Alma Russa

Most of "Counter-Attack" takes place in a collapsed factory building in which 2 Russians and 7 Germans are trapped. Ordinarily, in a picture of this type, the action comes to a screeching halt and the film becomes a talkathon. But the story benefits greatly from the presence of Paul Muni, one of America's great actors, as the Russian soldier who is holding the 7 German soldiers captive until rescuers arrive.

The Russians are trying to drive the Germans from Russian soil, and have sent a handful of paratroopers ahead to gather information on troop movements, and the group is trapped after an explosion at a factory doubling as a German messaging outpost. That the film does not perish from Death by Dialogue is a tribute to Paul Muni's superior acting ability as well as an excellent script. If it comes on soon, catch it and see if you don't agree.

It's 1942 and the Soviets have fallen back under German attack. The Soviets are secretly building a bridge to launch a counter-attack. They sent paratroopers to help partisans in enemy territory to locate German forces. With intel of impending German reinforcements, they launch a surprise attack. Paratrooper Alexei Kulkov with local guide Lisa Elenko take seven German soldiers prisoners but become trapped under a collapsed building.

This was shown at a time when the Soviets were still Allies. Aside from the war action scenes, this is essentially an one room play. My only concern is that I don't see these characters talk so easily. The writing is definitely trying to be smarter than most. Alexei should definitely force the prisoners to sit down. There is a few things about this that rings a little false. It wouldn't matter as much if this isn't reaching for the higher levels. This is not the standard war movie. It's trying to be more and the little annoyances hurt.

An astringent war film atmospherically shot by Oscar-winning cameraman James Wong Howe with an attention to detail it doubtless owes to its stage origins.

As befits a film scripted by one of the Hollywood Ten, one of the Russians is a noble-looking young woman with a rifle, while the Nazis are an even more than usually devious and shifty bunch. One of the shiftiest is 'the Professor', played by Ludwig Donath, who ironically twice played fellow cast-member Larry Parks' father Cantor Yoelson before they both joined screenwriter John Howard Lawson on the blacklist.

I was 7 years old when I saw this movie in 1945. the war swirled around me and this was a movie about success against an enemy of America. At 7, you have no political insights as to what is going on. It's the "good guys vs. the bad guys", the "cowboys vs. the indians" from a little kids perspective, and I was for the good guys, which in this case were the Russians. I guess it was OK to root for the Russians as long as we had a common enemy. This was my first exposure to propaganda movies, but not my last. When Paul Muni and Larry parks were identified as "Commie supporters" after the war was over, they paid a price for what they believed in. With the Communist conspiracy lurking, this hysteria impacted and destroyed a lot of people, a sad day for our country. Obviously, this movie made an impact on me, as it still is one of my favorites, all politics aside. From a historical perspective, it showed, that the Russians weren't always our enemies, a fact we would rather not acknowledge today. I guess it will always hold true, that "the enemy of my enemy, is my friend".

An engrossing WW2 film set somewhere on the Russian Front with Paul Muni as a member of a Russian assault team who is trapped in a collapsed building with seven German soldiers, one of whom is an officer. Along with him is Margarithe Chapman as a Russian partisan. His character is in the lead part of a big Russian counter-attack that is to be launched across a river on a bridge that's being built eighteen inches under the surface of the water. The setting in the collapsed building with the German soldiers whom he has captured and is trying to extract information from is beautifully done with tension and humor amidst fading light, all captured by cinematographer James Wong Howe, one of the greats of B&W photography (and color, too if you've seen Picnic). Maybe Muni was a tad bit better in I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang, but he's awfully good here as a crafty Russian fighting sleep deprivation and fading light. The Germans are great as well, each getting enough lines to establish himself. Margarithe Chapman's part as Muni's comrade captures the idea of equality in the ranks among men and women. She's tough but tender.