Mark Bernes. Dark is the Night (1943)

Mark Bernes. Music: Nikita Bogoslovskii. Lyrics: V. Agatov
Description: The 1943 movie Two Soldiers starred Mark Bernes as a bubbly and talkative southern type and Boris Andreev as the strong and silent archetypical Great Russian (a role he repeated in many films). During this battlefield-cum-romance film, Bernes sang “Dark is the Night” in the dugout against the background of his fellow soldiers. The contrast between the dark and dangerous war zone of the steppe and the picture of wifely fidelity at home far away fit perfectly with the melody. This classic song was denounced after war for its escapism and tavern melancholy.