Enormously successful Soviet response to the classic American Western The Magnificient Seven (1960), a film that was such a box office hit in Russia that communist party officials decided to make this ideologically correct and yet popular counterpart.
The Elusive Avengers was released in the Soviet Union at the time of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. Its success was enormous, not only because of the box office potential of the film itself, but also because it was a remake (in colour and widescreen) of the silent Soviet hit Little Red Devils (1924), a film remembered and adored by many.
Tom, the black circus boy from the original film, was replaced by the picturesque gypsy Yashka, with the bright and clever Valerka as his friend, to show Soviet audiences that the intelligentsia now had permission to take a small part in the new Communist life. Upon its release, the film faced criticism for trying to copy American Westerns, especially The Magnificent Seven (John Sturges, 1960), a film that was very popular in the Soviet Union. (http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/neulovimye-mstiteli/)
