Song of Russia
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| Song of Russia | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gregory Ratoff László Benedek (uncredited) |
| Produced by | Joe Pasternak Pandro S. Berman |
| Written by | Leo Mittler (story) Victor Trivas (story) Guy Endore (story) Paul Jarrico (screenplay) Richard Collins (screenplay) |
| Starring | Robert Taylor Susan Peters Robert Benchley |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | 10 February 1944 |
| Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Song of Russia is an 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.
The picture was a major studio release, and an unabashed pro-Soviet propaganda film. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) would cite Song of Russia as one of the three noted examples of pro-Soviet films made by Hollywood, the other two being Warner Brothers' Mission to Moscow and RKO's The North Star.
After the fact, Robert Taylor protested 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 1950's.
[edit] Plot summary
Conductor John Meredith (Robert Taylor) and his manager, Hank Higgins (Robert Benchley), go to Russia shortly before the outbreak of World War II. 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 Soviet Eden is destroyed by the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
[edit] External links
- Song of Russia at the Internet Movie Database
- Testimony before HUAC by Ayn Rand concerning this film, including synopsis
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