oranges and Sunshine69%
Beast61%
Field of Lost Shoes61%
