Evening star., 1943-04-29
1900 See Premiere
OF Davies Movie,
Mission 10 Moscow
D. G. NotubIes at Review
Of Incidents in Book
On Enjoys Assignment

On Enjoys Assignment
Former Ambassador Joseph E
Davies book, Mission to Moscow .
as translated to screen form by
Warner Bros, was given a world
premiere preview at the Earle The
ater yesterday. Approximately 1000
guests at the afternoon and evening
performances saw the picture under
sponsorship of the National Press
Club.
Guests at the evening show in
cluded members of the cabinet, Su-
preme Court justices, the diplomatic
corps and several hundred members
of the Senate and House. Repre-
sentatives of the foreign press were
also among those invited.
Felix Gotten, president of the
Press Club, in short Introductory
speech, said the purpose of the re-
view was to acquaint the newspaper
profession with this reproduction of
the book which was based upon
State Department records and on
personal incidents.
Davis Offers Prologue.
Before the actual film interpre-
tation begins Ambassador Davies
offers short prologue in which he
says in part: Unity among the
forces fighting Hitler was vital;
nothing as I saw it was more i'm
portant than that the fighting
nations should understand and trust
each other. There was so much
prejudice and misunderstanding of
the Soviet Union in which I once
partly shared that I felt it was my
duty to tell the truth about the
Soviet Union as saw it, for such
value as it might have"
The controversial phases of the
film center around the purge trial,
with such TrotzyiteS as are vocal
considering the Davies treatment
whitewash. On this point Ambas-
sador Davies centends that words
spoken by the accused are those con-
tanned in the official stenographic
record of the trials, which were
checked and found to conform with
what he heard during proceedings.
He comedies that he treated the
trials from the standpoint Of a law
yer, and considered Russian juris-
prudence.
Book Covered Faithfully.
The picture covers rather faith
fully the action as portrayed in the
former Ambassador book. It shows
how he was appointed by President
Roosevelt and commissioned to find
out the truth about Russia. He goes
to Germany before proceeding to
Moscow and is met with derision
when he proposes that all nations
scrap all arms except those which
can be carried on the shoulders.
Later he is shown making his sur
Vey, inspecting industrial plants, oil
fields and at the great purge" trial.
Developments before Munich and
the various steps of appeasement
are pictured. Arriving home Mr..
Davies is shown trying to arouse
America to the immediate danger
and the catastrophe which is brew
ing in Europe. He predicts that
Russia will hold out to the end
against German aggression.
Actors who play the roles of the
principals are: Manart Kippen as
Joseph Stain, Dudley Field Malone
as Winston Churchill, Oscar Homol-
ka as Litvinoff, Walter Huston as
Ambassador Davies and Ann Hard
ing as the Ambassadors wife.
The guests included: The Secre-
tary of Agriculture and Mrs. Claude
r. Wickard, Senator Thomas of
Utah. Senator Hale of Maine. Sena-
tor Maloney of Connecticut, Mrs.
Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Bayard
Swope, Homer S. Cummings, for
mer Attorney General; Charles P.
Taft, Senator Green of Rhode Is
land, Judge and Mrs. Thurman
Arnold, Merle Thorpe, Representa-
tive Randolph of West Virginia and
Mrs. Randolph, Representative
May of Kentucky. Mr.. and Mrs.
Donald Russell, Maj. Gen. James
A. Ulio, Eugene Meyer, Sir
Willnott Lewis, Aubrey Graves,
William Phillip Simms, Col. Sol
Rosenblatt, Arthur Krock. Alexander
Jones, Eric SEVERED, Capt. Gene
Raymond, Capt. Ralph B. Lovett,
q. S. N: Lowell Mellett. George
Creel, Howard Acton, H, r. Bauk-
hage, Marquis w. Childs, Robert
Waightman, John ODonnell, labor
conciliator; Barnett Mover, Hans
Olov. counselor of the Norwegian
Legation; Ruth Finney, Earl God
win, Duncan Aikman, Joseph P.
Tumulty, jr.; Mark Sullivan, Felix
Belair, Jay Franklin. columnist;
Andre Visson. editorial writer; Drew
Pearson, Mr.. and Mrs. Tom Clark
and Charles Enfield, vice president.
Warner Bros.