Comrade X (1940)

Synopsis: Inspired by NINOTCHKA, this film stars Clark Gable as McKinley Thompson, aka Comrade X, an American reporter smuggling stories out of Soviet Russia suggesting the country's imminent demise during... Inspired by NINOTCHKA, this film stars Clark Gable as McKinley Thompson, aka Comrade X, an American reporter smuggling stories out of Soviet Russia suggesting the country's imminent demise during the 1930s. When hotel porter Vanya Golubka (Felix Bressart) discovers his identity, he threatens to turn him in unless he agrees to help get his daughter Theodora (Hedy Lamarr), a counterrevolutionary threatening to party bosses, out of the country. The initially reluctant reporter is more positive about this arrangement after meeting the young woman, who can be convinced to leave only with the promise that she'll be allowed to promote her political beliefs in the U.S. When Thompson learns that the only way he can obtain a passport for Theodora is to marry her, he goes along gamely. But Soviet authorites eventually catch on to the scam, imprison the pair, and sentence them to death. When all seems lost, the counterrevolutionary forces led by Emil von Hofer (Sig Ruman) take control of the country, which has begun to resemble the Marx Brothers' Fredonia. COMRADE X was cowritten by the legendary Ben Hecht and features an excellent group of character actors. [More]

Starring: Clark Gable, Hedy Lamarr, Sig Ruman, Oscar Homolka

Starring: Clark Gable, Hedy Lamarr, Sig Ruman, Oscar Homolka, Felix Bressart, Eve Arden, Vladimir Sokoloff, Edgar Barrier, John Picorri, Mikhail Rasumny

Director: King Vidor

Director: King Vidor
Screenwriter: Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer
Producer: Gottfried Reinhardt
Composer: Bronislau Kaper

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