They literally re-cut a Soviet propaganda film to make it anti-Soviet. Cold War cinema is WILD.
A Ukrainian village must suddenly contend with the Nazi invasion of June 1941. Re-edited version of The North Star (1943), to remove positive references to Soviet Union and include narration about the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.
Production
The sheer audacity of 1957 re-edits erasing 1943's pro-Soviet message.
Acting
Anne Baxter and Dana Andrews trapped in two different movies simultaneously.
Director
Lewis Milestone
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The original 1943 film was written by Lillian Hellman with a pro-collective-farm message; by 1957, HUAC pressure and the Cold War made RKO desperate to bury it.
Director Lewis Milestone disowned both versions. The 1956 Hungarian Uprising narration was added without his involvement, turning a unified-village-against-Nazis story into confused anti-communist allegory.
US
