Anna Christie
Directed by Clarence Brown
Written by Frances Marion from a play by Eugene O’Neill
1930/US
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant
Anna Christie: Gimme a whisky, ginger ale on the side, and don’t be stingy, baby! (Garbo’s first spoken words on screen)
Garbo showed she was a star for all times in this, her first talkie.
Anna Christie (Greta Garbo) has been knocked around hard in her short life and washes up drunk and sick on New York’s waterfront where she is taken in by her father (George F. Marion), whom she has not seen since she was a child. He had thought he was protecting her by sending her to live on a Mid-West farm. In fact, she ran away and made her living on the streets while telling dad she was working as a nurse.
Living with her father on his coal barge is good for the jaded Anna. The sea air restores her health and a modicum of optimism. When she rescues an Irish sailor (Charles Bickford), they fall in love. It is then that her past as a prostitute comes back to haunt her.
This was Garbo’s first speaking role and I thought she did well despite the somewhat stage-bound dialogue. My favorite performance, though, was that of Marie Dressler as the father’s boozy pal. Dated but enjoyable.
Anna Christie was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Cinematography.
