Main Cast: Greta Garbo, George F. Marion, Marie Dressler, Charles Bickford
Release Year: 1930
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Accompanied by one of the most successful advertising campaigns in Hollywood history, Greta Garbo made her "talking picture" debut in this carefully chosen vehicle, the second screen version of Eugene O'Neill's 1922 play about the Minnesota-raised Swedish girl who desperately attempts to keep her unsavory past from her long-lost father, Kris (George F. Marion). But when she falls for a charming Irish sailor, Matt Burke (Charles Bickford), Anna can keep her secret no longer. Learning that the girl used to be a prostitute, Matt is at first repulsed, but quickly realizes that he cannot live without her. Working overtime, Garbo filmed both Swedish and German versions under the direction of Belgian Jacques Feyder. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Review
It is all too easy at this late stage to scoff at the presumed staginess of Anna Christie or of Greta Garbo's much-imitated opening line of "Gimme a vhisky, ginger ale on the side." In reality, however, the drama actually holds up fine in comparison with most talkies from 1930 and William Daniels' camera is surprisingly fluid. George F. Marion, who originated the role of Chris on Broadway back in 1922, makes Anna's old seadog of a father much more than a vaudeville turn and Marie Dressler deservedly won recognition for her downtrodden old sod of a waterfront floozy. As for Garbo herself, she makes Eugene O'Neill's heroine unforgettably her own. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
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!"[1] 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.[2]
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.
