Anna Christie (1930)

Directed by

Clarence Brown

Genre

drama film, romance film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 29m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.0 of 10 from 56 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A lonely woman reunites with her estranged father at a waterfront bar after many years. She falls for a sailor but hides the troubling secrets of her past.

melancholicgrittytenseromanticbleakslow-burnearthyintimate

What happens

Anna Christie is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic drama film adaptation of the 1921 play of the same name 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. Daniels, the art direction by Cedric Gibbons and the costume design by Adrian. The film stars Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, George F. Marion, and Marie Dressler. It was marketed using the slogan "Garbo Talks!", as it was her first talkie film. Of all its stars, Garbo was the one that MGM kept out of talking films the longest for fear that one of their bigger stars, like so many others, would not succeed in them. Her famous first line is: "Gimme a whisky, ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby!" In fact, Garbo's English was so good by the time she appeared in this film, she had to add an accent in several retakes to sound more like the Swedish Anna. In addition to the English and German-language version of this film, a silent version with titles was also made. George F. Marion performed the role of Anna's father in the original Broadway production and in both the 1923 and 1930 film adaptations. It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Actress (Greta Garbo) and Best Cinematography. Due to being a film published in 1930, it entered the public domain on January 1, 2026. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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