The Brave Seven (1936): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1936, The Brave Seven is a drama, adventure and history film directed by Sergei Gerasimov, running about 92 minutes. “Dedicated to the X congress of VLKSM (Soviet Communist Youth Union).” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Six polar explorers arrives to a remote island in Arctic for a year-long scientific expedition. When their ship departs, they unpack only to find a young stowaway, who romanticized Arctic heroes, and tried to join them on multiple occasions finally succeeding. That's how six became seven. Life of polar explorers is tough, and full of danger. During one year they are largely isolated from the mainland, and should survive using their resourcefulness, smarts, knowledge, and existing supplies with occasional unreliable radio communications. The Seven are resilient, cheerful, they forged a true friendship. Now they are ready to face the unforgiving Arctic.

Who’s in it. The Brave Seven stars Nikolai Bogolyubov as Iliya Letnikov, expedition leader, Tamara Makarova as Zhenya Okhrimenko, medic, Ivan Novoseltsev as Bogun, pilot and Oleg Zhakov as Kurt Schefer, radio operator, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 4.9/10, The Brave Seven has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Brave Seven page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Brave Seven tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.