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Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, George F. Marion

It's one of the most highly anticipated entrances in movie history: Greta Garbo slinking into a sleazy waterfront bar and ordering whiskey. Well, "visky." A huge silent star, Garbo was speaking her f...( read more  read more... )irst lines in her first talking picture, Anna Christie, and audiences were breathless with anticipation. As The New York Times put it, "The low enunciation of her initial lines, with a packed theater waiting expectantly to hear her first utterance, came somewhat as a surprise yesterday afternoon in the Capitol, for her delivery is almost masculine." Her sultry tones were nevertheless a hit, and anyway the Swedish accent fit the character.

Anna Christie was adapted by Frances Marion from Eugene O'Neill's play, a piece of gloom about prostitute Anna returning to her seafaring father (George F. Marion) and falling for a sailor (Charles Bickford). The movie's fascination as a Garbo milestone and slice of early-sound Hollywood easily outstrip its actual value as a work of art, for it has not aged especially well. Under the direction of Garbo regular Clarence Brown, the dialogue tends to fall on long, dead pauses and creak with early-sound-era uncertainty. But the print for the DVD release looks very good, and despite her sometimes dodgy approach to English, it's still Garbo--odd, sexy, uncategorizable. The DVD also includes the German-language version, directed by Jacques Feyder, with Garbo and a German cast; the print quality is not as felicitous as the American version but it's an intriguing contrast, and Garbo looks slightly more comfortable in speaking. --Robert Horton

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61% liked it

1,297 ratings

Unrated, 175 min.

Directed by: Clarence Brown

Release Date: January 22, 1930

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DVD Release Date: September 6, 2005

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Stats: 61 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (61)

  • groaningbitch
    October 19, 2007
    groaningbitch
    the first garbo sound flick adapted from eugene o'nell's cynical story about a prostitute. garbo plays low-life women in the burgeoning period of her sound stage such as susan leonix: her rise and fall, later she's got more polished into those roles of tragic divine creatures suc...( read more)h as camille, mata hari, anna karenia, queen christina and the ballerina in grand hotel...etc....anna christie might reflect the ambivalent gender-ambiguity on the real life garbo with her babbling men-hating remarks. "oh! men! all these men! i hate them! " that concides with the mannish side of garbo that manifests severe grittiness. as the one man who captures her heart emerges, she represses her mannishness into oblivion then she transforms into the affectionate ingenune who yearns for love at any cost that is the pattern of my so called "garbo cinema romances" except garbo's breakthrough into sound with her husky idiocyncratic voice and her innovative presence. the movie's aestheticism is mainly attributed to its elaborated dialogues with the craftmanship of master eugene o'nell, tinted with literature catharsis full of human-concerned pathos toward its characters. of course, the proper casting is also one of major factor which adorns the movie. as garbo utters "gif me a visky, ginger ale on the side, and don' be stingy, baby, " anyone would turn around and drawed by this raw magnetic androgynous voice then observe upon her statuesque facial contour with awe.
  • sepio41
    October 28, 2008
    sepio41
    garbo's sound film debut came with the 1930 adaptation of o'neill's play about a swedish prostitute trying to reform her life. garbo would also film an all german version of this property.
  • Ghw12158
    August 4, 2008
    Ghw12158
    its Garbo what more needs to be said
  • MikeKiddo
    July 8, 2008
    MikeKiddo
    Uneventful, completely unlikeable characters and lacks any kind of pace, but I'd watch Garbo in anything so I guess it's OK. Marie Dressler was genius too.
  • MECreviews
    March 21, 2008
    MECreviews
    I did not really like this movie.
  • PinkyMonroe
    November 22, 2007
    PinkyMonroe
    Great Film! Greta is so beautiful in this film
  • blueblackeagil
    June 2, 2007
    blueblackeagil
    German version is better than the English, particularly "Marthy."
  • achnez
    April 26, 2007
    achnez
    Garbo is just WONDERFUL!!! Love it!

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Anna Christie Trivia

  • ***In 1930, What Movie Did Greta Garbo Talk in for the First Time***  Answer »
  • What Greta Garbo movie had the tag line, "Garbo talks!"  Answer »
  • Garbo Talks! publicized Greta Garbo's first talking picture:  Answer »
  • Anna Christie: Give me a whiskey, ginger ale on the side. And don't be stingy, baby. What legendary actress spoke these lines?  Answer »
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