Anna Christie (1930 film)
Encyclopedia
Anna Christie is a 1930 MGM Pre-Code drama film
adaptation of the 1922 play by Eugene O'Neill
. It was adapted by Frances Marion
, produced and directed by Clarence Brown
with Paul Bern
and Irving Thalberg
as co-producers. The cinematography was by William H. Daniels
, the art direction by Cedric Gibbons
and the costume design by Adrian
.
The film stars Greta Garbo
, Charles Bickford
, George F. Marion
, and Marie Dressler
.
It was nominated for Academy Awards
for Best Actress
(Greta Garbo), Best Cinematography
and Best Director
. This pre-Code
film is the movie that used the marketing slogan "Garbo Talks!", as it was her first talkie
.
Of all its stars, Garbo was the one that MGM kept out of talking films the longest, to coach her in English and to add to her mystique. Her famous first line is: "Gif me a vhisky, ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby!" In fact, Garbo's English was so good by the time she appeared in this film, she had to add an accent in several retakes
to sound more like the Swedish
Anna.
George F. Marion performed the role of Anna's father in the original Broadway
production and in both the 1923 and 1930 film adaptations.
In early 1931, MGM released a German-language version
, also starring Garbo, with Theo Shall, Hans Junkermann
and Salka Viertel
. (In this version, the famous opening line became "Whisky – aber nicht zu knapp!" ["Whiskey, but not too short"].) The English and German language versions grossed a combined $1,499,000.
In addition to the English and German-language version of this film, a silent version with titles was also made.
nominations:
today describes the film as "dull", with Marie Dressler
providing "the only vitality in an otherwise static and ludicrous" film.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
adaptation of the 1922 play by Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
. It was adapted by Frances Marion
Frances Marion
Frances Marion was an American journalist, author, and screenwriter often cited as the most renowned female screenwriter of the twentieth century alongside June Mathis and Anita Loos.-Career:...
, produced and directed by Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown was an American film director.-Early life:Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to a cotton manufacturer, Brown moved to the South when he was 11. He attended Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, both in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduating from the university at the age of...
with Paul Bern
Paul Bern
Paul Bern was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for MGM.-Early life and career:...
and Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
as co-producers. The cinematography was by William H. Daniels
William H. Daniels
William H. Daniels, A.S.C. was a film cinematographer best known as Greta Garbo's personal lensman. Early in his career he worked regularly with director Erich von Stroheim.-Career:...
, the art direction by Cedric Gibbons
Cedric Gibbons
Austin Cedric Gibbons was an Irish American art director who was one of the most important and influential in the field in the history of American film. He also made a great impact on motion picture theater architecture through the 1930s to 1950s, the period considered the golden-era of theater...
and the costume design by Adrian
Adrian (costume designer)
Adrian Adolph Greenberg , most widely known as Adrian, was an American costume designer whose most famous costumes were for The Wizard of Oz and other Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the 1930s and 1940s. During his career, he designed costumes for over 250 films and his screen credits usually read as...
.
The film stars Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
, George F. Marion
George F. Marion
George F. Marion Sr. was an American stage actor and director, a film actor and director of two silent films. George F. Marion, who was born in San Francisco, California was father of writer George Marion Jr. and he died of a heart attack at the age of 85 years in Carmel, California, USA. Marion...
, and Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler was a Canadian-American actress and Depression-era film star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930-31 in Min and Bill.-Early life and stage career:...
.
It was nominated for Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Greta Garbo), Best Cinematography
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
and Best Director
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
. This pre-Code
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
film is the movie that used the marketing slogan "Garbo Talks!", as it was her first talkie
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
.
Of all its stars, Garbo was the one that MGM kept out of talking films the longest, to coach her in English and to add to her mystique. Her famous first line is: "Gif me a vhisky, ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby!" In fact, Garbo's English was so good by the time she appeared in this film, she had to add an accent in several retakes
Take
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.-Film:In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup"...
to sound more like the Swedish
Swedes
Swedes are a Scandinavian nation and ethnic group native to Sweden, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries.-Etymology:...
Anna.
George F. Marion performed the role of Anna's father in the original Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production and in both the 1923 and 1930 film adaptations.
In early 1931, MGM released a German-language version
Anna Christie (1931 film)
Anna Christie is a 1930 German-language film adapted from the Eugene O'Neill play of the same title and filmed following the release of the English version released earlier the same year. Both versions feature leading actress Greta Garbo....
, also starring Garbo, with Theo Shall, Hans Junkermann
Hans Junkermann (actor)
-Selected filmography:* Anna Christie * Johann Strauss * The Countess of Monte-Christo * Wedding at Lake Wolfgang * Bismarck * Bismarck's Dismissal...
and Salka Viertel
Salka Viertel
Salka Viertel was an actress and screenwriter. The pianist and composer Eduard Steuermann was her brother. Mrs. Viertel was born Salomea Steuermann in Sambor, a city then in the province of Galicia, which was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but today is in western Ukraine.-Career:She...
. (In this version, the famous opening line became "Whisky – aber nicht zu knapp!" ["Whiskey, but not too short"].) The English and German language versions grossed a combined $1,499,000.
In addition to the English and German-language version of this film, a silent version with titles was also made.
Cast
- Greta GarboGreta GarboGreta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
as Anna Christie - Charles BickfordCharles BickfordCharles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
as Matt Burke - George F. MarionGeorge F. MarionGeorge F. Marion Sr. was an American stage actor and director, a film actor and director of two silent films. George F. Marion, who was born in San Francisco, California was father of writer George Marion Jr. and he died of a heart attack at the age of 85 years in Carmel, California, USA. Marion...
as Chris Christofferson - Marie DresslerMarie DresslerMarie Dressler was a Canadian-American actress and Depression-era film star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930-31 in Min and Bill.-Early life and stage career:...
as Marthy Owens - James T. Mack as Johnny the Harp
- Lee PhelpsLee PhelpsLee Phelps was an American film actor. He appeared in over 600 films between 1917 and 1953, mainly in uncredited roles...
as Larry
Academy Award nominations
The film received the following Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominations:
- Best ActressAcademy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
– Greta GarboGreta GarboGreta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable... - Best Director – Clarence BrownClarence BrownClarence Brown was an American film director.-Early life:Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to a cotton manufacturer, Brown moved to the South when he was 11. He attended Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, both in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduating from the university at the age of...
- Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
– William DanielsWilliam H. DanielsWilliam H. Daniels, A.S.C. was a film cinematographer best known as Greta Garbo's personal lensman. Early in his career he worked regularly with director Erich von Stroheim.-Career:...
Modern critical reception
Despite its historic significance as Garbo's first talking film, film historian Richard SchickelRichard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
today describes the film as "dull", with Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler was a Canadian-American actress and Depression-era film star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930-31 in Min and Bill.-Early life and stage career:...
providing "the only vitality in an otherwise static and ludicrous" film.