Island of Lost Ships

Island of Lost Ships (Russian: Остров погибших кораблей) is a 1987 Soviet two-part musical television miniseries. The directors were Yevgeny Ginzburg and Rauf Mamedov, and the story adapts Alexander Belyaev’s novel of the same name.

The plot follows Volodya, an ordinary man from Leningrad who argues with his wife and then, after stepping outside, finds himself transported to 1928 Marseille. There he inhabits the body of Reginald Gatling, a murderer who is promptly arrested by Inspector Jimmy Simpkins. The two board a steamer bound for America—and, for Gatling, the electric chair. That night the ship sinks for unknown reasons. Volodya, Jimmy, and a passenger named Vivian Kingman (who looks exactly like Volodya’s wife) survive by boarding the drifting *Flying Dutchman*. They eventually reach an island made from the wreckage of half-sunk ships, lost in the Sargasso Sea.

The island is ruled by Fergus Slayton, assisted by Sholom the Blabber. Other inhabitants include Sholom’s wife Maggie, the historian Luders and his wife Frida, and many sailors, travelers, and pirates. Custom dictates that a newcomer like Vivian must choose a husband from among the islanders. Slayton, who has become fond of her, locks Volodya and Jimmy in the cooler. They escape in time for the ceremony, where Vivian—in love with Volodya—chooses him. A grand wedding follows. On their wedding night, Volodya confesses he is already married and “came from another world,” but says he now loves Vivian.

Meanwhile, Jimmy spies on Slayton, who notices and grows worried. The next morning, Jimmy stumbles into a ship’s hold and finds Slayton’s brother Edward locked in a cage, clearly deranged. Slayton arrives and tells Jimmy about his brother and about his affair with Maggie. Sholom overhears and is shocked by his wife’s infidelity. Slayton leads Jimmy away, but Volodya frees Edward, who runs about the island in a frenzy and dies. Slayton then shares his plans: to escape by balloon and later return for treasure. He pushes Jimmy into the water and shoots him in front of the islanders. Sholom broadcasts what he heard about Slayton and Maggie, and Slayton kills him with a bullet to the forehead. Slayton then murders Vivian out of revenge and flees, managing to fly away in a hot air balloon.

Volodya suddenly finds himself back in his own time, ragged, unshaven, and with a bump on his head—suggesting the ev