Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
Encyclopedia
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (Also titled Anastasia: The Story of Anna) is a 1986 TV movie, starring Amy Irving
, Olivia de Havilland
and Jan Niklas
. The film was loosely based on the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
and the novel The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. It was Christian Bale
's first film and Rex Harrison
's last film. It was originally broadcast in two parts.
, who believes that she is Anastasia Romanov, daughter of Nicholas II of Russia
. Anna first tells her story in the 1920s when she is an inmate in a Berlin
asylum. Her story of escape from the Bolsheviks who killed the rest of her family in 1918 seems so vivid that many Russian expatriates are willing to believe her. She slowly gains more trust, but the Romanov family is very resistant to believing her tale and publicly denounces her as an impostor. The movie culminates with Anna deciding to sue the Romanovs to force them to recognize her as Anastasia, but never reveals if Anna really is Anastasia.
----
Amy Irving
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
, Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
and Jan Niklas
Jan Niklas
Jan Niklas is a German actor. He is best known for playing in TV films such as Peter The Great, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna and Anne Frank: The Whole Story. He also played in the Hungarian film Colonel Redl which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-Early life:Jan...
. The film was loosely based on the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna....
and the novel The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. It was Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
's first film and Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
's last film. It was originally broadcast in two parts.
Plot
The film revolves around Anna AndersonAnna Anderson
Anna Anderson was the best known of several impostors who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia...
, who believes that she is Anastasia Romanov, daughter of Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
. Anna first tells her story in the 1920s when she is an inmate in a Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
asylum. Her story of escape from the Bolsheviks who killed the rest of her family in 1918 seems so vivid that many Russian expatriates are willing to believe her. She slowly gains more trust, but the Romanov family is very resistant to believing her tale and publicly denounces her as an impostor. The movie culminates with Anna deciding to sue the Romanovs to force them to recognize her as Anastasia, but never reveals if Anna really is Anastasia.
Cast
- Amy IrvingAmy IrvingAmy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
as Anna AndersonAnna AndersonAnna Anderson was the best known of several impostors who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia... - Olivia de HavillandOlivia de HavillandOlivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
as Dowager Empress Maria - Jan NiklasJan NiklasJan Niklas is a German actor. He is best known for playing in TV films such as Peter The Great, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna and Anne Frank: The Whole Story. He also played in the Hungarian film Colonel Redl which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-Early life:Jan...
as PrincePrincePrince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
ErichGleb BotkinGleb Evgenievich Botkin was the son of Dr. Eugene Botkin, the court physician who was murdered at Ekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks with Tsar Nicholas II and his family on July 17, 1918.... - Nicolas Surovy as Serge MarkovPierre GilliardPierre Gilliard was a Swiss academic, who was French language tutor to the five children of Tsar Nicholas II from 1905 to 1918. Years after the Imperial Family was assassinated by the Bolsheviks in July 1918, Gilliard wrote a book Thirteen Years at the Russian Court, about his time with the family...
- Susan LucciSusan LucciSusan Victoria Lucci is an American actress and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the daytime drama All My Children. The character is considered an icon, and Lucci has been called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with New York Times and Los Angeles Times citing her as the...
as Darya Romanoff - Elke SommerElke SommerElke Sommer , born Baroness Elke Schletz, is a German actress, entertainer and artist.-Career:Sommer was born in Berlin to a Lutheran minister and his wife...
as Isabel Von HohenstauffenSophie BuxhoevedenBaroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, also known as Sophia Karlovna Buxhoeveden , was a lady in waiting to Tsarina Alexandra of Russia. She was the author of three memoirs about the imperial family and about her own escape from Russia... - Edward FoxEdward Fox (actor)Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
as Dr. Hauser - Claire BloomClaire BloomClaire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
as CzarinaTsaritsaTsaritsa , formerly spelled czaritsa , is the title of a female autocratic ruler of Bulgaria or Russia, or the title of a tsar's wife....
Alexandra - Omar SharifOmar SharifOmar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
as Czar Nicholas IINicholas II of RussiaNicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until... - Rex HarrisonRex HarrisonSir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
as Grand Duke Cyril Romanov
----
- Jennifer Dundas as Grand Duchess Anastasia
- Christian BaleChristian BaleChristian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
as Tsarevich Alexei - Andrea Bretterbauer as Sonya Markov
- Sydney BromleySydney BromleySydney Bromley was an English actor. He appeared in more than sixty films and television programmes. On stage, he appeared in St. Joan, by George Bernard Shaw, in 1924...
as Herbert - Arnold Diamond as Dr. Markov
- Carol Gillies as Sasha
- Julian GloverJulian GloverJulian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
as Colonel Kobylinski - Rachel GurneyRachel GurneyRachel Gurney was an English actress. She began her career in the theatre towards the end of World War II and then expanded into television and film in the 1950s. She remained active mostly in television and theatre work through the early 1990s...
as Grand Duchess Victoria - Betty MarsdenBetty MarsdenBetty Marsden was an English comedy actress.Originally from Liverpool, she attended the Italia Conti Stage School and ENSA.In the radio series Beyond Our Ken, she played Fanny Haddock, a takeoff of Fanny Cradock...
as Princess Troubetskaya - Tim McInnernyTim McInnernyTim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth...
as Yakovlev
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Person | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Artios | Best Casting for TV Miniseries' | Lynn Kressel | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) | Laurence Rosenthal Laurence Rosenthal Laurence Rosenthal is an American composer, arranger, and conductor for theater, television, and films.Born in Detroit, Michigan, Rosenthal attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studied piano and composition... |
Won | |
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special | Jane Robinson Jane Robinson Jane Robinson is an Australian rower.- External links :* at sports-reference.com... (costume designer) |
Won | |
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Miniseries | Michael Lepiner Kenneth Kaufman Graham Cottle Marvin J. Chomsky Marvin J. Chomsky Marvin J. Chomsky is an American television and film director. He has also worked as a producer. He is a cousin of academic Noam Chomsky.... |
Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special | Olivia de Havilland Olivia de Havilland Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland... |
Nominated | |
| Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | Olivia de Havilland Olivia de Havilland Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland... |
Won | |
| Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | Jan Niklas Jan Niklas Jan Niklas is a German actor. He is best known for playing in TV films such as Peter The Great, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna and Anne Frank: The Whole Story. He also played in the Hungarian film Colonel Redl which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-Early life:Jan... |
Won | |
| Golden Globe | Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | Amy Irving Amy Irving Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award... |
Nominated | |