(Rouben Mamoulian, US 1957, 117 min., DCP)
In this musical remake of Ninotchka, Fred Astaire takes on the role of Steve Canfield, an American film producer who wants Russian composer Peter Ilyitch Boroff to score his next film. Three Soviet agents (Peter Lorre, Jules Munshin, and Joseph Buloff) are dispatched to Paris to escort Boroff home, but when Steve charms them, the new comissar of art sends in his secret weapon, Nina “Ninotchka” Yoschenko (Cyd Charisse) to foil the plan. A cold war leads to warm feelings between Steve and Ninotchka, who fall in love despite their diverging goals. The soundtrack features 14 songs from the pen of Cole Porter, including “All of You,” sung by Astaire. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, who accepted an invitation from George Eastman himself in 1923 to become co-director of the American Opera Company and teach at the Eastman School of Music.