An absolute waste of money

Absolutely brilliant

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

A three part Russian serial, running a little over four hours. It's a pretty big time commitment, but this series is darn entertaining. It's a sometimes uneasy combination of Soviet propaganda and American adventure, with the American adventure kind of winning out in the end. The film starts off more on the propaganda side, with three American reporters (Barnet himself, Vladimir Fogel, who starred in many famous films of the era including The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West, By the Law, Chess Fever, The End of St. Petersberg, and Igor Ilyinsky, who starred in Aelita: Queen of Mars) covering a workers' strike. As corporate lackeys, they only care about sensationalism, and the three of them fall for the factory's own Norma Rae, Miss Vivian Mend (Natalya Glan). The propaganda aspects start to fade into more Feuillade-inspired crime conspiracy territory, with villain Chiche (Sergey Komarov) using corporate funds to create a biological weapon he plans to use against the Soviet Union. The film also has some elements of German expressionism, with direct references to Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari sprinkled in. Over the course of the serial, the three reporters and Miss Mend (who, truth be told, is a pretty passive heroine) follow Chiche to Russia to stop his plot. This film was not well regarded by Soviet critics of the day - they instantly noted that the film's ideologies were often eclipsed by its love for adventure - but audiences loved it, and it was one of the more popular films among general audiences at the time. It's a bit hard to follow at times, but it's worth the time.

This is quite a find. I'm watching this serial on TCM right now. A Soviet melodrama (with humour) based on a Russian pulp novel heroine modeled on "The Perils of Pauline" is the pretext for a satire of American institutions (wicked capitalists, anti-Soviet hatred, rampant racism) while never failing to entertain. Its central premise is a plot by rich American fanatics to poison the whole Russian population with bacterial warfare triggered by radio antennas. Its main protagonists are a resourceful typist and three reporters alternately channeling The Three Stooges and The Three Musketeers.While referencing France's "Judex" and the much more somber Fritz Lang spy thrillers of the same era, the film keeps a light tone thanks to actors who are talented, easy on the eyes and physically fit, a necessary requirement for the many action scenes.The many complex and involving story-telling tricks and subtleties are what will keep you riveted to the screen, however. These characters look and feel like real people you could actually care about. Many of the incidents in this serial would find their way in the comic-book "Adventures of Tintin" later on.It's interesting to note that one of the co-directors, Fedor Ozep, went on to make films in France ("La Dame de Pique", 1937) and that Quebec's burgeoning cinema of the forties owes him two important early films ("Le Père Chopin" and "La Citadelle").The depiction of an "imagined America" by a foreign filmmaker is very rare in the history of cinema, although Americans never had any compunction about slapping together their recreation of other countries in their own image on film.One of the only other parallels I can think of is Henri Verneuil's 1953 comedy "L'Ennemi public numéro un"/"The Most Wanted man", starring Fernandel as a timid Macy's product demonstrator who gets mistaken for a notorious criminal. It was a satire of American gangster films as perceived by the French audience who had a love-hate relationship with them.

Seen this little gem on TCM a couple weeks ago, wow,, first off this is quite long run time over 4 hours without commercial. Natalya Glan wow she is pure beauty,, and sexy as well, this takes place during the Bolshevik Revolution,, a man and his cohorts are trying to wipe Russia off the face of the earth with the ampules that are filled with some kind of poison, they are attached to antennas spread across the city and once the signal is given,, instant annihilation,, but in their way are three intrepid, clumsy, and yet hilarious reporters, it seems weird how this story seems to just fall into their lap, dumb luck i guess,, time is of the essence and they really don't have time to tell Interpol, or say the police, so these brave reporters must do it all by themselves,, this is a very good silent picture, as i have seen more than a few, this is the first foreign one however that i have seen, and i think that TCM is on the right path here, i would like them to make a whole entire day once a month of nothing but silent films.. excellent film with great characters,, and humor also.

Proving again that restoration miracles still happen, Miss Mend burst into our consciousness in late 2009 when its DVD release was announced by Flicker Alley, followed shortly thereafter by its world television premiere on Turner Classic Movies. Completely unknown to western audiences, Miss Mend was, we are told, a huge popular hit in the Soviet Union, where it was shown as a three-part serial inspired by the adventures of America's Pearl White. Remarkably, the result is a film bursting with imagination and energy (thanks, Yanks!), but also clearly in debt to the technical proficiency and inventiveness of Soviet filmmakers of the time. Amongst the highlights are superb miniature work, some hilarious references intended to underscore the film's faux-American locations (Rocfeller and Co., Pasadena Jazz, etc.), and a sexy lead in the shape of Natalya Glan, who shows quiet a bit more leg than we'd likely see from Pearl White. Frankly, Miss Mend leaves American serials in the dust!