Louis B. Mayer of MGM pushed along the production of COMRADE X, believing it would have great box office appeal since it was a spinoff of NINOTCHKA. But the amusing farce just missed, even though Gable and the sultry Lamarr gave it their all. Gable is an American newsman in Moscow who has
been smuggling out stories embarrassing the regime. Bressart, a porter at Gable's hotel, discovers the newsman's ploy and blackmails him into smuggling Lamarr, the porter's daughter, out of Russia. Bressart tells him that Lamarr is being investigated because she is a pure Communist and that is
suspect in Russia. Gable agrees to smuggle her out but finds his hands full when Lamarr, a streetcar driver, refuses to leave the country; he must pretend to be a Communist and convince her to spread communism in the US. After consulting Sokoloff, her political mentor, Lamarr tells Gable that the
only way they will be able to leave Russia is to marry. In a wild mood, Gable agrees, but the police apprehend the couple. Secret police head Homolka questions them about Comrade X and learns of their marriage. Gable, Bressart, and Lamarr, along with Sokoloff's counterrevolutionary followers, are
condemned to death, but Gable blackmails Sokoloff (Homolka's replacement) with a photo showing him shooting Homolka. Gable, Lamarr, and Bressart then flee the country in a stolen tank, escaping through Russian war games, in a wild chase, as improbable as the entire delightful story.
The Hecht-Lederer script is full of tension, satirical barbs, and lowbrow slapstick, which saved COMRADE X from being just another predictable melodrama. The screenplay was based on a story by Reisch, who was nominated for an Oscar; Reisch had co-scripted NINOTCHKA the year before. (This story
received yet another twist when Hecht, never one to let a tale go fallow, came up with another version of the beautiful Communist lady being converted to capitalistic ways in THE IRON PETTICOAT, 1956.) Gable and Lamarr were teamed in this film instantly after their success in BOOM TOWN but failed
to spark as a love duo. The actor felt that Lamarr (who was making $25,000 a film then) was too cool on screen (and off), while she once caustically remarked that he had no sex appeal, which befuddled every woman in America. Carole Lombard, Gable's wife at the time, was extremely jealous of her
man and visited the COMRADE X set regularly to make sure no hanky-panky took place. It was during this film that Gable developed a superstition; Burberry made a special trenchcoat for him, one of his own design, which he wore in COMRADE X. He considered this his "lucky coat" and wore it for 20
years in almost every film he made. When MGM held its 1969 public auction, the coat was put up for sale and Burberry's flew a representative from London to purchase the coat, but the mission failed. An anonymous buyer outbid everyone, buying Gable's "lucky coat" for $1,250. leave a comment
