Song of Russia
| Song of Russia | |
|---|---|
Theatrical Film Poster
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| 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 |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling Sr. |
| Edited by |
George Hively George Boemler |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,828,000 |
| Box office | $3,729,000 |
Song of Russia is a 1944 American war film made and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 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 J. Collins. The film stars Robert Taylor, Susan Peters, and Robert Benchley.
American conductor John Meredith (Robert Taylor) and his manager, Hank Higgins (Robert Benchley), go to the Soviet Union 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.
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 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) cited Song of Russia as one of the three noted examples of "pro-Soviet propaganda films" made by Hollywood, the others being Warner Brothers' Mission to Moscow and RKO's The North Star. This assertion was supported by the Russian-born pro-capitalist and anti-Communist writer Ayn Rand, 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 in the Hollywood motion picture-industry, depicting an idealized Soviet Union with freedom and comfort that never existed in the real Soviet Union.
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