The North Star

Made in answer to President Roosevelt’s call for Hollywood to pay tribute to the Soviet wartime allies, Lewis Milestone’s film, scripted by Lillian Hellman, tells of the exploits of a Ukrainian farming collective overrun by the Nazi invasion. A group of young people, including Marina Pavlova and Damian Simonov (Farley Granger), are on a walking holiday and separated from the farming village but, led by Old Karp, they manage to smuggle a wagon-load of guns into the occupied village and lead the uprising against the Nazis, led by Col Harden. The film was nominated for five Oscars, but its makers were called before the 1950s McCarthy hearings, and, at the height of the Cold War, a version shorn of 22 minutes of pro-Soviet references was released as Armored Attack!, During World War II, courageous Soviet villagers, led by the local doctor, take on the might of the invading German army. The picture was made in response to Roosevelt’s call for the American film industry to show the courage of the Russian allies against the Nazi threat., This film was nominated in six categories of the Academy Awards including cinematography, decoration and music scoring. A Russian village defends itself against the Nazi onslaught. The film includes dramatic battle scenes and excellent performances., A Russian farming collective endures Nazi atrocities when Germany occupies their village in 1941. When the local children are subjected to involuntary blood donations and medical experiments, resistance begins to grow., This WW II drama pays tribute to the courage of the Russian peasants who fought valiantly against Nazi invaders in 1941. The film features a script written by distinguished playwright Lillian Hellman and includes some excellent battle scenes. It is also known as Armored Attack.