Anastasia (1956)

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Arthur Laurents (screenplay)
Marcelle Maurette (play)
(more)

Release Date:

13 December 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

From the sensational Broadway stage success that had audiences crying its acclaim!

Plot:

An opportunistic Russian businessman tries to pass a mysterious impostor as the Grand Duchess Anastasia. But she is so convincing in her performance that even the biggest skeptics believe her.

Plot Keywords:

Russian | Exile | Russian Easter | Opportunist | Grandmother

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ingrid Bergman	...	Anna Koreff / Anastasia
Yul Brynner	...	General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine
Helen Hayes	...	Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna
Akim Tamiroff	...	Boris Adreivich Chernov
Martita Hunt	...	Baroness Elena von Livenbaum
Felix Aylmer	...	Chamberlain
Sacha Pitoëff	...	Piotr Ivanovich Petrovin (as Sacha Pitoeff)
Ivan Desny	...	Prince Paul von Haraldberg
Natalie Schafer	...	Irina Lissemskaia / Nini
Grégoire Gromoff	...	Stepan (as Gregoire Gromoff)
Karel Stepanek	...	Mikhail Vlados
Ina De La Haye	...	Marusia (as Ina de la Haye)
Katherine Kath	...	Maxime
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Bildt	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Alexis Bobrinskoy	...	Bechmetieff (uncredited)
Marguerite Brennan	...	Marguerite (uncredited)
Paula Catton	...	Jean (uncredited)
Allan Cuthbertson	...	Blond man (uncredited)
Maroussia Dimitrevitch	...	Gypsy Singer (uncredited)
Edward Forsyth	...	Footman (uncredited)
Hy Hazell	...	Blonde lady (uncredited)
Tutte Lemkow	...	Kasbek dancer (uncredited)
André Mikhelson	...	Older man (uncredited)
Polycarpe Pavloff	...	Schischkin (uncredited)
Eric Pohlmann	...	Von Drivnitz (uncredited)
Olaf Pooley	...	Zhadanov (uncredited)
Peter Sallis	...	Grischa (uncredited)
Tamara Shayne	...	Zenia (uncredited)
Anatole Smirnoff	...	Kasbek dancer (uncredited)
Olga Valéry	...	Countess Baranova (uncredited)
Henri Vidon	...	Prince Bolkonoski (uncredited)
Stanley Zevic	...	Empress' Cossack (uncredited)

Directed by
Anatole Litvak

Writing credits
Arthur Laurents		(screenplay)
Marcelle Maurette		(play)
Guy Bolton		(play adaptation)

Produced by
Buddy Adler	....	producer

Original Music by
Alfred Newman

Cinematography by
Jack Hildyard

Film Editing by
Bert Bates

Art Direction by
Andrej Andrejew		(as Andrei Andrejew)
William C. Andrews		(as Bill Andrews)

Set Decoration by
Andrew Low

Costume Design by
René Hubert		(as Rene Hubert)

Makeup Department
David Aylott	....	makeup artist (as Dave Aylott)
Johnnie Johnson	....	hair stylist
Pearl Tipaldi	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gerry O'Hara	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Harry M. Leonard	....	sound
Gerry Turner	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Gerry Fisher	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Dennis Fraser	....	grip (uncredited)
Peter Newbrook	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Michel Michelet	....	musical arrangements: Russian music
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Paul Dickson	....	dialogue assistant

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1965) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• Fox Video (1995) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Anastácia, a Princesa Esquecida (Brazil) [pt]
Anastasia (Finland) [fi]
Anastasia (Denmark) [da]
Anastasia (West Germany) [de]
Anastasia (Sweden) [sv]
Anastasia (Spain) [es]
Anastasia (Greece) [el]
Anastazja (Poland) [pl]
Die große Liebe der Anastasia (Austria) [de]

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #18293) | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:S | UK:U | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky - 12 Rue Daru, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

When the remains of the Romanov family were discovered at Ekaterinburg in 1991, only 9 of the 11 bodies were found. Only who was initially thought to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia and also her brother, Czarevich Alexei, still remained missing, further clouding the question of her fate. However, it was announced that the DNA and other forensic evidence from the remains determined that Anastasia was indeed among the 9 bodies that were unearthed from the pit in the forest outside of Ekaterinburg; and that the missing bodies were those of Alexei and one of his other sisters, the Grand Duchess Marie. After all examinations were completed, the remains of the nine individuals were transferred to St. Petersburg and ceremoniously interred at the Fortress Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. The two remaining bodies were believed to be discovered in 2007 and are fairly certain to be those of the Czarevich Alexei and the Grand Duchess Marie. When all examinations are completed and the results are announced, those remains, too, will be transferred to St. Petersburg for burial with the other members of the family.

Quotes:

Dowager Empress: Lievenbaum, you're disgusting! At your age, a woman's only thoughts of sex should be gender!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Anastasia: Her True Story" (1997)

Well, now that we know the truth...

Anatole Litvak's 1956 Anastasia was Ingrid Bergman's big comeback vehicle after being cast into the moral void for running off with Roberto Rossellini, but it's Helen Hayes' performance that really gives the film its heart and its best scenes. Now that the story of Anna Anderson's claim to the title and inheritance of Tsar Nicholas' daughter has been completely debunked by DNA tests it's more a bit of wish-fulfilment than a compelling mystery, and one that doesn't go out of its way to disguise its theatrical origins - despite the lavish CinemaScope lensing, it rarely strays outdoors unless it's absolutely necessary for a brief establishing shot. Yul Brynner and Akim Tamiroff do their party pieces (stern precision and comically nervous dishonesty) and Bergman fares much better doing imperious than impoverished in a classy production that goes down smoothly but doesn't linger long in the memory.

Fox's R1 DVD suffers from an atrocious remix in the opening reel where the music and effects track are amplified while the dialogue is reduced to a barely audible whisper even at full volume, a problem that doesn't affect the rest of the film but is irritating as hell while it lasts.