Soviet Military and Hollywood

[DougD]

"Has anyone on this forum ever been asked to consult on these types of movies? "

Yes, I was asked to work on K-19.

About 2 years ( I'm guessing; might have been 18 months or so) before the movie came out I got an e-mail from California from a nice lady. She explained that they were producing a film with Harrison Ford as a "Hunt for Red October" character. They needed large numbers of naval uniforms, in proper sizes.

I of course, being an idiot, ignored the e-mail and sent back a repy saying i did more high end one of a kind uniforms (which is true, but had I known the film was REAL and not someones dream, I could have worked out something) and that she should look somewhere else. One of the worst mistakes I ever made.

Mollo is a nice, if odd, guy. He had made a living off doing film work, and did the great uniforms in the HBO film on the Meeting of top SS guys and party guys in 1942 ( I forget the name of the film; Wanasee conference). I write back and forth with him and trade with him now and then. He just got e-mail, after years of me pestering him.

As for films, some are just jokes, but others make a good attempt. Enemy, Red October, K-19 are all good attempts.

Enemy had some really good copies of officer uniforms, though the few M1940 generals uniforms were pretty shoddy.

SC is correct about Stalin; the scene is of Stalin in a famous 1944 portrait wearing his M1943 uniform. Its behind Khrushev when he berates the commissar staff on the Mamayev Kurgan in the early part of the film.

Alot of Russian films from the 1960's or so were allowed to use originals for some scenes. I used to get some nice uniforms with Mosfilm and Lenfilm stamps inside. Some of these were altered and thus lost lots of value. Some were ok though. Mollo got a great NKGB Generals parade tunic from Mosfilm back in 1992. Took me 4 years of begging and planning to trade him away from it! Now those stocks are pretty much gone. They had some great German stuff too. I have seen some nice Panzer wraparounds with Mosfilm stamps inside. Usually stripped of insignia, they were a bargain back in the early 1990's usually selling for a few hundred dollars to the guys like dealer George Peterson of Va who got there first and raided the film storehouses.

Lots more to say here, but thats enough for now.

DougD

[Dave]

In my opinion, Enemy at the Gates is one of the best eastern-front movies out there. I think it captures the right about of 'slaughter' as was the norm in the early part of the War. Interestingly, the biggest complaint I hear about the movie is that everyone (with the exception of Bob Hoskins, who plays Kruschev) has a British accent! I guess I tend to rationalize that as a lot of the English teachers that I worked with when I lived in Moscow all had British accents- to the point of having a hard time understanding my 'American' accent!

An interesting side-note about The Hunt for Red October is that much of the interior scenes for both the US frigate and both Russian subs were filmed onboard a single US frigate, which I happened to be stationed on later! In fact, in the Executive Officer's cabin, they still had cyrillic signs up! We could never find that darned 'torpedo destruct' button though...

Mosfilm got rid of most of their stocks right before I first showed up in Moscow in 1992. I saw a LOT of uniforms on the market with Mosfilm and Lenfilm stamps. Most of the guys that I met there on the market had numerous uniforms from the Mosfilm stocks, most for dirt cheap. One of the guys was an imperial headgear collector who I befriended.

On a trip to his house, he showed me the stuff he had gotten from Mosfilm, including those really spiffy 18th/19th century brass front plates for the tall 'grenadier' hats, and numerous visor hats from the 1900's. He pulled out a box of hats to show me the condition he got them in from Mosfilm... Esentially, they had taken a box, and it looked like someone had put as many hats in there as it could hold, then stomped on all the hats to crush them down, added more hats, and so on! There were probably 30 hats in a box about 12" x 12" x 18"! He had bought them by the boxload from Mosfilm, and was restoring them all.

Picking through the box, he pulled out a WW2 NKVD officer's visor hat with the visor mostly detached and simply gave it to me! In one of the other threads I posted about getting many medals confiscated going through the Moscow airport. When the customs guys found this hat, they looked at me and laughed! It was pretty beat up, but with a little TLC, I got it looking good and sold it for decent money on e! years ago...

--Dave

[vikingraider1]

Dave,
interesting post and I bet everyone who didn't collect Soviet stuff in 1992 is regretting it now...all them bargains! They are becoming few and far between now unfortuneatly!

One other thing. There is no such thing as a "British" accent. It is either English, Welsh or Scottish as they make up the island of Britian...a common mistake the Americans make but one that being an Englishman I am pedantic about....sorry!

[otlichnik]

I don't know ....

Having been through the midlands, Oxford, Cambridge, the south, Kent, and lots of places in London I don't think there is such thing as an "English" accent - more like 100 different ones.

Shawn

[vikingraider1]

Now you do have a point there Shawn!!

You should try going to Newcastle, they say there that they talk like Scotsmen with their brains knocked out!!!

[HuliganRS]

From the estate of the Late Hollywood Set Decorator/Designer Mickey S. Michaels (multiple Emmy & Oscar Nominee).

Set of 6 Russian medals used as props in the movie The Hunt For Red October.

Glass frame measures almost 15 X 17 inches.

Medals measure about 4 inches long each.

The Hunt For Red October starred: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Richard Jordon and Tim Curry.



For more information on Mr. Michaels please see our Emergency! site listed on my ME page. We have a page on him on the Where Are They Now section.

Credits include: Down Periscope, Crimson Tide, Clear and Present Danger, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Emissary, Star Trek VI: The
Undiscovered Country, Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, The Hunt for Red October, Police Story: The Watch Commander, The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story, Police Story: The Freeway Killings, Psycho III, Raise the Titanic, The Concorde: Airport '79, Battlestar Galactica, Airport '77, Airport 1975 and Airport
Check the IMDB for more information on the list of movies/shows he has done.

All items listed as his were either used as props in movies, were given to cast and crew, photos taken on the set, photos made for that movie, or were research materials used for the movie.

All items can be authenticated as coming from his estate, if requested.

[HuliganRS]

Picture #2

[HuliganRS]

Picture #3

[HuliganRS]

Picture #4

[HuliganRS]

Picture #5 - Last one. I promise