SimonJack If I were a Russian in 1940, with all the changes of commissars this film has, I would think that we Russians were awfully bad drivers. We keep losing so many commissars to traffic accidents. Well, whether it's traffic accidents, or a tank chase, or a secretary spy who succumbs to too much vodka, or a long walk from the trolley line back to Moscow – "Comrade X" is one very funny movie. It is another very lively, hilarious spoof of Soviet Russia. And, it joins another excellent spoof of the same genre by MGM just a year before – "Ninotchka."The settings for the two films are quite different, but the intended political ridicule is the same. And, they go about it in different ways. "Ninotchka" is a masterpiece of dialog, with running puns, metaphors and other witticisms. It has great acting as well in the expressions of its characters. "Comrade X" does not slay us with dialog, but instead mixes dialog with numerous situations. And those lend themselves very well to slapstick, screwball and goofy antics. One reviewer panned the big tank scene as silly. Of course it is. But, silly and goofy help make some comedies great. And the tank chase in this movie builds to a fitting climax for this film. It must surely be able to lay claim to being the greatest tank chase every filmed. The stars in "Comrade X" are all great. Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr play perfectly off each other as McKinley Thompson and Theodore. Did you catch her explanation for why she had a male name? Eve Arden does a hilarious job as American correspondent Jane Wilson, and Felix Bressart is very good as Vanya, Theodore's father. Other supporting actors are equally good. Sig Ruman is even better than his usual character of the insulted German, Emil Von Hofer. And, Vladimir Sokoloff is very funny as the demure communist, Michael Bastakoff, who was caught in the act of "committing a traffic accident." But Oskar Homolka stands out for his role as Vasiliev. His every line seemed to be delivered with a twinkle of humor in his eye. I think the entire cast must have had a ball making this film. The movie was released in the U.S. on Dec. 13, 1940, and in England on April 28, 1941. The Brits may well have appreciated as much the jabs at Nazi Germany in here. One of my favorite scenes is in the Kremlin Press Room. Jane Wilson (Eve Arden) says, "Probably the government has decided that from now on all foreign correspondents must be blindfolded and led around by seeing-eye-dogs. 'Anything to keep the truth out of print' is their motto." A nervous Von Hofer (Sig Ruman) says: "Please, Miss Wilson, do not speak for me. I am not complaining against the Russian government." Wilson responds, "My dear, Von Hofer, a German journalist is not in a position to complain against the absence of truth anywhere."Some other funny exchanges include this pick up from the above. A British journalist says, "Right you are Miss Wilson." Von Hofer says to him, "Excuse me!?" The Brit responds, "With pleasure, old boy." And Wilson concludes: "A fine world press we are. We can't even send out a weather report without having it censored."Vasiliev (Homolka) announces to the press room: "The former head of the press department was the victim last night of a traffic accident. I'm speaking at his grave at the Kapulski Cemetery at 3 o'clock." Thompson (Gable) says to Vanya (Bressart): "So the deal is, I get an obstinate lady motorman out of a country she doesn't want to leave?" Later, he is talking with Theodore (Lamarr), and she says: "I read in Pravda, 10 million people starved to death last winter in the United States, and there was nobody to bury them." Thompson says, "They don't bury people in the United States. They burn them." Theodore: "A nation of thieves." Thompson: "Yes! Ever hear of the Brooklyn Dodgers?" Theodore: "No!" Thompson: "They get murdered every day." Theodore: "Well then, what for?" Thompson: "For making some little errors." Theodore: "There must be a revolution soon in America."A newsman says to Vasiliev: "As God is my judge." Vasiliev says, "There is no God." The newsman: "Well, then whoever is in his place." Another person says to Vasiliev: "I can bring you witnesses that I never saw her before." Vasiliev to Thompson, "You have me at a disadvantage. I'll lay my cards under the table." Thompson, "As they say in my country, you can count me out." When they are thrown into prison, Thompson asks, "What are they singing?" Vanya says, "Same thing they always sing in prison – we are free." He yawns and says, "Oh, I'd like to get some sleep before I die." Bastakoff to Thompson: "My predecessor was the victim last night of a traffic accident." Thompson: "Is he expected to recover?" Bastakoff: "No, he caught pneumonia."Thompson, to Theodore: "What is love – an accident?" Theodore: "Gorsky says love is the failure of the mind to understand nature." Still later, the two are talking, and Gable describes the difficulty taking people away from hot dogs, boogie woogie, etc. Theodore says, "The problem of taking the masses away from boogie woogie is a difficult one." Later, when they have crossed a border river into Rumania in a tank, the Rumanian home guard flees in front of the tank. Thompson says, "You know, it's going to be tough to surrender to these people. You've got to catch them first.""Comrade X" is another great laugh fest that's guaranteed to entertain. It's a must for any serious film library.

edwagreen Clark Gable and Hedy La Marr starred in this awful mess.This is certainly no Ninotchka, even with its anti-Communist theme. The film is just awful.It would have been funnier had they managed to make more fun of the Nazis in it. I realize that the film came out in 1940 and since we weren't at war with the beasts as yet, the film board probably wanted to cool things down.The ending becomes a ridiculous tank chase and becomes very silly after a while.The Commies come and go and knock each other off as if it's nothing. Even though it was so true, it was done film wise in such a boring way. The idea that the poet philosopher was a true phony who went on to kill his supporters was not adequately explained.A year after "Gone With the Wind" and Clark Gable had a bomb with this film!

blanche-2 Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr star in "Comrade X," a 1940 comedy from MGM also starring Eve Arden, Felix Bressart and Oscar Homolka. Gable and Arden are American journalists in Russia while the Russians search frantically for "Comrade X," a reporter sending out uncensored stories to the United States. One man knows the identity of Comrade X - a bumbling valet in the hotel where many of the reporters stay (Felix Bressart). He fears his outspoken daughter is in danger of being purged by the Russians like so many and blackmails Comrade X into getting her out of the country. Well, we've known from the beginning who Comrade X is - who else - and he reluctantly agrees to his assignment - reluctantly until he gets a look at the daughter (Lamarr), who is driving a streetcar using the name Theodore. Women can't drive streetcars.Everyone is very good in this film, and Lamarr's staggering beauty and Gable's macho man are pluses. The supporting cast is great - Homolka is a government official who says his predecessor "met with an unfortunate accident" - as many of them do throughout the film.I have to agree with one of the posters here - the scene with the tanks is absolutely priceless, particularly when you realize that films didn't have the mechanisms for "special effects" as they do today.Lots of fun at the expense of good old Mother Russia.

MartinHafer Okay, it's time to turn off your brain so you can enjoy a movie! This really isn't meant as an insult, as I really liked this Clark Gable film once I stopped worrying about how ridiculous the plot was and just watched it for the pure sake of enjoyment. Trust me--if you think too much while watching this film, you'll probably get a headache! Clark is an American newspaper correspondent in the USSR in 1940. At this point in history just before the US entered WWII, the attitude in the US was was starting to turn against Nazi Germany and we still tended to laugh at the stupidity and backwardness of the Soviets. This was a BRIEF transition period, as all films made from 1942-1945 suddenly portrayed the USSR as our wonderful and loyal friend and the Russian people as decent and brave since they were now our allies! Well, none of that is evident here. The Soviet government was made up of stupid, ruthless evil men in this film (instead of the smart and ruthless evil men like real life). And, Clark's job was to easily outwit the government and smuggle out articles under the pen name of "Comrad X"--decrying the evils of Communism.All is going well until a lowly hotel worker, Felix Bressart, announces to Clark that he knows he is Comrad X and will report him to the government unless he agrees to smuggle out his daughter (played by Hedy Lamarr). The problem is that Hedy is a dyed-in-the-wool Communist and supporter of Soviet expansion! So, Clark lies to her and tells her he wants to take her to America so she can convince everyone that the Soviet system is best! She soon realizes he's lying, but after her mentor, Bastakoff, tells her to marry him, she does (after only knowing him a few hours).The party Commissar Vasiliev (Oskar Homolka) in charge of the foreign press calls Clark in to his office just before Clark can escape to America. he has found Clark's hidden camera and thinks he might be Comrad X, so he has Clark, Hedy and Felix imprisoned. Soon, a hundred of so of Bastakoff's supporters are jailed with them and are soon executed. With only the three of them left, Clark decides to sell the Commissar information--that Bastakoff was behind an assassination attempt on Valiliev. But, when Clark is taken to see the commissar, he finds it is now Bastakoff! Vasiliev has met with an "accident" and Clark knows the same will happen to him and his new family unless they escape. So, he makes a deal with Bastakoff to give him an incriminating photo, but quickly dodges all of the Russian secret police, police and army with his wife and father-in-law! In the end, they sneak into a tank that's aboard a train headed for maneuvers. It turns out the tank is the general's tank and all the other tanks follow them--across the border into Romania! The Romanians run in terror thinking they've been invaded, but all is right in the end.If you think all this stuff is pretty familiar, think back one year to another MGM film, NINOTCHKA. In this film, Garbo plays almost the same role Hedy plays and the movies are extremely similar in tone. I would have to say that COMRAD X is more silly fun, but NINOTCHKA is definitely a much better film. See them both if you'd like--I did.