Three Russian Girls(a.k.a. "She Who Dares" -- UK)
US (1943): Comedy/War
Another of a wartime cycle of Hollywood films lauding the praises of America's Soviet allies, THREE RUSSIAN GIRLS is a remake of Russia's THE GIRL FROM STALINGRAD. Set just after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the film stars Anna Sten as Natasha, a Red Cross volunteer who is dispatched to a field hospital located in an old pre-revolution mansion. American test pilot John Hill (Kent Smith), who'd been in Russia on a goodwill mission, is wounded in battle and brought to the hospital. As he slowly recovers from his wounds, Hill falls in love with Natasha. A last-act crisis develops when the hospital personnel are forced to move immediately to Leningrad as the Nazis advance. Most of the "counter attack" scenes that follow were obviously lifted from the original Soviet film. For the record, the other two "Russian girls" are played by Mimi Forsythe and Cathy Frye. (Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide) Henry S. Kesler and Fyodor Otsep direct this R-F Production/UA release that also features Alexander Granach, Paul Guilfoyle and Kane Richmond.
THREE RUSSIAN GIRLS is one of the rarest films from the forties. I have never been able to locate it in private 16 mm or video collections and had despaired that it was lost. However, a recent communication from the British Film Institute reveals that they possess a copy of the film and a video transfer, which I assume is used for on premises scholars who may wish to view the film. For those fans of Anna Sten this is good news. Sten's oeuvre is quite hard to assemble these days, WE LIVE AGAIN and NANA being the only two titles that are basically easy to find. Thanks to the BFI, at least one more title is preserved. (Arne Andersen, IMDb)
1 nomination
· Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1944: W. Franke Harling