The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-05-18
A Thought for Today
Mission to Moscow

The eminent liberal philosopher, John Dewey, and Suzarlnes of the Wisconsin La Follettes have taken the trouble to check the film Mission to Moscow" against former Ambassador Joseph E. Davies book of the same name, on which the picture supposedly is based. Their research confirms what many who have seen the film and read the book felt, with out exerting themselves to verify their suspicious. The picture plays fast and loose with the book. This might be of no particular consequence if the picture were designed as a romance, drama, a musical anything in the pure enter tainment field. Such criticism would be picayunish if the departures were techni- cal - such as often are required to satis- fy screen demands for continuity, cohesion and coherence. But that is not the case All the changes tend toward one obvious objective, which is achieved by them. They make the film what the book was not - in the words of Professor Dewey and Miss La Toilette "totalitarian propa- ganda for mass consumption - propa- ganda which falsifies history through distortion, omission or pure invention of facts" To mention only few of the dis crepancies uncovered by the two critics:
 The film, but not the book, shows Mar shal Tukhachevsky being tried and con- demned as a conspirator. The marshal, in fact, was executed secretly without trial, more than year before the film purports to have him in court. The film shows Ambassador Davies accepting 1n- stantly the guilt of the purge trial victim, though the book records his concern be- cause they were denied the elements Of what Americans consider fair trial. The picture shows Moscow as gay, festive and happy. But the book records "horrify- ing'' terror, with no household but lived in fear of "a nocturnal raid by the secret police" The picture shows Stalin driven to his pact with Hitler by Anglo-Ameri- can appeasement, with no reference to our desperate efforts to conclude de- fensive alliance with Moscow. MT. Davies, back in the United States, is shown tour ing the country, ignoring his poor health, fighting isolationism. The fact is that tho ex-ambassador's swing around the cir cult was made after Pearl Harbor, when the nation already was united in support of the war that had been forced upon us.
 There appears nowhere in the film any mention that it was Communist organiza- tions, under orders from Moscow, which lHCerIereQ III every way PoSSlUle WlIH OIi defense preparations and that Vito-Mar- cantonio consistent Red Fronter, cast one of the few congressional votes against conscription.
 Ridiculously distorted efforts are made, in the film - but not in the book-to create an impression that Russia is our ally against Japan, ignoring the fact that only this year Moscow renewed her non- aggression pact with Tokyo.
 The obvious purpose of the film is to promote American friendship toward Russia by hiding and distorting facts.
 It is essential that the United States and Britain work in close harmony with Russia in this war and in the peace to come. It is not essential that the Ameri- can people be lulled to sleep, making us do all the cooperating while Russia makes the rules.
 Conceding the good intentions of the picture-makers, we think they have done a real disservice to the cause of democracy.