Four Tank-Men and a Dog
| Four Tank-Men and a Dog | |
|---|---|
The main cast of the Four Tank-Men and a Dog at the series premiere in Warsaw's Congress Hall, 3 January 1966. | |
| Created by | Konrad Nałęcki Andrzej Czekalski |
| Starring | Janusz Gajos Franciszek Pieczka Włodzimierz Press Pola Raksa Wiesław Gołas Roman Wilhelmi Małgorzata Niemirska Aleksander Bielawski Tadeusz Fijewski |
| Opening theme | "Ballada o pancernych" by Edmund Fetting |
| Country of origin | Poland |
| Original languages | Polish German Russian |
| No. of episodes | 21 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 55 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | TVP |
| Release | 25 September 1966 – 1970 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Four Tank-Men and a Dog (Polish: Czterej pancerni i pies, Polish pronunciation: [ˈt͡ʂtɛrɛj panˈt͡sɛrɲi i ˈpʲɛs]) was a Polish black and white TV series based on the book by Janusz Przymanowski. Made between 1966 and 1970, the series comprises 21 episodes of 55 minutes each, broadcast over three seasons. The story takes place in 1944 and 1945, during World War II, and follows the adventures of a tank crew and their T-34 tank on the Eastern Front in the 1st Polish Army. The book and TV series have achieved and retain a cult series status in Poland, in the former Soviet Union and in other Eastern Bloc countries.
The T-34-85 tank Rudy (Ginger) with the identifying number "102", a German Shepherd dog from Siberia named Szarik (pronounced "Shareek" – little ball in Russian, a nickname in the vein of "furball"; in Polish, the word is similar to szary meaning "gray" and to szalik meaning "scarf") and to a lesser extent the crew (Jan Kos, Gustaw Jeleń, Grigorij Saakaszwili, Tomasz Czereśniak, and their commander and mentor Olgierd Jarosz), as well as other heroes of the series, have become icons in Polish popular culture.