USSR, 1942, b/w, 56 min.
Director:
DoP – V. Dobronitsky, S. Semyonov, F. Provorov
Premiered on November 6, 1942, the 25th anniversary of the October Revilution, this film brongs together some of the most beloved Soviet artists of the era: Lidia Ruslanova, Mikhail Tsaryov, Ivan Kozlovsky, Maksim Mikhailov, Olga Lepeshinskaya, Klavdiya Shulzhenko, Igor Ilyinsky, the clown Karandash (Mikhail Rumyantsev), Leonid Utyosov, Nina Yemelyanova, Mikhail Pugovkin, and the Red Banner Song and Dance Ensemble led by Alexander Alexandrov.
Structured as a "film within a film", the story unfolds in a frontline dugout, where a projectionist (played by Arkady Raikin) screens the concert for soldiers, announcing the performers and commenting on the acts.
Shot on tape and distributed across the frontlines with portable projectors, A Concert for the Frontline was not just entertainment but a mission: to lift morale and bring the voice of the homeland to those fighting on the frontlines.
