Tuesday, April 15, 2014

April 15 - Anastasia(1956)

Today’s movie is a drama with a scene set on April 15. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.

ANASTASIA                        

On April 15, 1928 [2:32 to 26:04], which is Orthodox Easter, General Bounine, a Russian émigré meets Anna Koreff, who bears a remarkable resemblance to the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II, who was supposedly shot by the Bolsheviks ten years ago.  However, rumors persist that Anastasia survived the massacre of her family. Bounine has formed a partnership with two men who plan to use an Anastasia pretender to get the £10,000,000 left in the Bank of England by the Czar. They have also been extracting money from the Russian émigré community to finance their search for Anastasia and using some of the funds for their own personal needs. Anna Koreff reluctantly agrees to participate in the scheme. Bounine and his partners train her to be able to impersonate the Grand Duchess. She convinces a few and then many of the Russian émigré community of Paris that she is Anastasia. However, the key is to get Anastasia’s grandmother to recognize Anna as the Grand Duchess. They travel to Copenhagen where the former Empress lives.  Bounine and Anna go to the theater when the Empress is there. Anna meets and enchants Prince Paul von Haraldberg, a member of the Russian imperial family and Anastasia’s fiancée. The Empress at first is adamant about not meeting Anna, but finally goes to see her and is convinced she is the real Anastasia. She plans to publicly recognize her. However, Anna and Bounine elope together, as they have fallen in love during the course of their time together.

An unusual film. Bergman does a good job portraying Anna. Leaves unanswered the question of whether Anna is Anastasia, but hints that she may be.  

At 2:38 to 53 we are told it is Orthodox Easter, 1928, which was on this date.

Producer - Buddy Adler                                           

Director - Anatole Litvak

Awards – The film won the Best Actress (Bergman) Oscar and was nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar at the 29th Academy Awards.

Screenplay - Guy Bolton and Arthur Laurents

Runtime – 1 hour 45 minutes

Released – December 13, 1956

Cast –

Ingrid Bergman as Anna Koreff
Yul Brynner as General Bounine
Helen Hayes as the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovona
Akim Tamiroff as Boris Chernov
Martita Hunt as Baroness Elena von Livenbaum
Felix Aylmer as Chamberlain
Sacha Patoeff as Piotr Ivanovich Petrovin
 Desny as Prince Paul von Haraldberg
 Schafer as Irina Lissemskaia
 Gromoff as Stepan
 Karel Stepanek as Mikhail Vlados

Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014.





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