Passport to Moscow : J.R. and Bobby : “Dallas” brings cowboy hats, mink coats and shady oil deals to Red Square.

The director waved his arms and yelled futilely for quiet on Red Square. Then, cameras rolling, J.R. and Bobby pressed two Soviets for details about a shady international oil deal.

“What is this Amerikanski film about?” loudly asked one passing tourist from the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan who didn’t understand the director’s admonishment in English. Told it was a popular television series about love, lust and money, she nodded knowingly, although she had never heard of the Ewings, Southfork or even Texas.

“Dallas” made its first appearance in Moscow this week to film an episode, and it was a meeting of vastly different cultures and life styles that seemed to leave both sides more than a little confused.

The unself-conscious, Texas-style extravagance that the “Dallas” characters displayed just a few feet from the Kremlin walls and Lenin’s tomb drew stares of awe from many Soviet passers-by.

“We come waltzing in here in our cowboy hats and mink coats and we don’t exactly melt into their society,” acknowledged Patrick Duffy, who plays Bobby Ewing on the long-running CBS series.

Alexander Potapov, a well-known Soviet actor who has a bit part in the “Dallas” episode, had never heard of the show. He made it clear that this encounter had left him none the wiser. “It seems to be about noble and honest people,” he said.

Potapov said he enjoyed appearing in the show, even though he and the Americans shared no common language. “There are legends about Hollywood, so it’s nice to have a chance to experience this,” he said.

The “Dallas” stars stayed in Moscow at the Sovietskaya Hotel, ornately furnished and favored for state guests in V.I. Lenin’s time, but today without elevator or room service.

“We certainly had to get used to doing without having our every creature comfort met,” Duffy said.

The “Dallas” episode, which will air May 12, revolves around an international oil deal the Ewings are about to make. Earlier episodes were filmed in Austria.

Before the brothers sign on the dotted line, a shadowy figure suggests they visit Moscow first. There, they learn something that apparently convinces them to rethink the deal. For further details, executive producer Leonard Katzman said in fine tradition, stay tuned.

Katzman wrote and directed the episode, and filming it in the Soviet Union was his brainchild. “We think it’s a great audience grabber--the Ewings go to Moscow,” he said in an interview.