Quite often there were other funny events: Dahl and Kokshenov, who used to drive the Willys MB in a complete outfit (including automatic weapons), repeatedly attracted the attention of the military patrol. The military actors answered the questions, calling non-existent and absurd troops, such as "Separate part of the railway fleet" or "Sea cavalry". Once Kokshenov simulated a pursuit of Dahl by screaming and shooting in the air, as a result of which the locals who decided to help almost hurt the "fugitive". During the shooting, there was also an incident related to alcohol: Oleg Dahl was rude to a hotel attendant and was arrested for fifteen days "for hooliganism". Motyl came to an agreement with the chief of the department, and in the morning the actor was escorted under supervision to the set, and in the evening he was again taken to the "serve time". Gentle conversation of Zhenya Kolyshkin on the phone with Zhenechka while sitting in the military prison was filmed at this time. A difficult fate awaited the picture: the film was recognized as "harmful", which was the reason for the director's first ban on the profession. The press was full of harsh and insulting comments, the film was shown "underground", at clubs and outskirts cinemas, but it had a considerable resonance with the viewer. The picture came to the wide screen only thanks to the sailors of the Baltic and Northern fleets, among whom Bulat Okudzhava's songs were popular. Vladimir Motyl visited the presentation of the film in Severomorsk and Murmansk and, having received the enthusiastic approval of the staff, appealed to the admirals to write an official review about the film. They readily responded. After collecting a lot of such reviews, Motyl sent a telegram to Alexei Kosygin, chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, who, though indifferent to the film, regarded it as a profitable product that would attract a large number of spectators. The official film premiere of the film in the USSR was held on August 21, 1967. The audience of the picture consisted of more than 24.5 million moviegoers. Despite success with the public, the film seriously slowed down the career of its creator, who became practically blacklisted as director. According to the memoirs of Motyl, for forty years of working in the cinema, he put out only one film in four or five years, since the film authorities, as a rule did not give green-light to his script submissions.