Never Let Me Go (1953)

Philip Sutherland is an American news writer stationed in Moscow since the war; while there he falls for a Russian ballet dancer, Marya Lamarkins, who, he finds out, learned English because... See full summary »

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Paul Winterton (novel) (as Roger Bax), Ronald Millar (screenplay)

Stars:

Clark Gable, Gene Tierney, Bernard Miles

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clark Gable	...	Philip Sutherland
Gene Tierney	...	Marya Lamarkina
Bernard Miles	...	Joe Brooks
Richard Haydn	...	Christopher Wellington St. John Denny
Belita	...	Valentina Alexandrovna
Kenneth More	...	Steve Quillan
Karel Stepanek	...	Commissar
Theodore Bikel	...	Lieutenant
Anna Valentina	...	Svetlana Mikhailovna
Frederick Valk	...	Kuragin
Peter Illing	...	N.K.V.D. Man
Robert Henderson	...	U.S. Ambassador
Stanley Maxted	...	John Barnes
Meinhart Maur	...	Lemkov
Alexis Chesnakov	...	General Zhdanov

Storyline

Philip Sutherland is an American news writer stationed in Moscow since the war; while there he falls for a Russian ballet dancer, Marya Lamarkins, who, he finds out, learned English because she fell in love with him. They marry, only to find that the Soviet nation which gladly collaborated with the Allies against Hitler has become a paranoid police state in peacetime. Sutherland is forced to leave without Marya, but he's determined to get her back, whether it be through proper channels, or through dangerously improper ones.

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Plot Keywords:

ballet | sailing | journey | estonia | cold war | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 May 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Es begann in Moskau

Filming Locations:

MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Kenneth More's last supporting role be before his success in Genevive.

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Goofs

During the scene in the ballet theater, two Soviet Army officers bearing flashlights search through the audience looking for a doctor. They shine their light on Sutherland and apparently identify him by his epaulets as a medical corps doctor, but in fact, the epaulets indicate nothing but his rank as a colonel. A medical emergency in such a situation would have been addressed in the usual manner - by a public notice over a loud speaker.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth (2008)

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Soundtracks

Swan Lake
(uncredited)
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User Reviews

cold war romance

Clark Gable and Gene Tierney are teamed in "Never Let Me Go," a 1953 film. An American news writer, Philip Sutherland, (Gable) falls in love with a beautiful ballerina Marya, (Tierney), but she isn't allowed to leave Russia with him, despite being given an exit visa. A desperate Gable devises a plan to smuggle her out. British star Kenneth More plays a friend, Steve, who helps him, and Richard Haydn and Belita play another couple in similar circumstances.

Gable went through a tough time post-war - he returned from the service a widower, in the shadow of Rhett Butler, and well into his forties, older than many of the leading men who had gone into the service. Men his age had stayed home. Also, MGM hadn't been sitting around waiting - they had new stars. His immediate films post-war aren't memorable.

"Never Let Me Go" is a good romance, however, and a good watch. Gene Tierney is beautiful, if not very Russian, and Gable is earnest and sympathetic as a tough guy who will do anything to reunite with his wife. Thanks to some good acting, one feels invested in these characters.

You have to give it to Gable - his first credited film was in 1931, and when his last film, The Misfits, was released in 1961, he was still a huge star. Despite some so-so movies, he never lost his appeal. "Never Let Me Go" is better than a lot of films MGM gave him during this period.