(Chelovek-amfibiya). One of the most beloved of all Russian films (65 million admissions in 1962, which roughly translates into 520 million current American box-office dollars). This tall tale of a handsome mutant named Ichthyandr, whose father has replaced his faulty lungs with the gills of a young shark, unfolds in a very odd coastal locale among pearl divers, rogues, and old salts. When Ichtyandr saves a local fisherman's daughter from a shark attack, he falls in love with her and wants to give up the water for a life on land. Perhaps the ultimate product of the late-fifties/early-sixties "thaw," shot on beautiful Cuban locations, this enchanting hybrid of The Little Mermaid and The Creature from the Black Lagoon surreally brims with Latin song-and-dance numbers and Russian stars in brownface that must be seen to be believed.

• Written by Akiba Golburt, Aleksei Kapler, Aleksandr Ksenofontov, from a novel by Aleksandr Belyayev. Photographed by Eduard Rozovsky. With Vladimir Korenev, Anastasiya Vertinskaya, Mikhail Kozakov, Anatoly Smiranin. (95 mins, In Russian with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, From Seagull Films)