Song of Russia
Encyclopedia
Song of Russia is a 1944 American war film
made and distributed by MGM Studios. The picture was credited as being directed by Gregory Ratoff
, though Ratoff collapsed near the end of the five-month production, and was replaced by László Benedek
, who completed principal photography; the credited screenwriters were Paul Jarrico
and Richard Collins. The film starred Robert Taylor
, Susan Peters
and Robert Benchley
.
shortly before the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Meredith falls in love with beautiful Soviet pianist Nadya Stepanova (Susan Peters) while they travel throughout the country on a 40-city tour. Along the way, they see happy, healthy, smiling, free Soviet citizens, blissfully living the Communist dream. This bliss is destroyed by the German invasion.
, the House Un-American Activities Committee
(HUAC) would cite Song of Russia as one of the three noted examples of "pro-Soviet propaganda film
s" made by Hollywood, the other two being Warner Brothers' Mission to Moscow
and RKO's
The North Star
. This assertion was supported by the Russian-born anti-Communist writer Ayn Rand
, who was specifically asked by a HUAC investigator to see the film and provide an "expert opinion" on it.
Robert Taylor himself protested, after the fact, that he had had to make the picture under duress, as he was under contract to MGM. This is the rationale he used to explain why he was a friendly witness during the HUAC hearings in the 1950s.
called some scenes "a fine bit of cinematic art". Furthermore, the reviewer praised the cast, writing:
Big Spring Daily Herald called Taylor and Peters "the most dynamic new romantic team since Clark Gable
was paired with Lana Turner
".
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
made and distributed by MGM Studios. The picture was credited as being directed by Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. His most famous role as an actor was as producer Max Fabian who feuds with star Margo Channing in All About Eve ....
, though Ratoff collapsed near the end of the five-month production, and was replaced by László Benedek
László Benedek
László Benedek, sometimes credited as Laslo Benedek , was a Hungarian-born film director.- Biography :Born in Budapest, he worked as a writer and editor in Hungarian cinema until World War II. Louis B...
, who completed principal photography; the credited screenwriters were Paul Jarrico
Paul Jarrico
Paul Jarrico was an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses during the era of McCarthyism.-Early years:...
and Richard Collins. The film starred Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
, Susan Peters
Susan Peters
Susan Peters was an American stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Peters was born Suzanne Carnahan in Spokane, Washington. First contracted by Warner Brothers, she subsequently began working for MGM Studios after completing high school. Her first job was to read with potential actors in...
and Robert Benchley
Robert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
.
Plot summary
American Conductor John Meredith (Robert Taylor) and his manager, Hank Higgins (Robert Benchley), go to RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
shortly before the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Meredith falls in love with beautiful Soviet pianist Nadya Stepanova (Susan Peters) while they travel throughout the country on a 40-city tour. Along the way, they see happy, healthy, smiling, free Soviet citizens, blissfully living the Communist dream. This bliss is destroyed by the German invasion.
Cast
- Robert TaylorRobert Taylor (actor)Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
as John Meredith - Susan PetersSusan PetersSusan Peters was an American stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Peters was born Suzanne Carnahan in Spokane, Washington. First contracted by Warner Brothers, she subsequently began working for MGM Studios after completing high school. Her first job was to read with potential actors in...
as Nadya Stepanova - John HodiakJohn HodiakJohn Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...
as Boris Bulganov - Robert BenchleyRobert BenchleyRobert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
as Hank Higgins - Felix BressartFelix BressartFelix Bressart was a German-American actor of stage and screen.Felix Bressart was born in East Prussia, Germany and was already a very experienced stage actor when he had his film debut in 1928. He started off as a supporting actor, e.g...
as Petrov - Michael ChekhovMichael ChekhovMichael Chekhov was a Russian-American actor, director, author, and theatre practitioner. His acting technique has been used by actors such as Clint Eastwood, Marilyn Monroe, Yul Brynner, and Robert Stack. Constantin Stanislavski referred to him as his most brilliant student...
as Ivan Stepanov - Darryl HickmanDarryl HickmanDarryl Gerard Hickman is an American film and television actor, former television executive, and child star of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
as Peter Bulganov - Jacqueline WhiteJacqueline WhiteJacqueline White is a former American film actress. She's probably best remembered appearing in the films noir Crossfire and The Narrow Margin. She usually played either lead actresses in B-movies or supporting parts in A-movies. Still active as of 2005, White appears occasionally at film...
as Anna Bulganov
Production
The picture was a major studio release, its positive portrayal of the Soviet Union clearly linked to its being at the time a major wartime ally of the US. After the end of the Second World War and the outbreak of the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
(HUAC) would cite Song of Russia as one of the three noted examples of "pro-Soviet propaganda film
Propaganda film
The term propaganda can be defined as the ability to produce and spread fertile messages that, once sown, will germinate in large human cultures.” However, in the 20th century, a “new” propaganda emerged, which revolved around political organizations and their need to communicate messages that...
s" made by Hollywood, the other two being Warner Brothers' Mission to Moscow
Mission to Moscow
Mission to Moscow is a book by the former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Joseph E. Davies published by Simon and Schuster in 1941. It was adapted into a film directed by Michael Curtiz in 1943....
and RKO's
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
The North Star
The North Star (1943 film)
The North Star is a 1943 war film produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. It was directed by Lewis Milestone and written by Lillian Hellman. The film starred Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, Walter Huston, Walter Brennan and Erich von Stroheim...
. This assertion was supported by the Russian-born anti-Communist writer Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
, who was specifically asked by a HUAC investigator to see the film and provide an "expert opinion" on it.
Robert Taylor himself protested, after the fact, that he had had to make the picture under duress, as he was under contract to MGM. This is the rationale he used to explain why he was a friendly witness during the HUAC hearings in the 1950s.
Reception
Despite the criticism it received in later years, historians claiming it is nowadays more remembered for its contents rather than its quality, Song of Russia was initially received positively. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called some scenes "a fine bit of cinematic art". Furthermore, the reviewer praised the cast, writing:
- "Taylor makes a very good impression as a young American caught in Russia by love and war. And Susan Peters is extraordinarily winning as a mentally solemn but emotionally bonny Russian girl. Robert Benchley throws some straws of cryptic humor into the wind as the American's manager, and Michael Chekhov, Vladimir Sokoloff and Michael Dalmatov are superb as genial Russian characters."
Big Spring Daily Herald called Taylor and Peters "the most dynamic new romantic team since Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
was paired with Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
".