SONG OF RUSSIA (1943)

This is one of those government-encouraged propaganda movies of WWII that glorified Russia and its people when they were our allies; a few years later, when the Russians were our sworn enemy, films like this got their creators in trouble for being "reds." This one is mediocre at best--basically a lethargic romance with a little bit of wartime action thrown in at the end. Robert Taylor plays (unconvincingly) an American orchestra conductor who, while on tour in Russia just before the war, falls in love with a Russian girl (Susan Peters), essentially a peasant who can play classical piano like nobody's business. They marry but then war breaks out; he tries to arrange to stay with her, but others convince him that he can do more for the cause if he travels the globe. Peters stays on as a resistance fighter. Will they ever be reunited? The whole thing feels rather phony from start to finish, including the tepid romance. Robert Benchley is a brief bright spot in the proceedings as Taylor's manager. John Hodiak is a man named Boris (and believe it or not, there's also a character named Natasha!) and other familiar faces include Felix Bressart (Jimmy Stewart's buddy in SHOP AROUND THE CORNER), Michael Chekhov (the old doctor in SPELLBOUND), and a young Daryl Hickman (whose brother Dwayne was Dobie Gillis on TV). Pretty much worthwhile only as a historical oddity that helped get its screenwriters (Richard Collins, Guy Endore, and Paul Jarrico) blacklisted. [TCM]