Another Kind Of Distance: A Time Travel, Twin Peaks, Film, Doom Patrol And Nostalgia Podcast

MGM, 1944 is an odd one. First, MGM's effort to help the war, Song of Russia (directed by Gregory Ratoff), prompts us to ask the question, "What were all of these Communist writers doing working for Louis B. Mayer?" And then, William Dieterle's Kismet, starring Ronald Colman as an amoral magician with misguided plans for his daughter's future, proves to have more to recommend it than just the campy set-piece for which Marlene Dietrich painted her legs gold. Despite the box office failure of Kismet, lavish Technicolor fantasy will have more to do with the future of MGM than Popular Front romance, but in any case, the era of Mickey and Judy and family values is over.    Time Codes: 0h 00m 45s:      SONG OF RUSSIA [dir. Gregory Ratoff] 0h 39m 18s:      KISMET [dir. William Dieterle]   Studio Film Capsules provided by The MGM Story by John Douglas Eames   Additional studio information from: The Hollywood Story by Joel W. Finler                                     +++ * Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous