Bruce Loeb on Piano John Ford's The Iron Horse apart, films about the construction of railroads across arid wastes had not become a sub-genre by the late twenties. Russian montage techniques are here allied with documentary; the film was shot as the trans-Siberian railroad was being built, the increasing tempo of the rapid-cutting adding suspense (possibly manufactured suspense) to the latter portions when it is stated that the line has to be finished by a certain date but might not be. Here's that rarity, a Soviet film that will fascinate film students and delight old-train buffs. --WKE