Anna Christie (1930 German-language film)

Anna Christie
(Poster for original English-language version)
Directed byJacques Feyder
Written byWalter Hasenclever
Frances Marion
Screenplay byFrank Reicher
Based onAnna Christie
1921 play
by Eugene O'Neill
StarringGreta Garbo
Theo Shall
Hans Junkermann
Salka Viertel
CinematographyWilliam H. Daniels
Edited byFinn Ulback
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • December 2, 1930 (1930-12-02)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageGerman

Anna Christie is a 1930 German-language film adapted from the 1921 Eugene O'Neill play of the same title and filmed following the release of the English-language original version of the same adaptation earlier the same year.[1] Both versions feature leading actress Greta Garbo. In the early years of sound films, Hollywood studios produced foreign-language versions of some of their films using the same sets and sometimes the same costumes, with native speakers of the language usually replacing some or all of the original cast. The German-language version of Anna Christie is one of the few that survives.

The film was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at their Culver City, California studio in July and August 1930 (the English-language original had been filmed there in October and November 1929).[2] It premiered in Cologne, Germany on December 2, 1930.[3] Garbo is the only cast member appearing in both versions and looks noticeably different in the two. The German dialog was written by Walter Hasenclever and Frank Reicher, for the most part very closely following Frances Marion's original adaptation. The film was directed by Jacques Feyder using the same cinematographer, Garbo favorite William H. Daniels, but a different crew.[4]

  1. ^ Vieira 2005, pp. 110, 117.
  2. ^ Vieira 2005, pp. 107–109, 117.
  3. ^ Vieira 2005, p. 118.
  4. ^ Paris 1994, p. 570.