We Live Again
Encyclopedia
We Live Again is a 1934 film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy
's 1899 novel Resurrection
(Voskraeseniye), starring Anna Sten
and Frederic March. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
, the screenplay was written by Maxwell Anderson
with contributions from numerous writers, including Preston Sturges
and Thorton Wilder.
Producer Samuel Goldwyn
made the film to showcase Russian actress Anna Sten, his newest discovery. It was Goldwyn who named the film "We Live Again", on the theory that it meant the same thing as "Resurrection" and was easier to understand. The first film adaptation
of the Tolstoy novel was made in 1909 by D.W. Griffith, and ran 10 minutes. Numerous other film versions have been made since then.
), a servant to his aunts. After they spend the night together in the greenhouse, Dmitri leaves the next morning, outraging Katusha by not leaving a note for her, only money. When she becomes pregnant, she is fired, and when the baby is born, it dies and is buried unbaptized. Katusha then goes to Moscow, where she falls into a life of prostitution, poverty and degradation.
Dmitri, now engaged to Missy (Jane Baxter
), the daughter of the wealthy judge, Prince Kortchagin (C. Aubrey Smith), is called for jury duty in Kotchagin's court for a murder trial. The case is about a merchant who has been killed, and Dmitri is astonished to see that Katusha is one of the defendants. The jury finds that she is guilty of "giving the powder to the merchant Smerkov without intent to rob", but because they neglected to say without intent to kill, even though the jury intended to free her, the judge sentences her to five years hard labor in Siberia.
Feeling guilty about abandoning Katusha years before, and wanting to redeem her and himself as well, the once-callous nobleman attempts to get her released from prison. He fails in his efforts, so he returns to the prison to ask Katusha to marry him. When he doesn't show up on the day the prisoners are to be transported, Katusha gives up hope, but then he appears on the border of Siberia where the prisoners are being processed: he has divided his land among his servants and wants to "live again" with her forgiveness, help and love.
Cast notes:
wrote to Will H. Hays
: "Though dealing with a sex affair and its attendant consequences, the story has been handled with such fine emphasis on the moral values of repentance and retribution, as to emerge with a definite spiritual quality. We feel that this picture could, in fact, serve as a model for the proper treatment of the Alement of illicit sex in pictures."
The film was in production from 12 June to 2 August 1934. The New York opening took place during the week of 1 November of that year, with the general American release on 16 November.
This was the third film version of Resurrection in seven years. It had been made as a silent film, under its original title, in 1927, and again under its original title, as an early talkie starring John Boles
in 1931. The story has not been made into a theatrical film version in English since We Live Again.
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's 1899 novel Resurrection
Resurrection (novel)
Resurrection , first published in 1899, was the last novel written by Leo Tolstoy. The book is the last of his major long fiction works published in his lifetime . Tolstoy intended the novel as an exposition of injustice of man-made laws and the hypocrisy of institutionalized church...
(Voskraeseniye), starring Anna Sten
Anna Sten
Anna Sten was a Ukrainian-born Russian silent film actress and later a Hollywood film star. She began her career in stage plays and films in Russia before travelling to Germany, where she starred in several films...
and Frederic March. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
Rouben Mamoulian
Rouben Mamoulian was an Armenian-American film and theatre director.-Biography:Born in Tbilisi, Georgia to an Armenian family, Rouben relocated to England and started directing plays in London in 1922...
, the screenplay was written by Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
with contributions from numerous writers, including Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
and Thorton Wilder.
Producer Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
made the film to showcase Russian actress Anna Sten, his newest discovery. It was Goldwyn who named the film "We Live Again", on the theory that it meant the same thing as "Resurrection" and was easier to understand. The first film adaptation
Resurrection (1909 film)
Resurrection is a 1909 silent short film made by Biograph Studios. It is based on the Leo Tolstoy novel Resurrection. Adapted for the screen by Frank E. Woods, it was directed by D. W. Griffith and starred several pioneering legends of American cinema such as Arthur V. Johnson, Florence Lawrence,...
of the Tolstoy novel was made in 1909 by D.W. Griffith, and ran 10 minutes. Numerous other film versions have been made since then.
Plot
Russian Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov (Frederic March) seduces innocent young Katusha Maslova (Anna StenAnna Sten
Anna Sten was a Ukrainian-born Russian silent film actress and later a Hollywood film star. She began her career in stage plays and films in Russia before travelling to Germany, where she starred in several films...
), a servant to his aunts. After they spend the night together in the greenhouse, Dmitri leaves the next morning, outraging Katusha by not leaving a note for her, only money. When she becomes pregnant, she is fired, and when the baby is born, it dies and is buried unbaptized. Katusha then goes to Moscow, where she falls into a life of prostitution, poverty and degradation.
Dmitri, now engaged to Missy (Jane Baxter
Jane Baxter
Jane Baxter was a British actress. Her stage career spanned half a century, and she appeared in a number of films and in television.-Early life:...
), the daughter of the wealthy judge, Prince Kortchagin (C. Aubrey Smith), is called for jury duty in Kotchagin's court for a murder trial. The case is about a merchant who has been killed, and Dmitri is astonished to see that Katusha is one of the defendants. The jury finds that she is guilty of "giving the powder to the merchant Smerkov without intent to rob", but because they neglected to say without intent to kill, even though the jury intended to free her, the judge sentences her to five years hard labor in Siberia.
Feeling guilty about abandoning Katusha years before, and wanting to redeem her and himself as well, the once-callous nobleman attempts to get her released from prison. He fails in his efforts, so he returns to the prison to ask Katusha to marry him. When he doesn't show up on the day the prisoners are to be transported, Katusha gives up hope, but then he appears on the border of Siberia where the prisoners are being processed: he has divided his land among his servants and wants to "live again" with her forgiveness, help and love.
Cast
- Anna StenAnna StenAnna Sten was a Ukrainian-born Russian silent film actress and later a Hollywood film star. She began her career in stage plays and films in Russia before travelling to Germany, where she starred in several films...
as Katusha Maslova - Fredric MarchFredric MarchFredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
as Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov - Jane BaxterJane BaxterJane Baxter was a British actress. Her stage career spanned half a century, and she appeared in a number of films and in television.-Early life:...
as Missy Kortchagin - C. Aubrey Smith as Prince Kortchagin
- Sam JaffeSam Jaffe (actor)Sam Jaffe was an American actor, teacher, musician and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Asphalt Jungle and appeared in other classic films such as Ben-Hur and The Day the Earth Stood Still...
as Gregory Simonson - Ethel GriffiesEthel GriffiesEthel Griffies was an English actress of stage, screen, and television....
as Aunt Marie - Gwendolyn Logan as Aunt Sophia
- Jessie RalphJessie RalphJessie Ralph was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic motion pictures....
as Matrona Pavlovna - Leonid KinskeyLeonid KinskeyLeonid Kinskey was a Russian-born movie and television actor who enjoyed a long career. Kinskey is best known for his role as Sascha in the film Casablanca ....
as Simon Kartinkin - Dale FullerDale FullerDale Fuller has worked at a senior level in various software companies and is currently Chairman of the board at Webgistix Corporation.- Biography :...
as Botchkova - Morgan WallaceMorgan WallaceMorgan Wallace , was an American actor. He appeared in 28 films between 1914 and 1946, including It's a Gift and My Little Chickadee starring W.C. Fields and Mae West....
as The Colonel - Crauford Kent as Schonbock
- Fritzi RidgewayFritzi RidgewayFritzi Ridgeway was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 63 films between 1916 and 1934...
as The Redhead
Cast notes:
- Samuel GoldwynSamuel GoldwynSamuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
had introduced Anna Sten, who he hoped would become the "new 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...
", earlier in 1934 in the film Nana, then showcased her in this film, and tried again in 1935 with The Wedding NightThe Wedding NightThe Wedding Night is a 1935 American romantic drama film directed by King Vidor, and starring Gary Cooper, Anna Sten, and Ralph Bellamy. Vidor won the Best Director Award at the Venice Film Festival.-Plot:...
. None of the three films was a box office success, and Goldwyn released "The Passionate Peasant" from her contract. - This was the first Hollywood film for English actress Jane BaxterJane BaxterJane Baxter was a British actress. Her stage career spanned half a century, and she appeared in a number of films and in television.-Early life:...
.
Production
Unlike many films made in the 1930s, We Live Again, which had the working title of "Resurrection", met with the approval of the censors at the Hays Office. Joseph BreenJoseph Breen
Joseph Breen is an American soap opera actor.He played contract parts on both Guiding Light and Loving before being offered his most front-burner role to date: that of Lisa’s long-lost son, Scott Eldridge, on As the World Turns...
wrote to Will H. Hays
Will H. Hays
William Harrison Hays, Sr. , was the namesake of the Hays Code for censorship of American films, chairman of the Republican National Committee and U.S. Postmaster General from 1921 to 1922....
: "Though dealing with a sex affair and its attendant consequences, the story has been handled with such fine emphasis on the moral values of repentance and retribution, as to emerge with a definite spiritual quality. We feel that this picture could, in fact, serve as a model for the proper treatment of the Alement of illicit sex in pictures."
The film was in production from 12 June to 2 August 1934. The New York opening took place during the week of 1 November of that year, with the general American release on 16 November.
This was the third film version of Resurrection in seven years. It had been made as a silent film, under its original title, in 1927, and again under its original title, as an early talkie starring John Boles
John Boles
John Boles may refer to:*John Boles , baseball executive*John Boles , American actor*John Boles , American sports shooter*John Patrick Boles , American Roman Catholic bishop...
in 1931. The story has not been made into a theatrical film version in English since We Live Again.