Who would have guessed that the usually wooden but dazzlingly beautiful Hedy Lamarr could be so delightfully funny, adorable and charming as she is in this Ninotchka role. It's a pity that she was rarely --if ever again-- given another opportunity to play this sort of anything-goes screwball comedy. Hedy here is as real and believable as Carole Lombard at her best. The script written by Ben Hecht ("Nothing Sacred"), Charlie Lederer ("The Front Page" screenplay) and the uncredited Herman Mankiewicz ("Citizen Kane") is a bizarre hard-boiled political satire ending with a lengthy and totally absurd slapstick Russian tank chase through the woods and across the river into Rumania. It looks as if it came straight out of a Max Sennett movie. Gable is his usual tough and handsome self, wonderfully adept with the throw-away gags he is given. The rest of the cast is rounded out with some of the best European character actors then living in Hollywood --the Germans Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart and the Viennese Oskar Homoloka- all playing Russians and Germans. As an added bonus there is the first on-screen appearance by the rarely seen Berlin-born actress, Natasha Lytess ("Olga"), best remembered now as Marilyn Monroe's first acting coach way before her Lee Strasberg days.
38 Reviews
Rivalries in a Communist "Utopia"
theowinthrop13 August 2006
Ernst Lubtisch's classic comic statement about Communist Russia, NINOTCHKA, came out in 1939. Whether it "influenced" the production (also by MGM) of COMRADE X or not I could not say. Certainly there are similarities between the comedies. Lubitsch set his comedy in Paris, where a Communist trade mission is living it up, being corrupted by an émigré Russian noble (Melvin Douglas) so he can try to retrieve jewelry that the trade mission is using as collateral. The Russian government does not trust the three men sent, so they send a fiercer ideologue (Greta Garbo in the title role) who starts straightening out the mission, until she falls for Douglas's charm. In the end she is lured back (with her three associates) to the west and away from the Soviet paradise.
NINOTCHKA had Felix Bressart and Sig Ruman in the cast as two of the members of the trade mission. Comments on this thread point out that in the 1930s "accents" were fairly interchangeable in Hollywood, so that the Swedish Garbo (and later the Austrian Lamarr) became Russian. So did German Ruman and German - Jewish Bressart (who would also play a Hungarian in THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER).
Unlike NINOTCHKA, COMRADE X is set inside that nightmare land, Stalinist Russia. Somebody is sending out unofficial (but thoroughly correct) news stories showing the crimes being committed in Russian by the government against the people (i.e. the purges), as well as the idiotic projects and waste mismanagement illustrative of how poorly the government is as effective government. This is being resented by the Presidium, who is represented by Oscar Homlolka (Commissar Vasiliev). Please note that Homolka's make-up makes him look a tremendous bit like one Joseph Stalin. At a public funeral covered by the press court, someone tries to shoot Vasiliev (who does all he can to hide the assassination plot). Mac Thompson (Clark Gable), the American reporter, manages to snap a photo of an odd site - a bearded man who a moment before the shooting opened up the lid of the coffin and popped out. This bearded gentlemen turns out to be one Michael Bastakoff (Vladimir Sokoloff), a rival of Vasiliev for power. He is made to look a tremendous bit like one Leon Trotsky.
Get the message from Hollywood here? Vasiliev's agents have been trying to pin down the news leaks, and has narrowed it to two figures: Thompson, and one Emil Von Hofer (Sig Ruman) who is the news representative from Nazi Germany. Ruman manages to demonstrate it ain't him, so (despite Gable's breezy denials) Vasiliev believes it is the American.
Gable has a close friend in Moscow, one Ygor Yahupitz (Felix Bressart) who is his sometimes valet. Ygor's daughter is Galubcha (Hedy Lamarr) who is a streetcar operator. Ygor wants Gable to try to smuggle Galubcha out of the Soviet Union into the U.S. And the film shows (among other things, including overcoming Galubcha's fierce belief in the Communist ideal) Gable eventually saving both the girl and her father.
The comedy is quite amusing, even if it lacks the style and grace of the Lubitsch touch of the first film. But it certainly comments on the atmosphere within Russia in a way that NINOTCHKA failed to do so. The centering of the comedy in Moscow, the suggestiveness of a Stalin - Trotsky rivalry clone, and the heavy control over information is certainly more realistic than Douglas' being elegant and eloquent about the beauties of Paris.
One more thing to keep in mind is a scandal which is on target with this film, and which (in 1940) finally began to raise eyebrows. In the early 1930s the New York Times had a reporter named Walter Duranty in Moscow. He turned out to be a fantastically well informed reporter in the Soviet Union, and came out with interviews and articles that were tremendously informative. In fact, he would win the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from Moscow. But as time passed, Duranty's methods and sources were heavily questioned. He also tended to take an official line about the Purge Trials (i.e., that Bukhanin, Radek, Zinoviev, Tuchochevsky, and the other hundreds and thousands of victims were all actual traitors against the Stalinist regime). After the signing of the non-aggression pact with Germany in 1939, the Times became very suspicious of Duranty, and replaced him. The quality of the articles became very much more even handed. Duranty was later revealed to be a Stalinist agent. Interestingly enough, the Pulitzer Committee has repeatedly rejected requests to take back their award from Duranty's heirs as his work was pure propaganda. So the issue about the control over the news from Russia was very, very real.
NINOTCHKA had Felix Bressart and Sig Ruman in the cast as two of the members of the trade mission. Comments on this thread point out that in the 1930s "accents" were fairly interchangeable in Hollywood, so that the Swedish Garbo (and later the Austrian Lamarr) became Russian. So did German Ruman and German - Jewish Bressart (who would also play a Hungarian in THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER).
Unlike NINOTCHKA, COMRADE X is set inside that nightmare land, Stalinist Russia. Somebody is sending out unofficial (but thoroughly correct) news stories showing the crimes being committed in Russian by the government against the people (i.e. the purges), as well as the idiotic projects and waste mismanagement illustrative of how poorly the government is as effective government. This is being resented by the Presidium, who is represented by Oscar Homlolka (Commissar Vasiliev). Please note that Homolka's make-up makes him look a tremendous bit like one Joseph Stalin. At a public funeral covered by the press court, someone tries to shoot Vasiliev (who does all he can to hide the assassination plot). Mac Thompson (Clark Gable), the American reporter, manages to snap a photo of an odd site - a bearded man who a moment before the shooting opened up the lid of the coffin and popped out. This bearded gentlemen turns out to be one Michael Bastakoff (Vladimir Sokoloff), a rival of Vasiliev for power. He is made to look a tremendous bit like one Leon Trotsky.
Get the message from Hollywood here? Vasiliev's agents have been trying to pin down the news leaks, and has narrowed it to two figures: Thompson, and one Emil Von Hofer (Sig Ruman) who is the news representative from Nazi Germany. Ruman manages to demonstrate it ain't him, so (despite Gable's breezy denials) Vasiliev believes it is the American.
Gable has a close friend in Moscow, one Ygor Yahupitz (Felix Bressart) who is his sometimes valet. Ygor's daughter is Galubcha (Hedy Lamarr) who is a streetcar operator. Ygor wants Gable to try to smuggle Galubcha out of the Soviet Union into the U.S. And the film shows (among other things, including overcoming Galubcha's fierce belief in the Communist ideal) Gable eventually saving both the girl and her father.
The comedy is quite amusing, even if it lacks the style and grace of the Lubitsch touch of the first film. But it certainly comments on the atmosphere within Russia in a way that NINOTCHKA failed to do so. The centering of the comedy in Moscow, the suggestiveness of a Stalin - Trotsky rivalry clone, and the heavy control over information is certainly more realistic than Douglas' being elegant and eloquent about the beauties of Paris.
One more thing to keep in mind is a scandal which is on target with this film, and which (in 1940) finally began to raise eyebrows. In the early 1930s the New York Times had a reporter named Walter Duranty in Moscow. He turned out to be a fantastically well informed reporter in the Soviet Union, and came out with interviews and articles that were tremendously informative. In fact, he would win the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from Moscow. But as time passed, Duranty's methods and sources were heavily questioned. He also tended to take an official line about the Purge Trials (i.e., that Bukhanin, Radek, Zinoviev, Tuchochevsky, and the other hundreds and thousands of victims were all actual traitors against the Stalinist regime). After the signing of the non-aggression pact with Germany in 1939, the Times became very suspicious of Duranty, and replaced him. The quality of the articles became very much more even handed. Duranty was later revealed to be a Stalinist agent. Interestingly enough, the Pulitzer Committee has repeatedly rejected requests to take back their award from Duranty's heirs as his work was pure propaganda. So the issue about the control over the news from Russia was very, very real.
fun pairing of Gable and Lamarr
blanche-21 April 2008
Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr star in "Comrade X," a 1940 comedy from MGM also starring Eve Arden, Felix Bressart and Oscar Homolka. Gable and Arden are American journalists in Russia while the Russians search frantically for "Comrade X," a reporter sending out uncensored stories to the United States. One man knows the identity of Comrade X - a bumbling valet in the hotel where many of the reporters stay (Felix Bressart). He fears his outspoken daughter is in danger of being purged by the Russians like so many and blackmails Comrade X into getting her out of the country. Well, we've known from the beginning who Comrade X is - who else - and he reluctantly agrees to his assignment - reluctantly until he gets a look at the daughter (Lamarr), who is driving a streetcar using the name Theodore. Women can't drive streetcars.
Everyone is very good in this film, and Lamarr's staggering beauty and Gable's macho man are pluses. The supporting cast is great - Homolka is a government official who says his predecessor "met with an unfortunate accident" - as many of them do throughout the film.
I have to agree with one of the posters here - the scene with the tanks is absolutely priceless, particularly when you realize that films didn't have the mechanisms for "special effects" as they do today.
Lots of fun at the expense of good old Mother Russia.
Everyone is very good in this film, and Lamarr's staggering beauty and Gable's macho man are pluses. The supporting cast is great - Homolka is a government official who says his predecessor "met with an unfortunate accident" - as many of them do throughout the film.
I have to agree with one of the posters here - the scene with the tanks is absolutely priceless, particularly when you realize that films didn't have the mechanisms for "special effects" as they do today.
Lots of fun at the expense of good old Mother Russia.
Wait for the tanks
gleywong27 January 2003
In the days when actresses had genuine accents that put a lilt in their speech, Hedy Lamarr, like Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman, had refinement and intelligence, and could portray "foreigners" from any number of countries. Here, Hedy is supposed to be Russian, and with a light touch, too. She makes a charming foil to beefy Clark Gable, who plays his usual role as the macho-male with a wink in his eye covering a heart of gold. Their chemistry is not quite as magical as that in "It Happened One Night," with Claudette Colbert (who had the softer edge and mysterious sex appeal that truly complemented Gable's), or even his pairings with the brassy blonde with the Brooklyn accent, but there are a number of scenes in this farce that I have not seen equalled elsewhere: namely the escape scene in the Soviet tank. Before the age of graphic simulation, the prop men really had to come up with a phalanx of Soviet-style tanks -- unless they used miniatures, and to see them "chase" Gable, with Hedy at the wheel, is almost on a par with a Chaplin or Keaton routine. The miming of the Soviet tank army is also hilarious.
Tanks a lot!
MCL11502 July 2006
I came in on "Comrade X" during the climatic tank chase scene. I don't know about the film as a whole, but the tank scene was wonderfully done. If it were done today it wouldn't be all that impressive. You'd be like "Hmmm, nice computer work!" But in 1940 it had to be done with actual existing props. So what you have is a swarm of "real" tanks chasing Gable's tank. On command they all stop, spin about and race in the opposite direction. Excellent cartoon like direction and fantastic execution of that direction. If you're a fan of cartoon like sequences done as live action then this film, or at least the final sequences thereof, are for you. Someone just tell me how they did this back in '40! One of the finest examples I can think of a great bit of work stuck somewhere in an almost forgotten film.
I did go back and research the special effects for this film. They were done by none other than A. Arnold Gillespie who won four Academy Awards out of thirteen nominations. Besides "Comrade X", he worked on such little films like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Ben-Hur". As for "Comrade X" a true case of an industry giant being handed what had to be a small assignment considering his considerable talents. The studio system works!
I did go back and research the special effects for this film. They were done by none other than A. Arnold Gillespie who won four Academy Awards out of thirteen nominations. Besides "Comrade X", he worked on such little films like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Ben-Hur". As for "Comrade X" a true case of an industry giant being handed what had to be a small assignment considering his considerable talents. The studio system works!
Amusing comedy with overtones of "Ninotchka"...
Doylenf3 April 2008
CLARK GABLE and HEDY LAMARR share the screen in a romantic comedy along the lines of "Ninotchka", which made such a success for Greta Garbo. Obviously, Louis B. Mayer hoped COMRADE X would do for Hedy what the other film did for Garbo's image--and to some extent, it did.
It's not as sophisticated and witty as the Garbo film, but Hedy plays a dedicated Soviet woman who thinks that an American that she is attracted to (CLARK GABLE) shares the same philosophy. FELIX BRESSART is her scatterbrained father, EVE ARDEN is an American newspaper woman and SIG RUMAN is a loyal Nazi foreign correspondent in Russia who is just as confused as everyone else as to the identity of "Comrade X".
It's a good role for Hedy, playing her role very much the way Cyd Charisse played the Russian gal in "Silk Stockings", and with a comic flair that she seldom exhibited in any of her MGM films, even the so-called comedies. Gable is more or less himself as the cynical newspaper man who ends up taking his bride (Lamarr) to America after they've had a few escapades that have the Soviet authorities chasing them all over the hillsides in tanks--the film's most amusing moments.
One of the funniest performances comes from NATASHA LYTESS, as Olga, a secretary who tells Gable she's a spy. Her drunken antics are a highlight (she can't see a thing without her glasses). Lytess was Marilyn Monroe's acting coach for several years, the superstar being dependent on her for her every move during her early films at Fox.
It's not as sophisticated and witty as the Garbo film, but Hedy plays a dedicated Soviet woman who thinks that an American that she is attracted to (CLARK GABLE) shares the same philosophy. FELIX BRESSART is her scatterbrained father, EVE ARDEN is an American newspaper woman and SIG RUMAN is a loyal Nazi foreign correspondent in Russia who is just as confused as everyone else as to the identity of "Comrade X".
It's a good role for Hedy, playing her role very much the way Cyd Charisse played the Russian gal in "Silk Stockings", and with a comic flair that she seldom exhibited in any of her MGM films, even the so-called comedies. Gable is more or less himself as the cynical newspaper man who ends up taking his bride (Lamarr) to America after they've had a few escapades that have the Soviet authorities chasing them all over the hillsides in tanks--the film's most amusing moments.
One of the funniest performances comes from NATASHA LYTESS, as Olga, a secretary who tells Gable she's a spy. Her drunken antics are a highlight (she can't see a thing without her glasses). Lytess was Marilyn Monroe's acting coach for several years, the superstar being dependent on her for her every move during her early films at Fox.
Not at all like 'Ninotchka'
HotToastyRag23 January 2020
It's understandable that Hollywood marketed Comrade X as a remake of the previous year's Ninotchka: an undercurrent of capitalism vs. communism runs through the plot, the star is a beautiful, cold, unromantic Russian who has to be taught to loosen up by an American playboy, and both Felix Bressart and Sig Ruman costar. However, as much as it seems to be a copycat, it's really nothing like Greta Garbo's comedy.
Hedy Lamarr is as Russian as Greta Garbo, but she takes on the masculine mantle by playing a bus driver named Theodore. She's in love with communism and the leader of a rebellious Russian party, but she doesn't even make an appearance for quite a while. Clark Gable is the lead, and he plays the titular character, a reporter who smuggles forbidden information out of Russia to the United States through his newspaper column and a hidden camera. So far his identity is a secret, but when the humble, harmless, bumbling hotel valet Felix Bressart discovers his secret, things take a very dangerous turn. Meek, clueless Felix gains a sudden backbone and shocks everyone, including the audience, by threatening Clark with an ultimatum: either he smuggles Felix's daughter Hedy out of the country that very night so she'll be safe from the government officials who want the rebels dead, or Felix will expose Clark's identity as the Western spy to the government officials who want Comrade X dead. It's a pretty amazing scene, showing off Felix's versatility. I actually got goosebumps watching his desperation, and it's no stretch to say he steals the entire movie with that one scene. Go Felix!
When Clark tries to get Hedy to leave Russia, he has to pretend to be an ardent communist so she will be swept away by a new romance and run away to America. It's a much more difficult task than he thinks, and his work is cut out for him for the rest of the movie. The plot has many unexpected twists and turns, and it's quite entertaining. Not only is it not another version of Ninotchka, but it's not even a comedy. This is a tense drama with lives on the line. If you're a fan of the cast, check it out.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. During the last few minutes, the camera tilts back and forth to mirror the tank's movement, and that will make you sick, "Don't Look, Mom!"
Hedy Lamarr is as Russian as Greta Garbo, but she takes on the masculine mantle by playing a bus driver named Theodore. She's in love with communism and the leader of a rebellious Russian party, but she doesn't even make an appearance for quite a while. Clark Gable is the lead, and he plays the titular character, a reporter who smuggles forbidden information out of Russia to the United States through his newspaper column and a hidden camera. So far his identity is a secret, but when the humble, harmless, bumbling hotel valet Felix Bressart discovers his secret, things take a very dangerous turn. Meek, clueless Felix gains a sudden backbone and shocks everyone, including the audience, by threatening Clark with an ultimatum: either he smuggles Felix's daughter Hedy out of the country that very night so she'll be safe from the government officials who want the rebels dead, or Felix will expose Clark's identity as the Western spy to the government officials who want Comrade X dead. It's a pretty amazing scene, showing off Felix's versatility. I actually got goosebumps watching his desperation, and it's no stretch to say he steals the entire movie with that one scene. Go Felix!
When Clark tries to get Hedy to leave Russia, he has to pretend to be an ardent communist so she will be swept away by a new romance and run away to America. It's a much more difficult task than he thinks, and his work is cut out for him for the rest of the movie. The plot has many unexpected twists and turns, and it's quite entertaining. Not only is it not another version of Ninotchka, but it's not even a comedy. This is a tense drama with lives on the line. If you're a fan of the cast, check it out.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. During the last few minutes, the camera tilts back and forth to mirror the tank's movement, and that will make you sick, "Don't Look, Mom!"
Extremely dopey but still a lot of fun
planktonrules4 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Okay, it's time to turn off your brain so you can enjoy a movie! This really isn't meant as an insult, as I really liked this Clark Gable film once I stopped worrying about how ridiculous the plot was and just watched it for the pure sake of enjoyment. Trust me--if you think too much while watching this film, you'll probably get a headache! Clark is an American newspaper correspondent in the USSR in 1940. At this point in history just before the US entered WWII, the attitude in the US was was starting to turn against Nazi Germany and we still tended to laugh at the stupidity and backwardness of the Soviets. This was a BRIEF transition period, as all films made from 1942-1945 suddenly portrayed the USSR as our wonderful and loyal friend and the Russian people as decent and brave since they were now our allies! Well, none of that is evident here. The Soviet government was made up of stupid, ruthless evil men in this film (instead of the smart and ruthless evil men like real life). And, Clark's job was to easily outwit the government and smuggle out articles under the pen name of "Comrad X"--decrying the evils of Communism.
All is going well until a lowly hotel worker, Felix Bressart, announces to Clark that he knows he is Comrad X and will report him to the government unless he agrees to smuggle out his daughter (played by Hedy Lamarr). The problem is that Hedy is a dyed-in-the-wool Communist and supporter of Soviet expansion! So, Clark lies to her and tells her he wants to take her to America so she can convince everyone that the Soviet system is best! She soon realizes he's lying, but after her mentor, Bastakoff, tells her to marry him, she does (after only knowing him a few hours).
The party Commissar Vasiliev (Oskar Homolka) in charge of the foreign press calls Clark in to his office just before Clark can escape to America. he has found Clark's hidden camera and thinks he might be Comrad X, so he has Clark, Hedy and Felix imprisoned. Soon, a hundred of so of Bastakoff's supporters are jailed with them and are soon executed. With only the three of them left, Clark decides to sell the Commissar information--that Bastakoff was behind an assassination attempt on Valiliev. But, when Clark is taken to see the commissar, he finds it is now Bastakoff! Vasiliev has met with an "accident" and Clark knows the same will happen to him and his new family unless they escape. So, he makes a deal with Bastakoff to give him an incriminating photo, but quickly dodges all of the Russian secret police, police and army with his wife and father-in-law! In the end, they sneak into a tank that's aboard a train headed for maneuvers. It turns out the tank is the general's tank and all the other tanks follow them--across the border into Romania! The Romanians run in terror thinking they've been invaded, but all is right in the end.
If you think all this stuff is pretty familiar, think back one year to another MGM film, NINOTCHKA. In this film, Garbo plays almost the same role Hedy plays and the movies are extremely similar in tone. I would have to say that COMRAD X is more silly fun, but NINOTCHKA is definitely a much better film. See them both if you'd like--I did.
All is going well until a lowly hotel worker, Felix Bressart, announces to Clark that he knows he is Comrad X and will report him to the government unless he agrees to smuggle out his daughter (played by Hedy Lamarr). The problem is that Hedy is a dyed-in-the-wool Communist and supporter of Soviet expansion! So, Clark lies to her and tells her he wants to take her to America so she can convince everyone that the Soviet system is best! She soon realizes he's lying, but after her mentor, Bastakoff, tells her to marry him, she does (after only knowing him a few hours).
The party Commissar Vasiliev (Oskar Homolka) in charge of the foreign press calls Clark in to his office just before Clark can escape to America. he has found Clark's hidden camera and thinks he might be Comrad X, so he has Clark, Hedy and Felix imprisoned. Soon, a hundred of so of Bastakoff's supporters are jailed with them and are soon executed. With only the three of them left, Clark decides to sell the Commissar information--that Bastakoff was behind an assassination attempt on Valiliev. But, when Clark is taken to see the commissar, he finds it is now Bastakoff! Vasiliev has met with an "accident" and Clark knows the same will happen to him and his new family unless they escape. So, he makes a deal with Bastakoff to give him an incriminating photo, but quickly dodges all of the Russian secret police, police and army with his wife and father-in-law! In the end, they sneak into a tank that's aboard a train headed for maneuvers. It turns out the tank is the general's tank and all the other tanks follow them--across the border into Romania! The Romanians run in terror thinking they've been invaded, but all is right in the end.
If you think all this stuff is pretty familiar, think back one year to another MGM film, NINOTCHKA. In this film, Garbo plays almost the same role Hedy plays and the movies are extremely similar in tone. I would have to say that COMRAD X is more silly fun, but NINOTCHKA is definitely a much better film. See them both if you'd like--I did.
Purging as we go
bkoganbing25 September 2005
With the success MGM had with Ninotchka another lampooning of the Soviet Union seemed a natural. So the following year while the Hitler-Stalin pact was still active, MGM came up with Comrade X.
Comrade X is a pseudonym for some journalist who is sending uncensored stories out about the real Soviet Union. It happens to be Clark Gable and the whole Soviet secret police apparatus is after him.
But a valet at a hotel where the foreign correspondents stay played by Felix Bressart comes upon his secret. He offers a deal to Gable, he won't turn him in if Gable convinces Bressart's daughter Hedy Lamarr to leave the Soviet Union with him and come to America.
Easier said than done because Lamarr is as committed a Communist as Greta Garbo was in Ninotchka. So like Melvyn Douglas in Ninotchka, Gable's got his work cut out for him.
Comrade X's humor is a little more broad than Ninotchka's was. It even got a few good knocks in on Nazi Germany with Sig Ruman playing a German correspondent. The humor about the Soviets concerns what a dangerous thing it was to rise in the ranks of the party. Remember this was also the time of Stalin purging all kinds of people out of the party. Something that didn't stop until Hitler broke the non-aggression pact in 1941.
And Hedy Lamarr is sure no Garbo, but she acquits herself nicely in the role of the fuzzy headed idealist.
Gable, Lamarr, and Bressart get caught up in the internal politics of the Soviet Union and have to flee the country. What happens to them is the balance of the film and it is hilarious.
One of the best films done by both of the stars. Grand comedy.
Comrade X is a pseudonym for some journalist who is sending uncensored stories out about the real Soviet Union. It happens to be Clark Gable and the whole Soviet secret police apparatus is after him.
But a valet at a hotel where the foreign correspondents stay played by Felix Bressart comes upon his secret. He offers a deal to Gable, he won't turn him in if Gable convinces Bressart's daughter Hedy Lamarr to leave the Soviet Union with him and come to America.
Easier said than done because Lamarr is as committed a Communist as Greta Garbo was in Ninotchka. So like Melvyn Douglas in Ninotchka, Gable's got his work cut out for him.
Comrade X's humor is a little more broad than Ninotchka's was. It even got a few good knocks in on Nazi Germany with Sig Ruman playing a German correspondent. The humor about the Soviets concerns what a dangerous thing it was to rise in the ranks of the party. Remember this was also the time of Stalin purging all kinds of people out of the party. Something that didn't stop until Hitler broke the non-aggression pact in 1941.
And Hedy Lamarr is sure no Garbo, but she acquits herself nicely in the role of the fuzzy headed idealist.
Gable, Lamarr, and Bressart get caught up in the internal politics of the Soviet Union and have to flee the country. What happens to them is the balance of the film and it is hilarious.
One of the best films done by both of the stars. Grand comedy.
Pleasing enough Ninotchka spin-off
Philipp_Flersheim9 November 2021
This commedy has some moments of brilliance. A philosopher who becomes chief of the secret police and starts on his new job by having all his previous followers executed - that pretty much sums up how Stalin's Soviet Union worked in the 1930s. However, there are seriously weak points. Comrade X was shot (no pun) after Ninotchka, so you can't help comparing the two pictures. Unsurprisingly, Ninotchka comes out top. Its main advantage over Comrade X is that character development is much more convincing. Ninotchka arrives in Paris a committed communist and thaws gradually. Theodore (Hedy Lamarr) also starts out as a committed communist, but it takes only one event - the betrayal by her adored philosopher, now secret police chief - to turn her into a capitalist and a baseball fan.
There are also some needlessly long sequences, for example the tank chase, which after a while becomes tedious. I am not going to criticise Clark Gable for his usual macho shtik, which may have appealed to audiences in 1940 but does look a trifle overdone today. He is the loudest of the cast, but Lamarr is by far the most charming. She steals the picture. On balance, this is a nice enough commedy. There are worse ways to waste a good one and a half hours than watching this.
There are also some needlessly long sequences, for example the tank chase, which after a while becomes tedious. I am not going to criticise Clark Gable for his usual macho shtik, which may have appealed to audiences in 1940 but does look a trifle overdone today. He is the loudest of the cast, but Lamarr is by far the most charming. She steals the picture. On balance, this is a nice enough commedy. There are worse ways to waste a good one and a half hours than watching this.
Silly knockoff of previous year's "Ninotchka"
estherwalker-347103 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
1940 was the year of Clark Gable-Hedy Lamarr films. I'm very surprised that no review I read mentioned that Hedy played an adulteress-minded gold digger to Gable in the previous MGM hit "Boom Town". Here, Hedy gets her first Hollywood crack at comedy: not really one of her fortes. I'm very surprised no review I read mentioned the slapstickish brawl she had with Gable on their wedding night, after Gable's friend,played by Eve Arden, unexpectedly entered their room and her conversation blew Gable's claim of being a communist sympathizer: Hedy being a dyed in the wool communist sympathizer. Incidentally, Eve Arden never got credit for being the strikingly beautiful woman she was, emphasis always being placed on her sarcastic wit. To me, she outshone Hedy in the beauty department, as well as the personality department, although it's tricky to objectively compare blondes and brunettes.
Hedy was a good choice in playing a Russian communist, in that she still retained much of her Austrian accent, which could easily be construed as a mild Russian accent. Mostly, she plays it stiff, as a caricature of robotic, unemotional Russian communists, as imagined by many Westerners. However, she does engage in a number of kisses with Gable even very early in their relationship. Her father, played by the charismatic Felix Bressart, after discovering that his boss, Gable, is the infamous Comrade X, wanted by the secret police for transmitting unfavorable sketches of the communist world to the US, demands that Gable take his daughter(Hedy) out of Russia, fearing that she will soon be purged. .Hesitant, initially, Gable agrees to meet her at her job as a trolley operator. This eventually leads to an initial romance. Later, Hedy states that they will have to get married so that she can qualify to leave Russia. Initially hesitant, Gable agrees. Strangely, secret police come to their room and arrest the two, as well as Felix, who is suspected of being Comrade X. They spend a short time in prison, during which all the other prisoners, as devotes of the new commissar, are order by the commissar to be executed. After a talk between Gable and the commissar, the 3 are released, and get in a car. Strangely, they are followed and shot at by a car full of secret police, until they come upon a stopped train of tanks. Somehow, they enter a tank and hide there while the train travels to a maneuvers site near the Romanian border. Several military then are knocked unconscious as they descend into the tank. Incongruously, Hedy says that she was trained to operate this tank while in school!! Thus, when it's time for their tank to drive off, she does so perfectly. Strangely, the other tanks follow them. It turns out they picked the general's tank. He has a microphone through which he gives instructions to the other tanks via radio. Eventually, they come to the edge of a very high precipitous. Gable now is driving, and, unfortunately, puts the tank in forward, rather than reverse, and they descend the precipitous with a very jarring landing that should have killed or maimed them. The other tanks follow suit, and continue to follow them, including crossing the river that separates Russia from Romania. We see a newspaper headline: 'Russia invades Romania'. Gable says they will continue in the tank until they come upon the US consulate!! Next thing we know, they are at a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game! Yes, the ending is much too truncated!! Hedy wanted to go to America to talk up communism. But, the film message is supposed to be that, instead, she is seduced by life in the capitalist US. We certainly could have used some more evidence of that, and less of the tank maneuvers!! ..........I forgot to mention Gable's famous phone-derived lie that Nazi Germany had just invaded Russia, set to become true less than one year later!
If you especially want to see Gable and Hedy together in a silly comedy, go ahead and see this, at YouTube, for instance. Otherwise, I favor the later musical remake of "Ninotchka": "Silk Stockings", in which Cyd Charisse takes Hedy's place, and Fred Astaire is trying to convince her that 'the West is best'.
Hedy was a good choice in playing a Russian communist, in that she still retained much of her Austrian accent, which could easily be construed as a mild Russian accent. Mostly, she plays it stiff, as a caricature of robotic, unemotional Russian communists, as imagined by many Westerners. However, she does engage in a number of kisses with Gable even very early in their relationship. Her father, played by the charismatic Felix Bressart, after discovering that his boss, Gable, is the infamous Comrade X, wanted by the secret police for transmitting unfavorable sketches of the communist world to the US, demands that Gable take his daughter(Hedy) out of Russia, fearing that she will soon be purged. .Hesitant, initially, Gable agrees to meet her at her job as a trolley operator. This eventually leads to an initial romance. Later, Hedy states that they will have to get married so that she can qualify to leave Russia. Initially hesitant, Gable agrees. Strangely, secret police come to their room and arrest the two, as well as Felix, who is suspected of being Comrade X. They spend a short time in prison, during which all the other prisoners, as devotes of the new commissar, are order by the commissar to be executed. After a talk between Gable and the commissar, the 3 are released, and get in a car. Strangely, they are followed and shot at by a car full of secret police, until they come upon a stopped train of tanks. Somehow, they enter a tank and hide there while the train travels to a maneuvers site near the Romanian border. Several military then are knocked unconscious as they descend into the tank. Incongruously, Hedy says that she was trained to operate this tank while in school!! Thus, when it's time for their tank to drive off, she does so perfectly. Strangely, the other tanks follow them. It turns out they picked the general's tank. He has a microphone through which he gives instructions to the other tanks via radio. Eventually, they come to the edge of a very high precipitous. Gable now is driving, and, unfortunately, puts the tank in forward, rather than reverse, and they descend the precipitous with a very jarring landing that should have killed or maimed them. The other tanks follow suit, and continue to follow them, including crossing the river that separates Russia from Romania. We see a newspaper headline: 'Russia invades Romania'. Gable says they will continue in the tank until they come upon the US consulate!! Next thing we know, they are at a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game! Yes, the ending is much too truncated!! Hedy wanted to go to America to talk up communism. But, the film message is supposed to be that, instead, she is seduced by life in the capitalist US. We certainly could have used some more evidence of that, and less of the tank maneuvers!! ..........I forgot to mention Gable's famous phone-derived lie that Nazi Germany had just invaded Russia, set to become true less than one year later!
If you especially want to see Gable and Hedy together in a silly comedy, go ahead and see this, at YouTube, for instance. Otherwise, I favor the later musical remake of "Ninotchka": "Silk Stockings", in which Cyd Charisse takes Hedy's place, and Fred Astaire is trying to convince her that 'the West is best'.
American reporter falls for Communist in 1940 Russia
jimm-274 July 2006
The film fascinates because it was made in 1940, just when WWII was getting started. Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia had just divided Poland between them and neither Nazis nor Communists much admired by most Americans. Our hero, played by Clark Gable, is forced by the Soviets to share his hotel room with a Nazi journalist. The Nazi is a caricature, as are the Soviets, who are shown ordering assassinations a¿of anyone they dislike. At one point the Gable character creates a diversion by shouting out that Germany has just invaded Russia. He is, of course, shouting a year too soon, but the reaction is interesting. The plot itself is foolish, but the glimpse into the past, with references to the Brooklyn Dodgers murdering the Reds (of Cincinatti) makes the movie great fun.
Hedy Lamarr Month
lastliberal30 March 2008
It is Hedy Lamarr Month at TCM and they get a jump on it early with this screwball comedy that really show Ms. Lamarr's beauty.
She was not a great actress, but she had a face that rivaled Helen of Troy. Paired here with Clark Gable in a satire of the Communist government in Russia, it was an enjoyable movie.
Walter Reisch, who got an Oscar for the original Titanic, got a nomination for this story. His story was ably turned into a fine script by Ben Hecht (Notorious, Underworld, The Scoundrel, with assistance by Herman J. Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane) and Charles Lederer (the original Ocean's Eleven).
Directed by five-time Oscar nominee King Vidor (War and Peace, The Crowd), it was a fine introduction to Lamarr.
She was not a great actress, but she had a face that rivaled Helen of Troy. Paired here with Clark Gable in a satire of the Communist government in Russia, it was an enjoyable movie.
Walter Reisch, who got an Oscar for the original Titanic, got a nomination for this story. His story was ably turned into a fine script by Ben Hecht (Notorious, Underworld, The Scoundrel, with assistance by Herman J. Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane) and Charles Lederer (the original Ocean's Eleven).
Directed by five-time Oscar nominee King Vidor (War and Peace, The Crowd), it was a fine introduction to Lamarr.
Comrade X- Mysteriously Miserable *1/2
edwagreen4 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Clark Gable and Hedy La Marr starred in this awful mess.
This is certainly no Ninotchka, even with its anti-Communist theme. The film is just awful.
It would have been funnier had they managed to make more fun of the Nazis in it. I realize that the film came out in 1940 and since we weren't at war with the beasts as yet, the film board probably wanted to cool things down.
The ending becomes a ridiculous tank chase and becomes very silly after a while.
The Commies come and go and knock each other off as if it's nothing. Even though it was so true, it was done film wise in such a boring way. The idea that the poet philosopher was a true phony who went on to kill his supporters was not adequately explained.
A year after "Gone With the Wind" and Clark Gable had a bomb with this film!
This is certainly no Ninotchka, even with its anti-Communist theme. The film is just awful.
It would have been funnier had they managed to make more fun of the Nazis in it. I realize that the film came out in 1940 and since we weren't at war with the beasts as yet, the film board probably wanted to cool things down.
The ending becomes a ridiculous tank chase and becomes very silly after a while.
The Commies come and go and knock each other off as if it's nothing. Even though it was so true, it was done film wise in such a boring way. The idea that the poet philosopher was a true phony who went on to kill his supporters was not adequately explained.
A year after "Gone With the Wind" and Clark Gable had a bomb with this film!
A lesser attempt than Ninotchka (1939), starring Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr
jacobs-greenwood16 October 2016
Walter Reisch, who contributed to the screenplay (and shared an Academy Award nomination in that category) for Ninotchka (1939), earned a Best Writing, Original Story Oscar nomination for this similar comedy drama starring Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr (in lieu of Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas). Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer wrote the screenplay for this one, which was directed and co- produced by King Vidor.
Gable plays an American journalist, McKinley 'Mac' Thompson, in communist Russia who successfully, and secretly, gets his stories and photographs through the government censors. He's referred to as Comrade X, and obviously the Russians would like nothing more than to capture and execute him for these traitorous activities. Lamarr plays Golubka, aka Theodore Yahupitz, a 'cold' native and party idealist who's not only a streetcar conductor, but also the daughter of Mac's friendly, though seemingly clueless valet Vanya, aka Igor Yahupitz (Felix Bressart).
Vanya discovers Mac's secret camera and true identity and, because he wants to protect his daughter from the instability inherent in the system during that time, he 'forces' him to agree to take Golubka out of the country for her own safety. Bressart and Sig Ruman, who plays a German journalist Emil Von Hofer, were both in Ninotchka (1939). Oskar Homolka plays Commissar Vasiliev, who's desperately trying to catch Comrade X while at the same time keep from being assassinated by others seeking a power grab. Eve Arden plays Jane Wilson, another American journalist, who'd had prior relations with Mac. Vladimir Sokoloff plays Michael Bastakoff, the underground communist leader that Golubka idolizes. Keye Luke appears uncredited as another journalist in the frustrated World Press corps.
The comedy is not nearly as good as the aforementioned film and is much more screwball, in general, with fewer of its political jabs finding their target. Though both Gable and Lamarr are both as watchable as usual, there's no real chemistry between them even as he tries to 'crack' her cold committed demeanor.
Natasha Lytess plays a silly Russian secretary, Olga Milanava, who gets drunk. Mac pretends to be a communist in order to convince Golubka to leave for the United States with him (e.g. to persuade Americans to join the party); the two even get married!
The movie gets even more off track when Mac, Vanya and Golubka, escaping from Bastakoff who has now successfully replaced (executed) Commissar Vasiliev, find themselves in an elaborate, overlong and climactic, tank chase!
Gable plays an American journalist, McKinley 'Mac' Thompson, in communist Russia who successfully, and secretly, gets his stories and photographs through the government censors. He's referred to as Comrade X, and obviously the Russians would like nothing more than to capture and execute him for these traitorous activities. Lamarr plays Golubka, aka Theodore Yahupitz, a 'cold' native and party idealist who's not only a streetcar conductor, but also the daughter of Mac's friendly, though seemingly clueless valet Vanya, aka Igor Yahupitz (Felix Bressart).
Vanya discovers Mac's secret camera and true identity and, because he wants to protect his daughter from the instability inherent in the system during that time, he 'forces' him to agree to take Golubka out of the country for her own safety. Bressart and Sig Ruman, who plays a German journalist Emil Von Hofer, were both in Ninotchka (1939). Oskar Homolka plays Commissar Vasiliev, who's desperately trying to catch Comrade X while at the same time keep from being assassinated by others seeking a power grab. Eve Arden plays Jane Wilson, another American journalist, who'd had prior relations with Mac. Vladimir Sokoloff plays Michael Bastakoff, the underground communist leader that Golubka idolizes. Keye Luke appears uncredited as another journalist in the frustrated World Press corps.
The comedy is not nearly as good as the aforementioned film and is much more screwball, in general, with fewer of its political jabs finding their target. Though both Gable and Lamarr are both as watchable as usual, there's no real chemistry between them even as he tries to 'crack' her cold committed demeanor.
Natasha Lytess plays a silly Russian secretary, Olga Milanava, who gets drunk. Mac pretends to be a communist in order to convince Golubka to leave for the United States with him (e.g. to persuade Americans to join the party); the two even get married!
The movie gets even more off track when Mac, Vanya and Golubka, escaping from Bastakoff who has now successfully replaced (executed) Commissar Vasiliev, find themselves in an elaborate, overlong and climactic, tank chase!
Comrade Lamarr
guswhovian5 May 2020
American news correspondent McKinley B. Thompson (Clark Gable) is secretly "Comrade X", who smuggles news out of the Soviet Union. He is blackmailed by Vanya (Felix Bressart) to take his daughter (Hedy Lamarr) to America, but that may be harder than it seems.
Comrade X is an agreeable enough comedy. It's very obviously in the vein of the previous year's Ninotchka, which is a far superior film. Lamarr is not particularly good. The script is not good, and Clark Gable has to deliver some really bad dialogue.
The film also has an identity crisis. The first forty minutes are a dark comedy, then it becomes a drama when our heroes are sent to prison. It finally devolves into a silly tank chase.
Felix Bressart gives an excellent performance as Lamarr's father, and Eve Arden and Sig Ruman are good as two of Clark Gable's fellow correspondents.
First time viewing. 3/5
Comrade X is an agreeable enough comedy. It's very obviously in the vein of the previous year's Ninotchka, which is a far superior film. Lamarr is not particularly good. The script is not good, and Clark Gable has to deliver some really bad dialogue.
The film also has an identity crisis. The first forty minutes are a dark comedy, then it becomes a drama when our heroes are sent to prison. It finally devolves into a silly tank chase.
Felix Bressart gives an excellent performance as Lamarr's father, and Eve Arden and Sig Ruman are good as two of Clark Gable's fellow correspondents.
First time viewing. 3/5
Then after Ninotchka comes Comrade X!!!
elo-equipamentos10 May 2019
Nice attempt to make something alike Ninotchka, even it has been a failure in some way worthwhile to see the goddess Hedy Lamarr as soviet girl on tough and cold behavior trying be by any means to be a true comrade to her beloved country, also defending their governing system with fit of rage, against the capitalist system that opress the American people, Clark Gable plays himself a crude American who is there as spy cover up by flamboyant newspaper, but acting on behind of scenes as Comrade X, who is pursuit by soviet policy, apart from that behold in the old hotel's valet called Vanya, who stolen completely the picture, his friendly behavior doesn't exactly as seen on first sigh, amusing dramatic comedy for the 40' patterns, following the same footprints left by the huge box office Ninotchka one year before, but without the same impact!!!
Resume:
First watch: 2009 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD-R / Rating: 7.25
Resume:
First watch: 2009 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD-R / Rating: 7.25
Tanks A Lot MGM
DKosty1237 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Upon viewing this one, I think MGM originally had this film slotted as an A Feature, but then needed a B Feature with a lot of names to support another A Feature and decided to rush this one to the theaters.
With a luscious Hedy LaMar and Clark Gable, the cast here features a lot of good supporting actors as well. The writing for the script features some solid writers but I think the script was written on an assembly line for pay as this crew wrote many better films. King Vidor is always a solid Director and he proves so here.
Considering this is 1940, the actor who looks like Joe Stalin is quite a startling figure. Hedy's wardrobe appears to have come from some of MGM's better clothes. While MGM put money into this, the propaganda and comedy mix is at times uneven.
Still, for the cast it is a worthwhile effort, and the tank sequence is much more advanced than many of the war films that are yet to be made.
With a luscious Hedy LaMar and Clark Gable, the cast here features a lot of good supporting actors as well. The writing for the script features some solid writers but I think the script was written on an assembly line for pay as this crew wrote many better films. King Vidor is always a solid Director and he proves so here.
Considering this is 1940, the actor who looks like Joe Stalin is quite a startling figure. Hedy's wardrobe appears to have come from some of MGM's better clothes. While MGM put money into this, the propaganda and comedy mix is at times uneven.
Still, for the cast it is a worthwhile effort, and the tank sequence is much more advanced than many of the war films that are yet to be made.
Funny movie
Linent12 July 2013
Clark Gable was mostly known for his he-man; lady-killer roles but he did some excellent comedy and this movie is a little-known gem. There were some great lines, too. "Well, there's some good news and some bad news. Last week all the towels were stolen. But on the other hand the water wasn't running so nobody needed the towels. Everything balances." And "Communists have ideas, but they found out you can't run a government with everybody running around having ideas". That's actually pretty true, too! People in government with "ideas" are the bane of ANY country. Loved the scene at the cemetery where the funeral procession passes by a podium carrying a coffin on its shoulders and suddenly the "corpse" sticks his head & hand out of the coffin and takes a shot at a political enemy. Curiously, the movie predicts Germany declaring war on Russia. Which in fact happened shortly after the film came out.
Funny movie - the "Kaputski Cemetery"? Excellent!!!!
Funny movie - the "Kaputski Cemetery"? Excellent!!!!
Astonishingly Bad
plaidpotato26 January 2003
Hysterical anti-commie propaganda. A loony and implausible plot. A howlingly bad performance by Hedy Lamarr, trying to do a Garbo-as-Ninotchka impression, though sounding more like a particularly inept porn star monotoning through her lame dialogue. Clark Gable is stiff and goofy as ever, though still strangely charming as ever. He hasn't an ounce of chemistry with Hedy Lamarr, though it would be hard for anyone to make sparks with that sack of wet--though beautiful--cement. There are a few genuinely and intentionally hilarious moments. The tank chase was classic.
I should probably rate this film a 4/10, because that's honestly about what it deserves. But it was so ludicrous, so breathtaking in its absurdity, it made for oddly compelling viewing. Kudos to King Vidor for allowing this film to be bad, because it would have been horrible if he'd tried to make it good, given the raw materials he had to work with.
6/10
I should probably rate this film a 4/10, because that's honestly about what it deserves. But it was so ludicrous, so breathtaking in its absurdity, it made for oddly compelling viewing. Kudos to King Vidor for allowing this film to be bad, because it would have been horrible if he'd tried to make it good, given the raw materials he had to work with.
6/10
Surprisingly Bad for a Top Class MGM Movie
Man9920426 October 2015
This movie should have been brilliant - it features Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr. Directed by the usually amazing King Vidor from a screenplay by Ben Hecht. It had everything going for it....
I was stunned by how disappointing BAD this movie turned out to be.
The central problem is the script, which is sub par - especially for an MGM production with their A List Actors. The script is preposterous from beginning to end. It makes little to no sense. And by the time the end comes, you are grateful it was such a short film.
The high point of the movie is a "Military Ballet' in the last few minutes of the film.
Clark Gable is normally one of my all time favorite actors. He is very disappointing in this movie. There is a reason Gable did not do comedies. While he can toss off a witty line with the best of them, he lacks the timing to successfully pull off the comedic demands of this role.
Hedy Lamarr is horribly miscast as Russian Trolley Car driver. She does little more in this movie than "glow" in her close ups, and spout lines about how superficial beauty is. She totally lacks the sparkle which is present in her other films. La Marr appears to be heavily medicated in most of her scenes.
Is this a bad movie" Yes indeed. It is probably one of the worst movies Gable ever made. But, you should still watch it.
I was stunned by how disappointing BAD this movie turned out to be.
The central problem is the script, which is sub par - especially for an MGM production with their A List Actors. The script is preposterous from beginning to end. It makes little to no sense. And by the time the end comes, you are grateful it was such a short film.
The high point of the movie is a "Military Ballet' in the last few minutes of the film.
Clark Gable is normally one of my all time favorite actors. He is very disappointing in this movie. There is a reason Gable did not do comedies. While he can toss off a witty line with the best of them, he lacks the timing to successfully pull off the comedic demands of this role.
Hedy Lamarr is horribly miscast as Russian Trolley Car driver. She does little more in this movie than "glow" in her close ups, and spout lines about how superficial beauty is. She totally lacks the sparkle which is present in her other films. La Marr appears to be heavily medicated in most of her scenes.
Is this a bad movie" Yes indeed. It is probably one of the worst movies Gable ever made. But, you should still watch it.
Witty and worth your time
screenwriter-972-14961230 April 2020
A terrific snappy script, fast paced direction, well choreographed physical comedy and a cast at the height of their powers makes this an enjoyable hour and a forty-five minutes.
Ben Hecht, Charley Lederer and Herman Mankiewicz must have had a field day skewing the absurdity of the west's complete misunderstanding of Stalin in the '30's. The dialogue is Orwellian but with a twist, it's funny! King Vidor mixed in lots of near slapstick sequences to keep this from becoming a filmed play. And what sequences they are! Hedy Lamarr goes all out in two of them. Her rock 'em sock 'em robots bouts with Clark Gable are believable and hilarious. Likewise Gables' tossing of diminutive Natasha Lytess sounds very un PC but under Vidor's deft hand the action comes across as hysterical.
Casting is near perfect. Eve Arden does her hard charging working girl routine as well as she ever did. She's given some great lines and never fails to deliver. Always a strong verbal counter puncher, Arden holds her own once again. Natasha Lytess makes the most of her all too few screen moments. Felix Bressart, on the other hand, is on screen a little too much. Once again he plays the European duffus. This time it's a Russian duffus. He does well with his role, but ends up looking like a third wheel too often. That's because two of MGM's greatest stars are often standing near by, Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr.
We tend to forget what a fine physical actor Gable was. He moved with a purpose and wasn't shy about mixing it up in a scene. Vidor gets Gable to give all he's got in the physical scenes the writers give him more than wise crack lines he usually had to say for laughs. Again, Gable delivers. He looks like he's enjoying himself and we like watching him. You can roll your eyes when you read this, but I think this is Gable's best work at MGM.
Gable, of course, had a very good reason to enjoy himself; Hedy Lamarr. Watch the off again on again kissing scene. Gable's having fun delivering lines between kisses where he gets to position her head. And Lamarr? Again, roll your eyes if you want, but to me this is her best performance on film. And she was never more beautiful. It's been said many times, but Hedy Lamarr was a stunningly attractive woman. In Comrade X she got good lines and great camera angles. She never needed more.
The downside? The ending. The last fifteen minutes are silly and oddly unfulfilling even for a light comedy. Even with that, this is a good looking film with a script and cast that more than stands the test of time.
Ben Hecht, Charley Lederer and Herman Mankiewicz must have had a field day skewing the absurdity of the west's complete misunderstanding of Stalin in the '30's. The dialogue is Orwellian but with a twist, it's funny! King Vidor mixed in lots of near slapstick sequences to keep this from becoming a filmed play. And what sequences they are! Hedy Lamarr goes all out in two of them. Her rock 'em sock 'em robots bouts with Clark Gable are believable and hilarious. Likewise Gables' tossing of diminutive Natasha Lytess sounds very un PC but under Vidor's deft hand the action comes across as hysterical.
Casting is near perfect. Eve Arden does her hard charging working girl routine as well as she ever did. She's given some great lines and never fails to deliver. Always a strong verbal counter puncher, Arden holds her own once again. Natasha Lytess makes the most of her all too few screen moments. Felix Bressart, on the other hand, is on screen a little too much. Once again he plays the European duffus. This time it's a Russian duffus. He does well with his role, but ends up looking like a third wheel too often. That's because two of MGM's greatest stars are often standing near by, Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr.
We tend to forget what a fine physical actor Gable was. He moved with a purpose and wasn't shy about mixing it up in a scene. Vidor gets Gable to give all he's got in the physical scenes the writers give him more than wise crack lines he usually had to say for laughs. Again, Gable delivers. He looks like he's enjoying himself and we like watching him. You can roll your eyes when you read this, but I think this is Gable's best work at MGM.
Gable, of course, had a very good reason to enjoy himself; Hedy Lamarr. Watch the off again on again kissing scene. Gable's having fun delivering lines between kisses where he gets to position her head. And Lamarr? Again, roll your eyes if you want, but to me this is her best performance on film. And she was never more beautiful. It's been said many times, but Hedy Lamarr was a stunningly attractive woman. In Comrade X she got good lines and great camera angles. She never needed more.
The downside? The ending. The last fifteen minutes are silly and oddly unfulfilling even for a light comedy. Even with that, this is a good looking film with a script and cast that more than stands the test of time.
An anti-Communist comedy
rickrudge31 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Comrade X (1940)
Just before we got into World War II, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a non- aggression pact. Mac Thompson (Clark Gable) is a foreign correspondent who has been sneaking out uncensored news out of Soviet Russia. The secret police are suspicious of him, but it's the hotel's valet, Igor Yahupitz (Felix Bressart) who knows that it's Mac. He tells Mac that if he can smuggle his daughter, Theodore (Hedy Lamarr) out of the Soviet Union, into America, he won't tell anybody.
The fly in the ointment is that Theodore is a loyal Communist and, just like in Ninotchka (1939), Mac has got to convince her to leave her beloved country and go with him, all while trying to stay away from the Commissars. Of course all of the upper ranking Soviet officers are worried about being killed off in Stalin's Purge.
King Vidor directed this fast-paced anti-communist comedy with a screenplay written by Ben Hecht. Jane Wilson (smart-mouthed Eve Arden) is one of my favorite characters, also the Nazi correspondent Emil Von Hofer (Sig Ruman) is an easy target of ridicule.
Just before we got into World War II, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a non- aggression pact. Mac Thompson (Clark Gable) is a foreign correspondent who has been sneaking out uncensored news out of Soviet Russia. The secret police are suspicious of him, but it's the hotel's valet, Igor Yahupitz (Felix Bressart) who knows that it's Mac. He tells Mac that if he can smuggle his daughter, Theodore (Hedy Lamarr) out of the Soviet Union, into America, he won't tell anybody.
The fly in the ointment is that Theodore is a loyal Communist and, just like in Ninotchka (1939), Mac has got to convince her to leave her beloved country and go with him, all while trying to stay away from the Commissars. Of course all of the upper ranking Soviet officers are worried about being killed off in Stalin's Purge.
King Vidor directed this fast-paced anti-communist comedy with a screenplay written by Ben Hecht. Jane Wilson (smart-mouthed Eve Arden) is one of my favorite characters, also the Nazi correspondent Emil Von Hofer (Sig Ruman) is an easy target of ridicule.
Much Ado About Russians
Lejink12 March 2024
MGM attempted to catch a Russian wave with this fairly blatant rip-off of their own hugely successful Garbo vehicle "Ninotchka" from the year before and certainly threw a lot of its best resources at it with Gable as lead, King Vidor directing and Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer on writing duties. There's also the lovely and as most people now know, super-intelligent Hedy Lamarr as his female co-star, although sadly she only gets to exhibit one of those attributes in the movie itself.
Unlike "Ninotchka", it works in reverse, setting the action in Moscow, where Gable is the wastrel reporter who's supposedly squandered his talent on wine and women if not song but who is, in secret, a double agent for Uncle Sam, the Comrade X of the title. Unfortunately, or as things transpire, fortunately for him, his cover is blown by his hotel valet Felix Bressart who proceeds to blackmail him into agreeing to smuggle his coach-driver daughter, Soviet apparatchik Lamarr, out of the country, only she doesn't know or want it yet. Cue much confusion, slapstick and especially condescendingly stereotypical digs at those Russians, remembering that the film was made in the days before Russia became an ally of the Western powers against the Nazis.
I personally think the movie would have worked far better if it had continued as it began and could have succeeded as a tense spy thriller instead, but no, it was far easier to take the easy lampooning road for cheap laughs involving those perceivrd Russian traits of drunkenness, heavy acccents and the usual capitalism good, communism bad schtick. It's not helped either by director Vidor's seeming inability to garner much in the way of humour from admittedly sub-standard material in what comes over as hack-work from the usually reliable Hecht and Lederer team, which is a pity as both Gable and Lamarr deserve better.
Essays have been written about Hollywood's sometimes uneasy relationship with Russia as the war developed and in one sense, this is an interesting example of its prevailing attitude to Uncle Joe, but just don't expect too much otherwise in the way of laughs or entertainment.
Unlike "Ninotchka", it works in reverse, setting the action in Moscow, where Gable is the wastrel reporter who's supposedly squandered his talent on wine and women if not song but who is, in secret, a double agent for Uncle Sam, the Comrade X of the title. Unfortunately, or as things transpire, fortunately for him, his cover is blown by his hotel valet Felix Bressart who proceeds to blackmail him into agreeing to smuggle his coach-driver daughter, Soviet apparatchik Lamarr, out of the country, only she doesn't know or want it yet. Cue much confusion, slapstick and especially condescendingly stereotypical digs at those Russians, remembering that the film was made in the days before Russia became an ally of the Western powers against the Nazis.
I personally think the movie would have worked far better if it had continued as it began and could have succeeded as a tense spy thriller instead, but no, it was far easier to take the easy lampooning road for cheap laughs involving those perceivrd Russian traits of drunkenness, heavy acccents and the usual capitalism good, communism bad schtick. It's not helped either by director Vidor's seeming inability to garner much in the way of humour from admittedly sub-standard material in what comes over as hack-work from the usually reliable Hecht and Lederer team, which is a pity as both Gable and Lamarr deserve better.
Essays have been written about Hollywood's sometimes uneasy relationship with Russia as the war developed and in one sense, this is an interesting example of its prevailing attitude to Uncle Joe, but just don't expect too much otherwise in the way of laughs or entertainment.
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