Main Cast: Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Freddie Bartholomew, Basil Rathbone, Maureen O'Sullivan, May Robson
Release Year: 1935
Country: US
Run Time: 85 minutes
Plot
This second filmization of Leo Tolstoy's novel is widely regarded as the best version. Greta Garbo plays the title character, the sheltered wife of Czarist official Rathbone. Intending to dissuade Rathbone's brother (Reginald Owen) from a life of debauchery, Garbo is sidetracked by her own fascination with dashing military officer Fredric March. This indiscreet liaison ruins Garbo's marriage and position in 19th century Russian society; she is even prohibited from seeing her own son (Freddie Bartholomew). In keeping with the censorial strictures of 1935 Hollywood, Anna Karenina is extremely careful in the staging of its final suicide sequence, allowing the audience to determine for itself whether or not Garbo's desperate act of throwing herself under wheels of a train is intentional. Outside of the expected superb performances of Garbo and March, the film's most fascinating characterization is offered by Basil Rathbone, whose cold cruelty in banishing his wife is shown to be the by-product of his own broken heart (though Rathbone never allows himself to descend into cheap sentiment). The first film version of Anna Karenina was the 1927 silent feature Love, also starring Garbo, which substituted an imbecilic happy ending for Tolstoy's bleak denouement (there would be an acceptable third version in 1948, starring Vivien Leigh. The 1935 Anna Karenina is arguably the finest accomplishment of the felicitous 1930s alliance between star Greta Garbo, director Clarence Brown and cinematographer William Daniels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The 1935 adaptation of Anna Karenina is a must-see for lovers of great cinematic romance films, as well as for devotees of Greta Garbo, two groups which often overlap anyway. It's even a good version for Tolstoy purists to watch; granted, liberties are taken with the original story (some for "Hollywood" reasons, others simply having to do with bringing a lengthy, complex novel to the screen at a reasonable running time), but the spirit is intact. Director Clarence Brown does a lovely job, from the first breathtaking banquet sequence to the final unforgettable train station segment. He captures the passion and the fire of the characters, as well as the restrictive atmosphere of the society against which they are rebelling and which ultimately destroys them. Most importantly, he captures Garbo at the height of her mystical loveliness, giving new meaning to the word "luminous." Garbo is positively unearthly in Karenina, a creature simply not of this world. And her performance is exquisite, a perfectly realized portrait that is simple yet glorious. As her paramour, Fredric March is accomplished and ardent, and there is definitely a spark between him and Garbo. Even better than March is Basil Rathbone, whose cold hearted husband is an incisive examination of a master manipulator. The only weak note is sounded by Freddie Bartholomew, who overacts the part of the son from whom Anna is torn. Blessed with gorgeous photography, sets and costumes, Karenina is a stunner all around. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Chester Hale - Choreography, Marguerite Wallmann - Choreography, Clarence Brown - Director, Robert J. Kearn - Editor, Herbert Stothart - Composer (Music Score), William H. Daniels - Cinematographer, David O. Selznick - Producer, S.N. Behrmann - Screenwriter, Clemence Dane - Screenwriter, Salka Viertel - Screenwriter, Leo Tolstoy - Book Author
^Brown, Gene (1995). Movie Time: A Chronology of Hollywood and the Movie Industry from its Beginnings to the Present. New York: MacMillan. p. 124. ISBN0-02-86042906. In New York, the film opened at the Capitol Theatre, the site of many prestigious MGM premieres.
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