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Mission to Moscow

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Joseph E. Davies (Walter Huston) is the American ambassador to the Soviet Union between World War I and World War II. Moving to the communist state, Davies records his impressions of Soviet life, politics and foreign policy. He and his family adjust to their new home, while maintaining their American values. Made at the behest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the film served to familiarize the American public with the Soviet Union, who were key allies at the time of production.
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Mission to Moscow

Critics Reviews

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Lou Lumenick New York Post 04/11/2015
3.5/4
Curtiz' superproduction deserves to be far better known as the supreme example of haute Hollywood craftsmanship deployed for the sort of propaganda commonly associated with films from the Soviet Union and other totalitarian regimes. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 04/18/2012
B+
A fascinating propaganda film released during World War II. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Steve D 01/17/2024 One of the worst things ever put to film. See more 04/02/2017 A realistic and honest presentation of the Soviet Union of the 1930s which prepared its struggle against Nazi fascism and racism. The questionable point of this period is mentioned with honesty. Excellent movie. Aged better than Casablanca. See more s r @ScottR 06/30/2015 An unusual pro Russia film told through the story of a former U.S. Ambassador. It embraces pres Wilton's liberalism and idea of world peace genuinely. Then appealed to the audience by equating it with Christianity. Fascinating story, but certainly not timeless. See more 06/04/2013 A fascinating propaganda film released during World War II. See more 07/30/2010 I doubt Stalin himself could have commissioned a film more supportive of his regime and the soviet union of the time. Even the purges and show trials are portrayed as a fair process with Trotsky convicted in absentia of being a fascist patsy. Whilst doubtless necessary to sanitise the soviet union in the eyes of the American populace it is hard to imagine that it would have been effective. Even the most anti fascist of the American populace would recognise this as the pure propaganda that it is. But the film is fascinating for those interested in the politics of the time, See more 01/20/2010 It's uh--wow. Michael Curtiz, fresh off of Casablanca, directed this, and with all the energy and speed he poured into the project, it moves as swiftly as quick-drying cement. Politics, politics, politics, the occasional cameo by a world leader (played by some actor in thick makeup). Only thing that makes it bearable is Walter Huston, looking as earnest as all his actorly powers can manage, which is considerable. He cares, and his expression suggests that you should care too. It's propaganda, of course. That they could have treated the material straight (I'm talking hypothetical--Davies had control, and the president himself asked Warner for this effort) and it would be more compelling stuff--allying with a mass murderer in charged of a fascistic country--that's the stuff of epic drama. Watching the actual results, the vast whitewashing and ass-kissing involved, that's a different kind of epic drama, more jaw-dropping for sure. See more Read all reviews
Mission to Moscow

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Movie Info

Synopsis Joseph E. Davies (Walter Huston) is the American ambassador to the Soviet Union between World War I and World War II. Moving to the communist state, Davies records his impressions of Soviet life, politics and foreign policy. He and his family adjust to their new home, while maintaining their American values. Made at the behest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the film served to familiarize the American public with the Soviet Union, who were key allies at the time of production.
Director
Michael Curtiz
Producer
Robert Buckner
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Bros.
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 22, 1943, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 20, 2009
Runtime
2h 3m
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