The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks

Lev Kuleshov, Goskino, 1924, with the workshop. Mr. West, an American YMCA man, arrives in Moscow clutching a picture of wild Bolsheviks; his cowboy bodyguard Jeddy is kidnapped by a con gang; the real militia finally give him a tour. Porokhovshchikov is West; Alexandra Khokhlova, all elbows, is the decoy countess. Kuleshov is testing montage and American genre grammar at once. Gosfilmofond and BFI both circulate it as a founding Soviet comedy, the joke being the postcard he brought.