Farewell, America

Farewell, America
Russian: Прощай, Америка!
Directed by	Aleksandr Dovzhenko
Written by	Aleksandr Dovzhenko
Starring	Liliya Gritsenko Nikolai Gritsenko Grigori Kirillov Janis Osis Lyudmila Shagalova Grigoriy Shpigel
Release date	1951 (1951)
Country	Soviet Union

Farewell, America (Russian: Прощай, Америка!) is a 1951 propagandistic Soviet drama film directed by Aleksandr Dovzhenko.

The film is based on the book by the American journalist Annabelle Bucar "The Truth about American Diplomats".

Plot

The story begins in 1945. Anna Bedford, a young American journalist from a farming family in Pennsylvania, is assigned to work at the U.S. Embassy in the Soviet Union. She arrives in Moscow during the celebrations of the Soviet victory in World War II. While attending the festivities in Red Square, Anna meets Professor Gromov, who invites her to his home. The embassy leadership instructs Anna to use this connection to gather intelligence for the CIA.

A year passes as the postwar period unfolds. A new ambassador, General Walter Scott, arrives at the embassy, bringing a directive that all staff must focus exclusively on intelligence gathering and anti-Soviet activities: "Peace is merely a short interval allowed for preparation for the next war, which will establish the American way of life worldwide."

Anna grows increasingly disillusioned with the embassy's methods. Reports she gathers during her travels to Armenia and Ukraine are distorted to fit propaganda narratives. Amid the lies and suspicion, she finds an ally in Armand Howard, the embassy's information department head, who refuses to compromise the truth. Howard’s integrity leads to his recall to Washington, coinciding with Anna learning of her mother’s death. The two return to the U.S., but Howard faces trial upon arrival. Though acquitted, he is mysteriously murdered in a bar shortly afterward.

Anna is summoned back to Moscow and tasked with writing a fabricated book about oppression in the Soviet Union and falsely claiming Howard’s murder was orchestrated by communists. Instead, Anna defects, causing panic within the embassy. The uncovered footage ends here, but the script reveals that Anna later becomes a Soviet citizen and publishes an exposé about the activities of American diplomats. She finds a new homeland in the USSR, where she can work and live freely. The planned finale would mirror the iconic scene from *Circus*, with Anna marching through Red Square among celebratory crowds during a national holiday.

Cast

• Liliya Gritsenko
• Nikolai Gritsenko
• Grigori Kirillov as Walter Scott, American Ambassador in Moscow
• Janis Osis
• Lyudmila Shagalova
• Grigoriy Shpigel
• Aleksandr Smirnov as Hill, reporter
• Elizaveta Alekseeva as Meri Kuper (uncredited)
• Vera Orlova as Anna Bradford's Mother (uncredited)

External links

• Farewell, America at IMDb