Anna Christie (1930)

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Filmed simultaneously with the English version, this German-language film is considered by many to be technically superior. Greta Garbo, who was discovered by Louis B. Mayer in Berlin, spoke German well and her performance was highly praised. As the old lush Marthy, actress-writer Salka Steuermann… More Filmed simultaneously with the English version, this German-language film is considered by many to be technically superior. Greta Garbo, who was discovered by Louis B. Mayer in Berlin, spoke German well and her performance was highly praised. As the old lush Marthy, actress-writer Salka Steuermann (later Viertel) was perhaps not as striking as Marie Dressler, but her performance was highly praised. Veteran German star Hans Junkermann, in his only Hollywood film, took over from George F. Marion as Chris Christofferson, Anna's sailor father, and Theo Shall replaced Charles Bickford as the virile Matt Burke. The latter became famous in his native Germany as "the man who kissed Garbo." Completing the small cast, Herman Bing appeared unbilled as Larry, the bartender who serves Garbo her "viskey." The star herself often admitted to favoring this film over the English-language version and felt a great kinship with Belgian director Jacques Feyder. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Clarence Brown
Written By: Frances Marion
Genres: Drama, Romance, Classics

In Theaters: Jan 22, 1930 Wide
On DVD: Sep 6, 2005

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Garbo received her first Oscar nomination for this second version of the play, which MGM advertised as Garbo Talks! Her first line of dialogue is memorable: Gimme a viskey, Ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy babee.
Tim Dirks, Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films
Anna Christie (1930) was advertised as the first talking picture for the cinema's greatest silent star

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Featured Audience Ratings

Veronique K

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… More
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 such 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.