| Wagtails Army | |
| Native Name: | ru|Армия «Трясогузки» |
| Director: | Aleksandrs Leimanis |
| Cinematography: | Māris Rudzītis |
| Editing: | Ērika Meškovska |
| Studio: | Riga Film Studio |
| Runtime: | 84 min. |
| Country: | Soviet Union |
Wagtails Army (ru|Армия «Трясогузки»|Armiya 'Tryasoguzki', lv|Cielaviņas armija) is a 1964 Soviet family film directed by Aleksandrs Leimanis.[1] [2] [3] Screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alexander Vlasov and Arkady Mlodik.
The protagonists of this adventure film are a group of homeless boys who decide to assist the Red Army. In a city occupied by the forces of Admiral Kolchak, an uprising is being planned. Suddenly, a train derails, a sabotage operation attributed to a mysterious group calling itself the "Swallow Army." The Kolchak counterintelligence service, furious and desperate, begins a relentless search for the underground conspirators, though without success. Even the Bolsheviks become curious about their enigmatic allies.
It is eventually revealed that the formidable "army" consists of just three homeless boys: a Russian boy nicknamed Swallow, a Latvian named Miki, and a young Romani boy. The film tells the story of how these resourceful and courageous boys aided the Bolsheviks in liberating the city from the White Army forces.[4]
On December 23, 1968, the sequel to The Wagtail's Army Again in Battle was released on Soviet screens, also directed by Leimanis.