How Americans Look at Russia - Summary

[Beth Holmgren]

Mischa Auer played Carlo (the protegee) in "My Man Godfrey."  It was
Maria Ouspenskaya (also the gypsy woman in old "Wolf Man" films).  I'd
also recommend checking out the casts and Russian characterizations in
the old films "Comrade X," "Tovarich" (yep, that's how it's spelled),
"Balalaika," and "Anastasia" (Ingrid Bergman in the title role, Yul
Brynner as her handler, Akim Tamiroff as "Chernov").

Beth Holmgren


On Wed, 17 Oct 2001 23:29:25 -0700, you wrote:

>A comment from an 80 year old...what about Greta Garbo in "Ninotchka"? And I
>can't think of the name of the tall slim movie actor who was the protogee of
>the mother in "My Man Godfrey"? William Powell did a suberb job as the
>butler as Carole Lombard's "protogee". She has picked him up from a group of
>men out of work during the depression.. I wish I could think of the name of
>the pianist. I think he was really Russian.
>
>How about Ouspanskaya(?) Was it Olga?  Sh didn't speak Russian in "The
>Mortal Storm" staring Jimmy Stewart Margaret Sullivan and Robert Young, but
>she was in many films and always did a superb job and must have spolen some
>Russian. And remember Akim Tamaroff?
>ljdecker1 at home.com
> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Jules Levin" <jflevin at UCRAC1.UCR.EDU>
>To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
>Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2001 10:53 AM
>Subject: Re: How Americans Look at Russia - Summary
>
>
>> At 10:38 AM 10/17/01 -0400, you wrote:
>> >
>> >Thanks for sharing your film list.  I also wanted to add my two kopeks -
>> >how about _Reds_ (Warren Beattie, Diane Keaton)?  It's been years since
>> >I've seen it, but I seem to recall there was some Russian spoken in it.
>>
>>  I hated the politics in it, but Reds was a very well-done film.   I
>> actually saw it with a recent emigre couple, and we had no problems with
>> the Russian.  I don't remember the details, but some of the revolutionary
>> characters portrayed were not ethnic Russians, and probably spoke accented
>> Russian in reality.  What impressed me was that they got the color "red"
>> just right--I am an amateur painter and very aware of color shades.  There
>> is or was a very specific "Soviet" red that doesn't correspond to the
>> generic red color in the west.  Slightly washed out and very slightly
>> orangeish.  The scene of the train pulling into Petrograd station, evoking
>> images of eternal Russia [tam Rus'yu paxnet...], brought tears to the eyes
>> of my emigre friend (to my astonishment!).  It was filmed in Finland I
>> believe.
>>
>> >Also, consider the fact that, for many Americans of a particular age
>> >group,  Boris's and Natasha's were the very first Russian accents ever
>> >encountered.  What does this say about our collective psyche?
>>
>> These characters recurred in "Crusader Rabbit"--sidekick was Rags the
>> Tiger.  I don't think my psyche was adversely affected, although Kukla,
>> Fran, and Ollie certainly turned me into a fanatic hater of middle-aged
>> white women who talk to hand puppets...  I'm not even going to say what
>> Dudley Doright of the CNWMP did to my psyche...
>>
>> Jules Levin
>>
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