Anna Christie

a while back, I saw the English language version of "Anna Christie" and mildly enjoyed it. While not bowled over it, it was better than the earlier Blanche Sweet version. And, when I found out that there was yet another version--ALSO starring Greta Garbo, I was intrigued but had a hard time finding it. Fortunately, Turner Classic Movies recently showed this German language version and I found it was a bit better than the English language one.

First, some background about the German language version. I don't say "German version" because this one was actually made in the USA by MGM. Why would MGM do this--using the same leading lady?! Well, it seems that once the studios switched to sound, they missed all the money they'd made in foreign sales and tried something very radical. Instead of using subtitles or re-dubbing the film, MGM actually made multiple versions of its most popular stars' films. Aside from this Garbo version, MGM made many Laurel Hardy in Italian, Spanish, French and German! And, like the Garbo film, these other versions were quite different from the American versions--with mostly foreign language-speaking supporting actors filling in for the normal supporting actors! So why did I like it more than Garbo's other "Anna Christie"? Well, the story was close but I noticed two main differences. First, because German standards and morality were different from that in the States, the German version is much more explicit in saying that Anna had worked in a brothel, though this word and the word 'prostitute' were still not used. In the regular American version, this was much, much more vague--and made the story seem a bit silly. The German version explains a lot and makes more sense. Second, while I adore the films of Marie Dressler, she was NOT a positive addition to the English language version, as she played the part a bit broader--more for laughs. And, considering how serious the story is, this seemed out of place.

In New York, the alcoholic skipper of a coal barge Chris Christofferson (Hans Junkermann) receives a letter from his estranged twenty year old daughter Anna "Christie" Christofferson (Greta Garbo) telling that she will leave Minnesota to stay with him. Chris left Anna fifteen years ago to the countryside to be raised by relatives in a farm in St. Paul and he has never visited his daughter.

Anna Christie arrives and she is a wounded woman with a hidden dishonorable past since she had worked for two years in a brothel to survive. She moves to the barge to live with her father and one night, Chris rescues the sailor Matt (Theo Shall) and two other fainted sailors from the sea. Soon Anna and Matt fall in love with each other and Anna has the best days of her life. But when Matt proposes to marry her, she is reluctant and also haunted by her past. Matt insists and Anna opens her heart to Matt and to her father disclosing the darks secrets of her past.

"Anna Christie" is the first talkie of Greta Garbo and a heartbreaking story of a young woman that finds redemption through love. I bought the DVD with both versions of 1930 and 1931, and Jacques Feyder's version in German is better than Clarence Brown's. The German version is not restored. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Anna Christie"

After Garbo's introduction to sound in Clarence Brown's "Anna Christie", Jacques Feyder made a German version of the movie where all of the cast, except for Garbo, were different. While the American version is still more available in the USA and most of the American viewers have primarily seen this version, the Germna "Anna Christie" is more likely to be viewed in Europe. As I have seen both films, I feel the right to compare the two closely-knit productions. Is Jacques Feyder's film different? Is it better than Clarence Brown's?

In this analysis, I would like to focus first on what the both movies have in common. They have identical sets, very similar scripts and the same chronologically presented scenes. Here, you also find the story of the young woman who comes back to her father after years of absence and is trying to start a new life. Here, you also have the humorous, though a bit shorter, sequence in the amusement park. However, when emphasizing Garbo herself, I address the first difference. She does not appear to cause such a curiosity while talking. The viewer concentrates more on her acting than on the way she speaks, which occurred, most probably, to 1931 viewers. Garbo was very good in American film and she is also very good here. Yet, to me, she seems even more genuine in the German version. It is noticeable that Garbo does not focus on the way she says the words that much (the effort that was artificially created by the sensation: GARBO TALKS!). Her German is not very well pronounced; yet no one cares: everything is perfectly understood. Therefore, I can easily say the same I did in my American version comment: Skaal Greta Garbo!

Yet, the film differs in one very important issue: the rest of the cast. Here comes the question: which portrayal seems more captivating, which one is better for sure? The differences are filled with varieties. Salka Viertel (or Salka Steuerman), Garbo's lifelong friend, does not do the equally great job as Marie Dressler in the role of Marthy Owens. She is not bad, she is different, sometimes overacts (from today's perspective) but is no longer that genuine in the role as Marie Dressler who still amuses us and whose moments have absolutely stood a test of time. Some people even claim that Dressler was better than Garbo in the film and that opinion, though appears to be questionable of course, carries some truth. Theo Shall is more sympathetic as Matt than Charles Bickford but when applied to him, this is not the matter of performance so much as the mater of looks.

Who shines in the German "Anna Christie", who is really worth greatest attention is Hans Junkermann in the role of Chris Christopherson, Anna's father. George F. Marion vs Hans Junkermann is like a day vs night difference. Junkermann portrays a real alcohol addict, a man with hopes, with fears, who overdoes the care of his daughter. The scene of Anna's first meeting with her father is truly magnificent, the opening moment of Chris' conversation with Marthy is memorable particularly thanks to his facial expressions and a flawless performance. Junkermann is the Chris whom you like, who you sometimes laugh at, whom you sympathize with, who leaves a picture of a calm alcoholic sailor in your mind. Great!

If you have seen the American "Anna Christie" and have a chance to get the German version, I would highly recommend to you this movie because it's a slightly different look at the story, a nice and accurate way to compare, a fine enrichment to Clarence Brown's movie and, foremost, a wonderful chance to discover a marvel of performance: Hans Junkermann's. Skaal or Prost, Hans Junkermann!

It's sort of crazy, but I taped from TCM both, this german version of MGM's "Anna Christie", and the english one...but I got to see this one first, 'cos I'd heard that many people thought it was better than the english version.

Without having seen the other one, I cannot compare them, but anyway this is an excellent early talkie, with a straight-from-the-heart performance by Garbo. She looks very beautiful in this film, her face shines throughout, especially when Cameraman William Daniels, gets those gorgeous close-ups of her.

The atmosphere of the film seems different from the regular MGM stuff made on that era, it looks very similar to french or german expressionistic films from the thirties, well it was directed by a great french director, Monsieur Jacques Feyder, who had directed Garbo in 1929 in "The Kiss".

Theo Shall is excellent and gives an absolutelly believable performance as Anna's sweetheart, the hard-boiled, tough, sailor, who's just a kid in man's body. Also Hans Junkermann gives a very fine performance, as Anna's alcoholic father and Salka Viertel too, as a good-hearted old cheap floozie.

In all quite an experience, because it's the only film were you can listen to Garbo speak in a foreign language...'cos all the other films she did in either Sweden or Germany, were during the Silent Era.

Serious Flick.

It has long been rumored that MGM was not too unhappy when Greta Garbo retired in 1941. She was a truly international star and a lot of her box office appeal was in the European market which after 12/7/41 was closed off for the foreseeable future to American films. Even the past two years hadn't been easy for Garbo's or anyone else's films to be seen there.

But early in the sound era it was the tradition of several studios to make foreign language versions of their films. Garbo's sound debut in Anna Christie was accompanied by a German language version with an entirely different cast of players. All were imported from Europe. Playing Charles Bickford's part is Theo Shall and playing George Marion's role is Hans Junkermann. I noted that both had substantial careers in the German cinema. It must have been at some expense for MGM to import these people to America, but MGM had a lot invested in Garbo and they wanted her career in sound to last.

Salka Viertel better known as a writer played Marie Dressler's role and she stayed in America. Her credit in Anna Christie is under her maiden name of Salka Steuerman and she was of left wing persuasion, enough to be blacklisted. But that was way in the future.

These folks were quite up to their English language counterparts. Garbo of course is eternal and so is Eugene O'Neill in the themes he writes about. Watching the German language version is further proof of the care that MGM took with Garbo's career.

She was in fact one of a kind.