Anna Karenina (1935)

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

S.N. Behrman (dialogue adaptation)
Clemence Dane (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

25 December 1935 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

The married Anna Karenina falls in love with Count Vronsky despite her husband's refusal to grant a divorce, and both must contend with the social repercussions.

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | Obsessive Love | Train | Russia | Suicide

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Greta Garbo	...	Anna Karenina
Fredric March	...	Vronsky
Freddie Bartholomew	...	Sergei
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Kitty
May Robson	...	Countess Vronsky
Basil Rathbone	...	Karenin
Reginald Owen	...	Stiva
Phoebe Foster	...	Dolly
Reginald Denny	...	Yashvin
Gyles Isham	...	Levin
Joan Marsh	...	Lili
Ethel Griffies	...	Mme. Kartasoff
Harry Beresford	...	Matve
Sarah Padden	...	Governess
Cora Sue Collins	...	Tania
Mary Forbes	...	Princess Sorokina
Joseph R. Tozer	...	Butler (as Joe E. Tozer)
Guy D'Ennery	...	Tutor
Buster Phelps	...	Grisha
Sidney Bracey	...	Vronsky's Valet (as Sidney Bracy)
Harry Allen	...	Cord
Ella Ethridge	...	Anna's Maid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andrea Leeds	...	Girl in bar
Stanley Andrews	...	(uncredited)
Mischa Auer	...	Mahotin (uncredited)
Betty Blythe	...	Woman (uncredited)
André Cheron	...	(uncredited)
Davison Clark	...	(uncredited)
Claudia Coleman	...	(uncredited)
Constance Collier	...	Countess Lidia (uncredited)
Harry Cording	...	Officer at Banquet (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Carrie Daumery	...	(uncredited)
Carlos De Valdez	...	(uncredited)
Sarah Edwards	...	(uncredited)
Sam Flint	...	(uncredited)
Helen Freeman	...	Barbara (uncredited)
Otto Fries	...	(uncredited)
Alexander Granach	...	Drinking soldier at beginning (uncredited)
Mahlon Hamilton	...	Colonel (uncredited)
Keith Hitchcock	...	Mr. Kartasoff (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten	...	Butler (uncredited)
Francis McDonald	...	Officer at Banquet (uncredited)
Henry Mowbray	...	(uncredited)
Joseph North	...	(uncredited)
Barry Norton	...	(uncredited)
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Best Man (uncredited)
William Orlamond	...	(uncredited)
Edward Reinach	...	Racetrack Spectator (uncredited)
Georges Renavent	...	(uncredited)
Pepi Sinoff	...	(uncredited)
Leonid Snegoff	...	(uncredited)
Pat Somerset	...	Officer (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Officer at Banquet (uncredited)
Dickie Walters	...	(uncredited)
Robert Warwick	...	Colonel (uncredited)
Helen Wood	...	Princess Lvov (uncredited)

Directed by
Clarence Brown

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
S.N. Behrman		dialogue adaptation
Clemence Dane		writer
Leo Tolstoy		novel (as Count Leo Tolstoy)
Salka Viertel		writer

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	producer

Original Music by
Herbert Stothart

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(as William Daniels)

Film Editing by
Robert Kern		(as Robert J. Kern)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Art Department
Fredric Hope	....	associate art director
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Camera and Electrical Department
William Grimes	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Wayne Allen	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Chester Hale	....	mazurka stager
Andrei Tolstoy	....	consultant (as Count Andrey Tolstoy)
Margarete Wallmann	....	ballet stager

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Madacy Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Russian Symphony Choir  vocal and choral effects
• Western Electric  recording system

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (re-rating) (1990) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | New Zealand:PG | Sweden:11 (re-release) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Aware that her co-star Fredric March was notorious for seducing his leading ladies, Greta Garbo reportedly wore garlic under her clothes and purposely had bad breath in order to stave off his advances.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Shadows of equipment are visible in the scene where Karenin confronts Anna.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Oi palioi mas filoi: Leo Rapitis" (????)

Superb MGM production but let down by less than perfect casting.

Watching this movie you will see MGM at the height of its movie-making powers. The physical production is impeccable, the sets are amazing, the production design fantastic. The photography and all technical aspects are superb with the costuming and makeup being the very best that money could buy. All these aspects combine to make a very enjoyable production but the fatal flaw in this much condensed version of Tolstoy's classic is the casting. Frederic March brings no passion to the role of Vronsky and no-one could ever believe for a minute that Anna would give up her child and position for him. In fact it is even hard to believe that she would leave her husband at all given the totally magnetic performance by Basil Rathbone as Karenin. His is the most memorable character portrayal in the film and he acts the part with superb skill. Vronsky is immediately attracted to Anna as he watches her alight from a train and Garbo's face is suddenly revealed through a cloud of steam. This was quite a magical effect in the cinema as her face gradually appeared and filled the huge movie screen, but on video and a TV screen the effect is much diminished and her face appears rather large, plain and mask like. Garbo is also referred to as 'pretty' several times during the movie when 'attractive' would have been a better word. Her acting skills are beyond doubt however and by the climax one is genuinely moved when she watches the train pull out of the station and decides that life will no longer be worth living. You can almost read her mind in this scene which is photographed and scored to maximum effect and leaves an indelible impression.