Anna Christie (1931 film)
Encyclopedia
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
.
This production premiered in Köln
on December 2, 1930. Like its sister version, it was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. The German version starred Garbo, Theo Shall, Hans Junkermann, and Salka Viertel
. This version was adapted by Frances Marion
and the dialogue written in German by Walter Hasenclever
and Frank Reicher
. It was directed by Jacques Feyder
.
This version was shot after with the English-language version, using the same cinematographer, sets and costumes, but a different crew. Garbo was the only actress in both versions and noticeably differs in her appearance in the two. According to the 2005 DVD release of the film—which included both the English and German versions—Garbo much preferred the German version.
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...
play of the same title
Anna Christie
Anna Christie is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his work.-Plot summary:...
and filmed following the release of the English version
Anna Christie (1930 film)
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...
released earlier the same year. Both versions feature leading actress 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...
.
This production premiered in Köln
KOLN
KOLN, digital channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on digital channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials...
on December 2, 1930. Like its sister version, it was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. The German version starred Garbo, Theo Shall, Hans Junkermann, 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...
. This version 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:...
and the dialogue written in German by Walter Hasenclever
Walter Hasenclever
Walter Hasenclever was a German Expressionist poet and playwright.-Biography:...
and Frank Reicher
Frank Reicher
Frank Reicher , was a German-born American stage and film actor, director and producer.-Early life:Frank Reicher was born in Munich, Germany, the son of actor Emanuel Reicher and Hedwig Kindermann, a popular German prima donna who was a daughter of the famous baritone August Kindermann...
. It was directed by Jacques Feyder
Jacques Feyder
Jacques Feyder was a Belgian actor, screenwriter and film director who worked principally in France, but also in the USA, Britain and Germany. He was a leading director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 1930s he became associated with the style of poetic realism in French cinema...
.
This version was shot after with the English-language version, using the same cinematographer, sets and costumes, but a different crew. Garbo was the only actress in both versions and noticeably differs in her appearance in the two. According to the 2005 DVD release of the film—which included both the English and German versions—Garbo much preferred the German version.
Cast (in credits order)
- 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 - Theo Shall as Matt Burke
- Hans JunkermannHans Junkermann (actor)-Selected filmography:* Anna Christie * Johann Strauss * The Countess of Monte-Christo * Wedding at Lake Wolfgang * Bismarck * Bismarck's Dismissal...
as Chris Christofferson - Salka ViertelSalka ViertelSalka 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...
as Marthy Owens