The Deserter (Russian: Дезертир, Dezertir) is a 1933 Soviet drama film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin. It was his first sound picture.
Contents
Plot
Karl Renn, a Hamburg shipyard worker, is a member of the Communist Party of Germany and is commissioned by the Soviet Union to organize a general strike and exert pressure on employers. When the strike comes, several fights take place with the police. After a month of the strike, many workers are so exhausted that they become strikebreakers. TAn armed conflict breaks out, and even Karl's wife takes part in it; but he stays at home because of his cowardice. Nevertheless, as a delegate of the Party, he is sent together with four comrades to a meeting in the Soviet Union. He stays there, works in a blast furnace and is enthusiastic about the communist system. After a few weeks, he receives news that his Party Chief in Hamburg has been slain. He then travels back to Germany to continue the struggle of the workers.
Cast
Boris Livanov – Karl Renn
Vasily Kovrigin – Ludwig Zelle
Aleksandr Chistyakov – Fritz Müller
Tamara Makarova – Greta Zelle
Semyon Svashenko – Bruno
Dmitry Konsovsky – Strauss
Yudif Glizer – Marcella Zelle
Sergey Martinson – Passerby
Maksim Shtraukh – First bonze
Sergei Gerasimov – Second bonze
Sergey Komarov – Worker
Vladimir Uralsky – Cell secretary
Reception
Grigori Roshal praised the stylistic aspects of the film; "The pattern of shots attains such vividness, one shot flowing into another, becoming fused one with the other, that ordinary shots create an extraordinary impression."
The New York Times gave a review which stated that "Pudovkin again demonstrates his ability to hold screen audiences, but be could have reduced the running time of "Deserter" by about fifteen minutes without lessening its value."
Graham Greene's review for The Spectator described it as "a bad film with some superb moments", nevertheless he also wrote; "But the film should be seen: there are moments magnificent as well as naive..."
Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film three and a half out of four stars, praising the film's visuals, and experimental use of sound, calling it "an essential visual and aural experience."