The North Star (1943)

A Ukrainian village must suddenly contend with the Nazi invasion of June 1941.

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Lillian Hellman (original story), Lillian Hellman (screen play)

Stars:

Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, Walter Huston

Nominated for 6 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anne Baxter	...	Marina Pavlov
Dana Andrews	...	Kolya Simonov
Walter Huston	...	Dr. Kurin
Walter Brennan	...	Karp
Ann Harding	...	Sophia Pavlov
Jane Withers	...	Clavdia Kurin
Farley Granger	...	Damian Simonov
Erich von Stroheim	...	Dr. von Harden
Dean Jagger	...	Rodion Pavlov
Eric Roberts	...	Grisha Kurin
Carl Benton Reid	...	Boris Simonov
Ann Carter	...	Olga Pavlov
Esther Dale	...	Anna Kurin
Ruth Nelson	...	Nadya Simonov
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Iakin

Storyline

It's June, 1941 in a farming cooperative in the Soviet Socialist Republic of the Ukraine. Although the citizens of the cooperative hear about the atrocities of the war on their radios, they are on the most part not yet directly affected by it. It's the end of the school year, and some of the older youth are excited about their futures. Beyond that, a small group of those youths are looking most forward to their imminent vacation to Kiev, where they are planning to hike for the four or five days it takes to get there above their planned three days in the city itself. They include: Damian Terasa Simonov, who finished top of his class including getting a scholarship to study at the State University of Kiev in the fall; his girlfriend, Marina Pavlov, the two who will be separated for the year as she finishes her schooling and who plan eventually to reunite in Kiev not only for Marina to go to university as well but for the two to get married; Kolya Simonov, Damian's older, more worldly ...

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | cardinal direction in title | nazi occupied soviet union | american actor playing foreigner | war propaganda | 

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Taglines:

A ROLLING WALL OF HELL THAT COULDN'T BE STOPPED... A HANDFUL OF MEN WHO HAD TO STOP IT! (rerelease title card all-caps0

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Farley Granger.

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Goofs

Walter Brennan and Farley Granger ambush 3 German soldiers, as one is about to throw a grenade he drops it but it doesn't go off.

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Quotes

Boris Stepanich Simonov, truck driver: Comrades, we have good reasons to know our country is at war. In our small village alone, 30 people have been injured. Eleven people have been killed. But his is not a time for mourning - it is time for revenge. We will divide into two groups, each to do his duty from this day until death. The able-bodied men are to come forward to the right of this building. We will move from our village to the hills to take our position as guerrillas. I will go immediate to comrade Commander Petrov's garrison...

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Alternate Versions

In 1956, the film was sold to television and re-edited under the title "Armored Attack." 25 minutes were removed, including all references to the word "comrade," and with the help of voice-over narrations, turned the alleged pro-Communist piece into anti-Communist territory.

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Connections

Featured in Sprockets: Masters of Menace (1995)

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Soundtracks

No Village Like Mine
(uncredited)
Music by Aaron Copland
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

User Reviews

Propaganda U.S Style

This film was encouraged by the U.S. Government in the early days of WW II following the German invasion of Russia. It is a propaganda masterpiece centered around the former "freedoms" of prewar Soviet Russia life and the changes brought about abruptly by the invasion. Communism was not very popular in the United States even then, so this film was engineered to achieve widespread visibility in the early war years and to engender public approval for our "allies." At that it may be said to have achieved its purpose. Americans did not wish to be identified with any kind of comrade-bashing. Maybe subconsciously Americans desired Soviet victory so as to avoid a three-front War should the Russians have been subdued.

Historically, the Russians have been able to avoid loss of Moscow to invaders but doubtless this would not have been the case without all of the materials we sent them. Most do not know that over 6,000 fighter aircraft were sent to the Russians, nor do many Americans remember that the four or more B-29s that were badly damaged in combat over Japan and who later sought refuge in Russia, remember that these were seized by Stalin. They were never returned and in fact, they were copied rivet-for-rivet; screw-for-screw as the TU-4 and later turned into long range atomic bomb delivery aircraft whose purpose was to carry atomic weapons to the former ally, the United States. And this (the Cold War) was the only pay-back ever received for our shipments of billions of dollars of armaments. Still, our economic policies and GNP were the very things that brought about the demise of the Communist system.

With these facts in mind, it is entertaining to view this film and to identify the propaganda pronouncements and the truisms it contains.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

4 March 1944 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Armored Attack!

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 82 min (re-edited) (re-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording) (uncredited)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1