''Three Russian Girls'' (also known as ''She Who Dares'') is a 1943 American

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

pro-Soviet propaganda film produced by R-F Productions and distributed by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. It is a remake of the Soviet film '' The Girl from Leningrad'' (1941). It was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

in 1945 for best musical score. It stars

Anna Sten Anna Sten ( ua, А́нна Стен; born Anna Petrivna Fesak, December 3, 1908November 12, 1993) was a Ukrainian-born American actress. She began her career in stage plays and films in the Soviet Union before traveling to Germany, where she st ...

Plot

The film depicts the life of a group of volunteer nurses for the Red Cross in 1941. Anna Sten portrays a Russian nurse, Natasha, who is one of the volunteers taking care of the Allied soldiers near Stalingrad. As part of her job, she takes care of a newly arrived American flier John Hill, interpreted by Kent Smith. Even though Natasha is betrothed to Sergei Korovin, she starts to fall in love with the American under her care. When the enemy's forces attack the hospital, the patients and the crew are ordered to evacuate the battleground. Given that there are not enough vehicles, Natasha, John, and other wounded men stay behind waiting to be rescued.

Cast

as Natasha *

Kent Smith Frank Kent Smith (March 19, 1907 – April 23, 1985) was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television. Early years Smith was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith. He was born in New York City and was educated ...

as John Hill *Mimi Forsythe as Tamara *

Alexander Granach Alexander Granach (April 18, 1890 – March 14, 1945) was a German-Austrian actor in the 1920s and 1930s who emigrated to the United States in 1938. Life and career Granach was born Schaje Granoch in Werbowitz (Wierzbowce/Werbiwci) (Austri ...

as Major Braginski *Kathy Frye as Chijik *

Kane Richmond Kane Richmond (born Frederick William Bowditch, December 23, 1906 – March 22, 1973) was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character La ...

as Sergei *Manart Kippen as Doctor *Jack Gardner as Misha *Marcia Lenack as Shoora *Mary Herriot as Zina

Production

In September 1942,

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 ...

tried to purchase the film rights to ''The Girl from Leningrad'' from

Eugene Frenke Eugene Frenke (1 January 1895- 10 March 1984) was a Ukrainian-born film producer, director and writer. He twice collaborated with the director John Huston on the films '' Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison'' and ''The Barbarian and the Geisha''. He was ma ...

and Gregor Rabinovich. The studio intended to hire

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 ...

as director and

Michèle Morgan Michèle Morgan (; née Simone Renée Roussel; 29 February 1920 – 20 December 2016) was a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades in both French cinema and Hollywood features. She is considered to have been one of the g ...

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, ...

as the stars. Rabinovich ultimately decided to produce the film independently. He initially hired E. Stork and Igor Vushenko as screenwriters. Maria Manton,

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...

Leonid Kinskey Leonid Kinskey (1893/1894 – September 8, 1998) was a Russian-born American film and television actor, best known for his role as "Sascha" in the film ''Casablanca'' (1942). His last name was sometimes spelled Kinsky. Life and career Kinskey ...

Tamara Shayne Tamara Shayne (25 November 1902 – 23 October 1983), also known as Tamara Nikoulina, was a Russian-born actress and long-time resident in the United States. Early life Tamara Shayne was born Tamara Veniaminovna Olkenitskaya on 25 November 1902 i ...

, E. Grusskin, Melva Doney and

Diane Duval Julie Bishop (born Jacqueline Brown; August 30, 1914 – August 30, 2001), previously known as Jacqueline Wells, was an American film and television actress. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1957. Early life Julie Bishop w ...

were announced as initial cast members of the film but were replaced. Rabinovich wanted to cast

Luise Rainer Luise Rainer ( , ; 12 January 1910 – 30 December 2014) was a German-American-British film actress. She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her ...

as Natasha before hiring Anna Sten.

Oona O'Neill Oona O'Neill, Lady Chaplin (14 May 1925 – 27 September 1991) was an actress who was the daughter of Irish-American playwright Eugene O'Neill and English-born writer Agnes Boulton, and the fourth and last wife of English actor and film-maker Ch ...

and Leo Bulgakov were cast as Tamara and Misha.

References

External links

* * 1943 films American pro-Soviet propaganda films American black-and-white films Films directed by Fedor Ozep Eastern Front of World War II films Films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era American war comedy films 1940s war comedy films 1943 comedy films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films {{WWII-film-stub