Deserter (1933)
"Dezertir" (original title)

A wise and forgiving communist leader decides to send a young worker, Karl Renn, as an international delegate to the Soviet Union after the worker had deserted a picket-line and had ... See full summary »

Director:

Vsevolod Pudovkin

Writers:

Nina Agadzhanova, M. Krasnostavsky,

Stars:

Boris Livanov, Vasili Kovrigin, Aleksandr Chistyakov

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Boris Livanov	...	Karl Renn
Vasili Kovrigin	...	Ludwig Zelle
Aleksandr Chistyakov	...	(as A. Tsistyakov)
Tamara Makarova	...	Newsgirl for the 'Red Courier'
Semyon Svashenko
Dmitri Konsovsky	...	(as D. Konsovsky)
Yudif Glizer
M. Oleshchenko
Sergei Martinson
Maksim Shtraukh
Sergei Gerasimov
Sergei Komarov
Vladimir Uralsky
A. Besperstyj
N. Romanov

Storyline

A wise and forgiving communist leader decides to send a young worker, Karl Renn, as an international delegate to the Soviet Union after the worker had deserted a picket-line and had expressed doubts about the methods of class struggle in in his own country.

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Plot Keywords:

worker | communist | class struggle | soviet union | capitalist | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

12 October 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deserter

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mezhrabpomfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Tagephone

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Fejezetek a film történetéböl: A szovjet hangosfilm 1930-1953 (1990)

User Reviews

Primitive sound in an advanced subject

I am a great admirer of Pudovkin. People like to throw out the term "poetic film" to anything that doesn't always follow logically, but he understood emotion cinematic ally, not just visually or abstractly. Eisenstein's transition into sound required a total reevaluation of his intentions as a director, and it seems as if Pudovkin didn't recognize the need for this consideration. But this is still a worthwhile film, especially when seen after "Petersbourg." The layering of the political content is admirable for getting it's self-criticism past the censors. But yes, the sound is sloppy and the magic of his silents is audibly swept away. It would seem that he would also reevaluate his own intentions for his later sound films, and this may have been a necessary part of that development.

3 out of 5 - Some strong elements