MISSION TO MOSCOW (1943) B/W 124m dir: Michael Curtiz

w/Walter Huston, Ann Harding, Oscar Homolka, Gene Lockhart, Eleanor Parker, Helmut Dantine

From the TCM Viewer's Guide: "The story of Ambassador Joseph E. Davies's attempts to forge a wartime alliance with the Soviet Union." From Variety 's review of the film: "Film is of a highly intellectual nature, requiring constant attention and thought if it is to be fully appreciated. It is pretty much in the nature of a lengthy monolog, with little action. It is truly a documentary; Hollywood's initial effort at living history. Every character is the counterpart of an actual person. Real names are used throughout: Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Davies, Litvinov, et al and the casting is aimed for physical likeness to the person portrayed. The jolting realism of the likenesses is far from the least of the picture's interesting aspects. Outstanding in the tremendous cast are Walter Huston as Davies, Ann Harding as Mrs. Davies, Oscar Homolka as Litvinov, Gene Lockhart as Molotov, Barbara Everest as Mrs. Litvinov, Vladimir Sokoloff as Kalanin, and Dudley Field as Churchill. Film follows pretty much in chronological order from the time of Roosevelt's appointment of the progressively-minded, capitalist-corporation lawyer Jospeh E. Davies to the post of Ambassador to Russia. Manner of presentation of the film is the use of Huston's voice off-screen, employing the first person, to describe his tours and many of the events. Then, where the action permits, the film lapses into regular direct dialog among the characters on the screen."