Es begann in Moskau (1953)

Es begann in Moskau: Directed by Delmer Daves. With Clark Gable, Gene Tierney, Bernard Miles, Richard Haydn. An American reporter stationed in post-war Moscow marries a ballet dancer, but their relationship is threatened by the country’s political volatility.

“For Never Let Me Go Clark Gable has dusted off his American correspondent role from Comrade X. In that very funny comedy, Gable was playing an American newspaperman covering the Soviet Union before World War II. Heu0026#39;s back at his correspondentu0026#39;s desk in this film. However here heu0026#39;s deadly in earnest as a man driven by love to get his Russian bride out of the police state.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSadly the film was dated from its release with the prominent use of newsreel footage involving Joseph Stalin. The film was released on May 1, 1953 and Stalin had died in March of 1953. The state was the same, but the personalized red bogeyman that Stalin had become was no longer there. Iu0026#39;m sure that must have lessened the impact for those who saw Never Let Me Go in the theater.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDuring the war Gable meets ballerina Gene Tierney and in the spirit of the wartime alliance they fall in love and get married. But when the shooting war against Hitler stops and the Cold War starts, no one tells them NYET concerning romance. The increasingly cynical tone of Gableu0026#39;s stories make him an undesirable in the Soviet Union, he gets deported and Tierney is left behind. The Soviets donu0026#39;t recognize marriage and romance with the enemy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eClarku0026#39;s not going to take that lying down. With Richard Haydn, another man who married a Russian girl left behind, they hire Bernard Miles who has a seaworthy craft and plan a rescue. Itu0026#39;s quite a plan and a last minute hitch should have told any sensible person to try another day. Of course thatu0026#39;s not what happens, but it does render the last minute rescue somewhat silly.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTierney and Gable make a sincere of pair of romantic lovers. Even without the personalization of Stalin, the film is an accurate reflection of the times. Russians are a mighty suspicious lot of people, before, during, and after the Soviet Union. Kenneth More has a very nice role as a television broadcaster presumably for the BBC who helps the leads with some coded messages in his broadcasts.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGable was getting a bit old for these kind of romantic daring do roles by 1953 though. Itu0026#39;s not one of the top films of his career or in that last decade of that fabled Gable career.”