The Red Danube

This is Leonard Maltin's assessment of this film: "Meandering drama of ballerina Leigh pursued by Russian agents, aided by amorous Lawford; heavy-handed at times." This is like saying "Titanic" (1997) is "a meandering drama of artist's model Winslet caught between fiancé and a shipboard romance; heavy-handed at times". The man is an idiot. This film is a stylish and courageous exposition of the necessary process of humanization that the Allied armies had to go through in dealing with the refugee problem in Eastern Europe following WWII. The acting is uniformly excellent, even Peter Lawford managing a moment or two to shine among the superlative performances of Walter Pidgeon, Angela Lansbury, Ethel Barrymore, Louis Calhern, Janet Leigh and a handful of others. The music is by Miklos Rozsa who must have found the subject inspirational. The lighting, photography and the director's ability to express human tragedy through human faces are transcendental. This film even has its moments of humour. Not your average war film. Highly recommended.

"The Red Danube" is a strong 1949 film about post-war Europe, starring Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Angela Lansbury, Janet Leigh, and Ethel Barrymore.

There are several levels to this film. One is the agreement among the Allies to repatriate people to their native countries after the war. This film deals with the British sector, led by Pidgeon and his team, who are charged with aiding in the repatriation.

Another level is the spiritual aspect - the Pidgeon character, "Hooky" Nicobar, has begun to doubt the existence of any entity that could allow such horror to happen in the world, including his own personal tragedy. And there's the love story between Maria (Janet Leigh), a Soviet ballerina, and Major 'Twingo' McPhimister.

When displaced Russians would rather commit suicide than return to Russia, Hooky begins to doubt what Colonel Piniev (Louis Calhern) is telling him about what awaits these people back in the homeland. But he has to follow orders, so in spite of protests, he turns over ballerina Maria to the Soviets.

MGM made a film later on, "Never Let Me Go" about a ballerina trying to get out of Russia; here a ballerina tries to keep from going back.

This film has much more depth than "Never Let Me Go," and is more gritty, showing the old and weak DPs, unusable for slave labor, that the Russians foist upon the British sector toward the end of the film.

The spiritual angle in this film is interesting - has God failed man, the nun (Ethel Barrymore) asks, or has man failed God? Is "following orders" when you know you're sending people to certain death sufficient?

"The Red Danube" is well acted. Discovered by Norma Shearer, Janet Leigh had only been in films two years when she made this, but she had already racked up some experience. She's fresh-faced, sympathetic, and sweet as Maria Buhlen.

Peter Lawford doesn't have much to do; Angela Lansbury is delightful as part of the team, and Walter Pidgeon does an excellent job as the troubled colonel.

As the Mother Superior where Audrey Quail, the colonel, and Twingo are billeted, Ethel Barrymore gives a superb performance as a woman of implacable faith who tries to help Hooky with his crisis and aid Maria.

I thought this was a very good film, thought-provoking, with good direction by George Sidney.

Possibly people who were not here at the beginning of the Cold War have difficulty appreciating this film. The film deserves at least an 8 for its skillful grappling with the issues which were to consume us for over forty years. The direction and script are tightly spun and intelligent; two characteristics which many later Cold War film lack. The Russian general is perhaps more caricatured than real, but this flaw is more than compensated for with sterling performances by Ethyl Barrymore and Walter Pigeon. It's also a great Christmas movie with the beautiful subplot of the little girl working the black market to survive. I wish the script were a little less rough on Angela Lansberry's character, but she somehow was able to pull it off. A good show. Recommended to be seen with "The Third Man"

I truly enjoyed this film. The themes of individual responsibility in an evil world, and the problem of faith in God, are handled sensitively and well. Although it is unclear at the beginning, the main characters are the Colonel played by Walter Pidgeon and the Reverend Mother played by Ethel Barrymore. The romance between Peter Lawford's adjutant and Janet Leigh's sylph-like Russian refugee ballerina is, in a sense, just an excuse plot to build the movie around, although that storyline is satisfying as well, mainly due to these two talented actors. Also noteworthy is Angela Lansbury cast against type (at least, compared to her debut in Gaslight) as a highly sympathetic, yet somewhat salty woman officer.

I found others' comments on the relationship to McCarthyism and/or anti-Communism in general to be interesting. I do believe this movie showed the evils of the Soviet system, which to me, is fine. I have no idea if it fed McCarthyism, since I wasn't alive during that period. However, to me, it seems to be more about anti-totalitarianism of all stripes, rather than merely anti-Communism. In particular, the scene of the refugees in boxcars seems to be a direct reference to the Holocaust.

That The Red Danube was nominated for best art direction speaks, as well, to the technical beauty of this black & white film. This film reminded me of The Third Man, in its location, art direction, and storyline. (Orson Welles always said that "Black & white is the actor's friend" -- how true, in both these movies!) Although this film is inferior to The Third Man overall, in terms of its acting, atmosphere, and skill of the director, it is still worthy of viewing. Whereas The Third Man focuses on the moral dilemma of dealing with the evil in one individual (in a corrupt society), this film deals more generally with the morality of living in a corrupt society. In other words, The Third Man asks: "Why do men turn evil in an evil society?" (which, when you think about it, may not be such a profound question; although the further question of "What can be done about it?" is also explored), whereas The Red Danube asks: "How can men stay good in an evil society?" (which is really a much more useful question). So, although there's no denying that The Third Man is the better movie overall, I would highly recommend The Red Danube due to its high production values, the collection of wonderful actors in its ensemble cast, and a very engaging, philosophical script.

I had read the novel first, Vespers in Vienna, which was delightful as well as sad. The other comments miss the point completely--the focus in the novel was not Cold War propaganda but the facts of the insane policies of the US and British in their respective zones of occupation in Germany and Austria to forcibly remove or return Eastern Europeans, not just Soviet citizens, even including ethnic Germans, most of whom had endured untold horrors trying to escape to the west, safety, and 'freedom' at the end of the war. That was the bemused Walter Pigeon's problem, not 'war guilt' but having to 'obey orders.' The fact that this forceful expulsion was done because the Allies a. did not want to feed and care for refugees, and b. did want to curry favor with the Soviets at that pre-Berlin Blockade period makes the history even more poignant. Most expellees were anti-Soviet, which is why they had escaped to the west to begin with, and thus went back to a certain death. It wasn't a small part of history--it was one of the biggest Allied mistakes and betrayals, and there were many, of the Occupation. Angela Lansbury is terrific and got the character just right.