Cinema
The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks
Необычайные приключения мистера Веста в стране большевиков
Lev Kuleshov · 1924
Synopsis
Mr John S. West, who heads the Young Men's Christian Association in the United States, decides to travel to Soviet Russia, although the press of his country describes the Russians as barbarians; at his wife's request, he takes along a cowboy, Jeddy, as a bodyguard. On his arrival in Moscow, a thief steals his suitcase and takes it to the gang leader Jban, who realises that the American is rich and full of prejudices, and plans to fleece him by playing on his fear of the Bolsheviks.
Context
Nikolai Aseyev's screenplay was heavily reworked by Kuleshov and by Vsevolod Pudovkin, who also plays the gang leader; the cinematography is by Alexander Levitsky. Porfiri Podobed plays West, Boris Barnet the cowboy and Alexandra Khokhlova a false countess. The film was released on 27 April 1924. LaCinetek sees in it a satire of the stereotypes about the Bolsheviks that the American press and cinema were spreading.
Who it is for
A silent comedy of about an hour and a quarter, fast-paced and burlesque, for those curious about early Soviet cinema.
Prizes and reception
LaCinetek, which offers it online, places it within Soviet cinema of the years 1917 to 1929.