Mission to Moscow (1943)

This movie is a strange cinematic artifact from that narrow neck of time when the United States was allied with the Soviet Union during the second world war. This movie was made during a time when there was a perceived need among some in the American establishment to humanize our new Russian allies, to make them more acceptable to an American public who had been taught to mistrust them since the revolution of 1917. Based on the best selling memoire of cooperate lawyer turned  American ambassador to the USSR Joseph E Davis, this feature aims to put the best possible spin on then recent Soviet history, and as a result its awkward, propagandistic, and rather troubling.

One hopes that Mr.. Davis was no where near as naïve as he comes across in this film, here portrait by Walter Huston, an actor often tasked  with playing grinding moralizers. A former Wilson administration association of FDR, Davis left a very successful private practice for the post of Ambassador to the USSR (1936-1938) specifically tasked by the president to give an honest non-diplomats eye view of the country. If this movie is at all an accurate representation of what he communicated to FDR, Davis did the Politburo's job for them.

In the course of the movie Davis treats the famed 'Moscow Show Trials' as not being show trials at all, but rather the Soviet government rooting out actual pro-German traitors. The whole trial sequence in the film is completely unbelievable, with a parade of the accused confessing under seemingly no pressure to their nefarious schemes, basically saying 'yes we were evil bad guys conspiring out of greed and pride against the great Joseph Stalin and the glorious Soviet Union' (Stalin appears in the film played by Manart Kippen in a portrayal not unlike one that might be given to a Catholic Saint). Being a lawyer himself Davis know better then to accept what the Soviet government arrayed before him. Later on in the film the Soviet non-aggression pact with the Nazi's is excused while the Russians subsequent invasion of Finland is justified.

Needless to say when the political climate in this country turned against the Soviets this movie became something of a liability to those involved in making it, studio head Jack Warner had to testify under oath about why this movie was made to the House Un-American activities Committee during the McCarthy era. Robert Buckner, one of the films produces said the film was "an expedient lie for political purposes, glossily covering up important facts with full or partial knowledge of their false presentation," and that " I did not fully respect Mr. Davies' integrity, both before, during and after the film. I knew that FDR had brainwashed him..."

The film is quite well made however, and in fact was the movie that famed Hollywood director Michael Curtiz made between the World War II classics Casablanca and This is the Army. This movie is a truly bizarre curio that feels like it came out of an alternate reality. Worth seeing for those with an interest in propaganda. **1/2

War Arrow (1953)

Largely forgettable western stars Jeff Chandler as an Major charged with getting Indian Tribe A to help the army fight Indian Tribe B in the mid 19th century southwest. Maureen O'Hara plays an army widow and Chandlers love interest. Did I mention this movie is pretty forgettable? **

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Primary (1960)

Documentary about the 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary contest between Senators John Kennedy of Massachusetts and Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota (Kennedy ended up beating Humphrey by 2-to-1 largely due to support of urban Catholic communities while Humphrey carried the rural areas). The film has minimal narration and is notable for just kind of following the candidates around with a camera, this is now a common documentary troop but at the time was   unusual. Not as much 'off the cuff' feeling stuff here as I had hopped, but it  does do a good job of capturing the candidates in full cheesy, vote grubbing, politician mode (though more so Humphrey then Kennedy). Interesting fly on the wall moment of history. **1/2

Bulworth (1998)

In the late 1990's there was a little spat of pretty sharp political satires coming out of Hollywood, most notable among these being Primary Colors and Wag the Dog. Bulworth was the lest successful financially of this trilogy (there might be more, but I can't think of any). How this movie was even made is kind of a funny story, I'll let Wikipedia tell it:

"Bulworth was made in complete stealth and released by 20th Century Fox only after protracted contractual wrangling, only for a brief period of time, and practically without any publicity. As Peter Swirski reports in his study of this film, "after 20th Century Fox backed out of producing Dick Tracy, Beatty used the leverage of a lawsuit to wangle unprecedented artistic freedom," disclosing only the barest outline of the story and essentially duping Fox into bankrolling the project."

So this subversive (in the Oliver Stone sense) movie was made subversively. Now it would kind of have to have been because this is not the kind of picture any major studio of the time would have been over joyed to make. Should 20th Century Fox have known something was up? Well they know Warren Beatty had made Reds.

Anyway the plot of Bulworth centers around a long time United States Senator from California, alliteratively named Jay  Billington Bulworth, who is facing a strong primary opponent as he runs for his 4th or 5th term as part of the 1996 election cycle. As the film beginngs Senator Bulworth is having a crises of confidence, again from Wikipedia:

"Bulworth is losing his bid for re-election to a fiery young populist. Bulworth's socialist views, formed in the 1960s and 1970s, has lost favor with voters, so he has conceded to more conservative politics and to accepting donations from big corporations. In addition, though he and his wife have been having affairs openly for years, they must still present a happy façade in the interest of maintaining a good public image.

Tired of politics and his life in general and planning to commit suicide, Bulworth negotiates a $10 million life insurance policy with his daughter as the beneficiary in exchange for a favorable vote from the insurance industry. Knowing that a suicide will void his daughter's inheritance, he contracts to have himself assassinated within two days' time.

Turning up in California for his campaign extremely drunk, Bulworth begins speaking his mind freely at public events and in the presence of the C-SPAN film crew following his campaign. After ending up in a night club and smoking marijuana, he even starts rapping in public. His frank, potentially offensive remarks make him an instant media darling and re-energize his campaign."

So this shouldn't work, both in the story sense and as a movie, but somehow it does, and in fact its oddly endearing. The rapping coming for a white sixty something liberal is (surprisingly) good, funny, and informative.. The cast is full of good character actors, including Oliver Platt, Paul Sorinvo and Jack Warden. Halle Berry, still fairly early in her career is good as a Bulworth campaign volunteer and potential love interest for the Senator. The movies balance between the cynical and the sentimental is very well maintained. Inherently awkward at points the film still manages to coalesce into something worth seeing and thinking about. I particularly liked the sequences set amongst the California black community. This is a flawed, minor classic, political tract of a film. ***

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