''Song of Russia'' is a 1944 American
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
made and distributed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
. The picture was credited as being directed by
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...
, though Ratoff collapsed near the end of the five-month production, and was replaced by
László Benedek
László Benedek (; March 5, 1905 – March 11, 1992; sometimes ''Laslo Benedek'') was a Hungary, Hungarian-born film director and cinematographer, most notable for directing ''The Wild One'' (1953).
He gained recognition for his direction of the ...
, who completed principal photography; the credited screenwriters were
Paul Jarrico and
Richard J. Collins
Richard J. Collins (July 20, 1914 – February 14, 2013) was an American producer, director and screenwriter prominent in Hollywood during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He worked on several notable television programs including '' Bonanza'', ...
. The film stars
Robert Taylor,
Susan Peters
Susan Peters (born Suzanne Carnahan; July 3, 1921 – October 23, 1952) was an American actress who appeared in over twenty films over the course of her decade-long career. Though she began her career in uncredited and ingénue roles, she woul ...
, and
Robert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...
.
Plot
American conductor John Meredith (Robert Taylor) and his manager, Hank Higgins (Robert Benchley), go to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
shortly before the country is
invaded by Germany. Meredith falls in love with beautiful Soviet pianist Nadya Stepanova (Susan Peters) while they travel throughout the country on a 40-city tour. Their bliss is destroyed by the German invasion.
Cast
Production
MGM Pictures rapidly greenlit a war film set in the Soviet Union in 1942 after the
United States Office of War Information
The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
encouraged films positively portraying the
Allied Powers and in order to beat competing studios with similar ideas. The
Government of the Soviet Union
The Government of the Soviet Union ( rus, Прави́тельство СССР, p=prɐˈvʲitʲɪlʲstvə ɛs ɛs ɛs ˈɛr, r=Pravítelstvo SSSR, lang=no), formally the All-Union Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly ab ...
agreed to assist the film production in exchange for blocking "
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
or
Anti-Soviet
Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...
Russian" influence on the film. In October 1942, Russian-born director
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...
discussed the project further with Soviet Ambassador to the United States
Andrei Gromyko
Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (russian: Андрей Андреевич Громыко; be, Андрэй Андрэевіч Грамыка; – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet communist politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as ...
.
Anna Louise Strong
Anna Louise Strong (November 24, 1885 – March 29, 1970) was an American journalist and activist, best known for her reporting on and support for communist movements in the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.Archives West,Anna Loui ...
, David Hertz,
Guy Trosper, and
Michael Blankfort
Michael Seymour Blankfort (December 10, 1907 – July 13, 1982) was an American screenwriter, writer of books and playwright. He served as a front for the blacklisted Albert Maltz on the Academy Award-nominated screenplay of '' Broken Arrow (19 ...
each worked on drafts of the screenplay before the final version was written by Paul Jarrico and Richard Collins. The U.S. government later pressured MGM to have
Boris Ingster rewrite the screenplay further to downplay the film's
Stalinist
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
tones.
Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano.Ronald Berganbr>Obituary '' London Guardian'', February 19, 2010.
From the age of twelve, Grayson train ...
,
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...
, Barbara Pearson,
Signe Hasso
Signe Eleonora Cecilia Hasso (''née'' Larsson; 15 August 1915 – 7 June 2002) was a Swedish actress, writer, and composer.
Biography
Hasso was born in the Kungsholmen parish of Stockholm, Sweden in 1915. Her father and grandfather died when s ...
,
Donna Reed
Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in ...
, and
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
were all considered for the role of Nadya with Garbo preferred before Susan Peters was cast in the role.
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...
and
Margaret O'Brien
Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American film, radio, television, and stage actress, and is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature f ...
were originally cast as John and Sasha.
Elliott Sullivan
Elliott Sullivan (July 4, 1907 – June 2, 1974) was an American actor.
Sullivan was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Rabbi Solomon Solomon.
He appeared in the films ''They Won't Forget'', '' Over the Wall'', ''Accidents Will Happen'', ' ...
and
Jean Rogers
Jean Rogers (born Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren, March 25, 1916 – February 24, 1991) was an American actress who starred in serial films in the 1930s and low–budget feature films in the 1940s as a leading lady. She is best remembered for ...
also auditioned for roles in the film, while
Keenan Wynn
Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...
and
Morris Ankrum
Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor.
Early life
Born in Danville, Illinois, Danville in Vermilion County, Illinois, Vermilion County in eastern ...
were hired but recast.
Principal photography began on the film on March 11, 1943, and continued until late May, resuming again in June and July. Reshoots occurred in December 1943. The film was shot in California, with
Rancho Park Golf Course
Rancho Park Golf Course is a municipal golf course in the western United States, located in southern California in the city of Los Angeles. Owned and operated by the city's Department of Recreation and Parks, the par-71 course in the Cheviot Hil ...
and Sierra Mountains used as locations. On June 29, 1943, Ratoff collapsed during filming, forcing
László Benedek
László Benedek (; March 5, 1905 – March 11, 1992; sometimes ''Laslo Benedek'') was a Hungary, Hungarian-born film director and cinematographer, most notable for directing ''The Wild One'' (1953).
He gained recognition for his direction of the ...
to step in as director for the rest of principal photography. Additionally Marvin Stuart had to become assistant director after Roland Asher joined the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, George Hively replaced
George Boemler as editor.
Perception as pro-Soviet propaganda
The positive portrayal of the Soviet Union in the film is clearly linked to the
wartime alliance of the Soviet Union and the U.S.
After the end of the Second World War and the outbreak of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, the
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
(HUAC) cited ''Song of Russia'' as one of the three noted examples of "pro-Soviet propaganda films" made by Hollywood, the others being
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
' ''
Mission to Moscow
''Mission to Moscow'' is a 1943 film directed by Michael Curtiz, based on the 1941 book by the former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, Joseph E. Davies.
The movie chronicles the experiences of the second American ambassador to the Soviet ...
'' and
RKO's ''
The North Star''. This assertion was supported by the Russian-American pro-capitalist and
anti-Communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
writer
Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
, who was specifically asked by a HUAC investigator to see the film and provide an expert opinion on it. Ayn Rand, in her 1947 testimony before the HUAC, cited ''Song of Russia'' as an example of
Communist propaganda
Communist propaganda is the artistic and social promotion of the ideology of communism, communist worldview, communist society, and interests of the communist movement. While it tends to carry a negative connotation in the Western world, the t ...
in the Hollywood motion picture-industry, depicting an idealized Soviet Union with freedom and comfort that, in her opinion, never existed in the real Soviet Union.
Robert Taylor himself protested, after the fact, that he had had to make the film under duress, as he was under contract to MGM. Specifically, he claimed that the
War Production Board
The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Sup ...
threatened to block his commission to the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
unless he appeared in the film.
This is the rationale he used to explain why he was a friendly witness during the HUAC hearings in the 1950s. Russian-born director Ratoff testified that Taylor was telling the truth and that Taylor had explicitly protested about the aforementioned aspect of the film but had been told by MGM to "just do the picture" or else he would liable for breach of contract.
Reception
Despite the criticism it received in later years, historians claiming it is nowadays more remembered for its content rather than its quality, ''Song of Russia'' was initially received positively. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' 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
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
was paired with
Lana Turner
Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized per ...
".
Box office
The movie was also popular, earning $1,845,000 in the US and Canada and $1,884,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $782,000.
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Song Of Russia
American pro-Soviet propaganda films
Films directed by Gregory Ratoff
Films directed by László Benedek
1944 war films
1944 films
Films about classical music and musicians
Films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Films produced by Joe Pasternak
American black-and-white films
American war films
Films shot in Los Angeles
Eastern Front of World War II films
American World War II films
1940s American films
1940s English-language films