Red Experts Behind the Silver Screen: The Role of Scientific Consultants in Soviet Film Production During the Late-Stalinist Era

Tom McLenachan (UCL SSEES)

Abstract: Scientific consultants are highly liminal figures in the film industry. Their contribution is often ambiguous, overlooked, or, as was the case in the Soviet Union, censored under the directive of the highest authority.

Although marginalized, their expertise can be vital to film production, however their role has hitherto been unexplored in the context of Russia and the Soviet Union. Indeed, in order to produce scientifically and historically accurate content, Soviet filmmakers commonly enlisted the help of leading academics and institutions. This represented a unique interaction between the artistic and scientific intelligentsia in the Soviet Union, whose cross-cultural collaboration facilitated new creative modes of popularizing science among proletarian audiences, yet occasionally led to profound misunderstandings and political controversies. In several instances, Stalinist ideologues oversaw the appointment of consultants in order to select Party affiliates or recognized experts whose views were broadly consistent with the Soviet philosophy of science. Conversely, by occupying an essential role in the State’s key channel of propaganda, scientists viewed film consultancy as an opportunity to shape their professional identity within Soviet culture and wield influence over contemporary debates in the sciences. Drawing on original archival research, this paper explores the production history of a group of seven post-war biographical films about scientists, which were allocated extremely high-profile academic advisors from various branches of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Analysis will focus on the tumultuous consultancy process underlying Vsevolod Pudovkin’s Zhukovskii (1950), about the eponymous Russian aeronautical engineer (1847-1921). It will reveal the circumstances by which the authorities at Mosfilˊm were reprimanded by the Stalinist leadership after the production team failed repeatedly to represent the scientist according to ideological strictures. This will lead to a broader discussion about the relationship between ideology, science, and the arts in the Soviet Union.

Bio: Tom McLenachan is a fourth-year research student at UCL SSEES working under the supervision of Dr Philip Cavendish on a thesis that explores the representation of the scientist in Soviet film (1947-1951). His article ‘Truth is Stranger than Science Fiction: The Quest for Knowledge in Andrei Tarkovskii’s Soliaris and Stalker’ was published in Slovo, to which he also contributes film reviews and editorial advice.

A seminar hosted by the UCL SSEES Russian Cinema Research Group.
Convenors: Dr Phil Cavendish and Dr Rachel Morley