Tamer of Tigers (released in English as Tiger Girl, Russian: Укротительница тигров, romanized: Ukrotitelnitsa tigrov) is a 1955 Soviet-era comedy film released by Lenfilm, directed by Nadezhda Kosheverova and Aleksandr Ivanovsky.[1] It was billed as a "lyrical and eccentric comedy".[2] This film was the debut of Soviet actress Lyudmila Kasatkina.[3] The film premiered in the USSR on 11 March 1955.[4] The film deals with the romantic intrigues and longings of a small Russian circus family and those around them.
Lena Vorontsova is the daughter of circus performers. Having fallen in love with the circus, for the incredible atmosphere that reigns in the arena and behind the scenes, she dreams of becoming a tamer. But so far she only cares for animals. The director invites motorcycle racer Fyodor Ermolaev to display an incredibly spectacular show number, right under the circus cupola. Lena is to assist him. The sailor Pyotr Mokin is hopelessly in love with Lena. But the girl’s heart belongs to Fyodor. He is also not indifferent to her but prefers to hide his feelings. The tamer Almazov is fired for addiction to alcohol and violation of discipline. Now the place of the tamer is vacant, and Lena can make her cherished dream come true. Overcoming her fear, she starts to work, and tigers submit to her strong character and obey her. She has to choose between a timer's career and touring with a loved one as his assistant. Lena decides to follow an old dream. Ermolaev rents a room with an accountant, his daughter Olga dances in a circus corps de ballet, and her parents want to marry her to an artist. She takes the position of an assistant on tour, instead of Vorontsova. Fyodor can't overcome his longing from Lena. He regrets not revealing his feelings to Lena. The motorcycle racer finds out that at the next performance Lena will show her number with the tigers. He hurries to confess her love, just in time. The couple gains long-awaited happiness.[5]
