Anastasia (1956 film)
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Anastasia | |
---|---|
20th Century-Fox | |
Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English French |
Budget | $3.52 million[1] |
Box office | $4.3 million (US and Canada rentals)[2] |
Anastasia is a 1956 American
Anastasia received two nominations at the 29th Academy Awards, with Bergman winning the Academy Award for Best Actress. At the 14th Golden Globe Awards, Bergman and Hayes both received nominations for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, with Bergman winning the category.
Plot
Though the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, and his family were executed in July 1918, rumors spread that Nicholas's youngest daughter, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, somehow escaped and survived.
During 1928, in
Bounine then meets with his associates, Boris Andreevich Chernov and Poitr Ivanovich Petrovin; he had already repeatedly raised funds from stockholders, eager to gain a share of £10 million that belonged to Anastasia held by an English bank- based on his claim that he had found her, which Bounine privately admits is a lie. Frustrated by his delays, the stockholders have lost their patience with Bounine and has given him eight days to produce Anastasia.
Bounine arranges for Anna to be intensively trained to pass as Anastasia. During this time, the pair begin to develop feelings for each other. Later, in a series of carefully arranged encounters with former familiars and members of the Imperial court, Anna begins to display a confidence and style that astonish people who doubted her.
Anna and Bounine soon arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark, to convince the skeptical Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the Grand Duchess's paternal grandmother, of Anna being Anastasia. Meanwhile, Bounine becomes jealous of how much attention Prince Paul von Haraldberg, another fortune hunter, pays to Anna, who is able to convince the Dowager Empress that she is Anastasia. Later, at a ball in which the engagement of "Anastasia" and Prince Paul is to be announced, the Dowager Empress has a final private conversation with her. Although aware of Bounine's intentions, the Dowager Empress believes that Anna is truly her granddaughter. Realizing that Anna and Bounine were in love, the Dowager Empress allows them run away together. When told that she had left, a courtier explains to the others that the young woman wasn't Anastasia after all. But the Dowager Empress responds, "Wasn't she?"
Cast
- Ingrid Bergman as "Anna Anderson" / Anastasia Nikolaevna
- Yul Brynner as General Bounine
- Helen Hayes as Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna
- Akim Tamiroff as Boris Andreevich Chernov
- BaronessElena von Livenbaum
- Felix Aylmer as the Chamberlain
- Sacha Pitoëff as Piotr Ivanovich Petrovin
- Ivan Desny as Prince Paul von Haraldberg
- Natalie Schafer as Irina Lissemskaia
- Grégoire Gromoff as Stepan
- Karel Štěpánek as Mikhail Vlados
- Ina De La Haye as Marusia
- Katherine Kath as Maxime
- Peter Sallis as Grischa (uncredited)[3]
Production
The film was adapted by Guy Bolton and Arthur Laurents from the play by Bolton and Marcelle Maurette. Some critics believed the film was bound too much to the static settings and theatrical "scenes" of the play, but additional, essentially decorative, ball scenes were added to open up the action.
The film does not explicitly reveal whether Anna is or isn't Anastasia, but suggests through subtle hints that she is, such as frequently coughing when she was frightened, which the Dowager Empress says that Anastasia did when she was a young girl. The gradual realization that Anna is the Grand Duchess is through Bounine's growing feelings for her.
The film was partially meant to symbolize Bergman's return to Hollywood after several years of working in Italy with her husband, Roberto Rossellini. Their marriage had caused a scandal, as he divorced his then current wife, Marcella DeMarchis, to be with her.
The film was also a comeback for Helen Hayes. She had suspended her career for several years due to the death of her daughter Mary, and her husband's failing health.
Locations
The film was shot on location in Copenhagen, London and Paris. Studio interiors were shot at MGM-British Studios at Borehamwood, England.
The
Title song
The theme song of the film, also titled "Anastasia", has been recorded by a number of artists. The most popular version was by Pat Boone, reaching number 3 (as a double-A-side with "Don't Forbid Me") on the Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart for several weeks in early 1957.
Reception
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Awards and nominations
Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
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Academy Awards | Best Actress | Ingrid Bergman | Won |
Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Alfred Newman
|
Nominated | |
British Academy Film Awards | Best British Screenplay | Arthur Laurents | Nominated |
David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Actress | Ingrid Bergman | Won |
Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | Won | |
Helen Hayes | Nominated | ||
National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | 8th Place | |
Best Actor | Yul Brynner (also for The King and I and The Ten Commandments) | Won | |
New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | |
Best Actress | Ingrid Bergman | Won | |
Photoplay Awards | Most Popular Male Star | Yul Brynner | Nominated |
See also
- List of American films of 1956
- Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
- Anastasia (1997 film)
- appearing that same year
- Romanov impostors
References
- ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p250
- ^ Cohn, Lawrence (October 15, 1990). "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. p. M144.
- ^ "Anastasia (1956)".
- ^ Anastasia
External links
- Anastasia at IMDb
- Anastasia at the TCM Movie Database
- Anastasia at AllMovie
- Anastasia at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Anastasia at Rotten Tomatoes