 He conceived the idea of turning the novel into a movie after receiving an advance copy of the book from the Vayner brothers, and he actively campaigned for the part of Zheglov despite the fact that the character in the novel was a much younger man.During the making of the film, Vysotsky frequently substituted for Govorukhin as director, including directing the entire scene of Dr. Gruzdev's interrogation, and he also invented the comical attributes of the character of Kostya "The Brick" Saprykin (a good-natured pickpocket with a speech impediment).Young actor Ivan Bortnik (a close friend of Vysotsky) was praised for his vivid and accurate portrayal of the Black Cat henchman "Promokashka"—the role that dominated his further film acting career.