A musical remake of the 1939 Greta Garbo film Ninotchka, here starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse.
After three bumbling Soviet agents fail in their mission to retrieve a straying Soviet composer from Paris, the beautiful, ultra-serious Ninotchka (Charisse) is sent to complete their mission.
The composer is betraying his Russian classical heritage by writing music for a low brow movie musical.
She starts out condemning the decadent West, but gradually falls under its spell, with the help of Steve Canfield (Astaire), an American movie producer.
Canfield distracts the pretty young Russian with the wonders of Paris, classy nightclubs, and dancing to jazz. In falling for him, her strict heartless personality melts away.
Cyd Charisse’s vocals were dubbed by Carole Richards, who had also sung for her in Brigadoon(1954).
After this film, Fred Astaire effectively retired from musicals, preferring to concentrate on non-musical roles, though he would produce several musical specials for TV in the next few years. Astaire wouldn’t make another musical until 1968.
Steve Canfield
Fred Astaire Ninotchka Yoschenko
Cyd Charisse Peggy Dayton
Janis Paige Brankov
Peter Lorre Vassili Markovitch
George Tobias Babinski
Jules Munshin Ivanov
Joseph Buloff Peter Ilyitch Boroff
Wim Sonneveld
