Ingrid Bergman’s Return to American Film as ‘Anastasia’ 1956

 

Ingrid Bergman made her first American film in seven years in 1956's "Anastasia."
 Though matured, Ingrid had lost none of her luminosity.

The best way to enjoy 1956’s Anastasia is to view it as the selling of a myth. When the play and film of Anastasia were created in the ‘50s, there was still some room for doubt. This, allowing for the fact the Grand Dowager Marie never publicly accepted Anna Anderson as Anastasia and many people at the time believed that she was an imposter. The film Anastasia teases the unlikely possibility that Anna is actually her but glibly leaves the mystery open-ended.

Anna or Anastasia? Now, we know. But in 1956, the mystery over the fate of Russia's
 "Anastasia" was still debated. Whatever, it gave Ingrid Bergman her second Oscar.

The conclusive truth about the death of this member of the Russian royal family wasn’t proven beyond a doubt till nearly a century after their assassinations.

Anna was gradually proved to be an imposter through later historical research and DNA tests. This Anastasia can be enjoyed as a commentary on people’s appetite for mythologizing public figures and those who peddle in myth for profit. As a “is she or isn’t she” drama, Anastasia is, in hindsight, just a stylish fairy tale.

Yul Brynner's General Bounine and his team search for the perfect "Anastasia."

Anastasia had just turned 17 when she and her family were assassinated in the Russian Revolution. The film Anastasia takes place 10 years later, when a woman who thinks she might be the royal duchess turns up. Ingrid Bergman was 40 at the time—while she's still lovely, Ingrid was no longer girlish. Fox studio president Spyros Skouras wanted Jennifer Jones, nearly Bergman’s age. He was probably swayed by Jones’ Oscar-nominated smash at Fox, Love is a Many Splendored Thing. I wonder if anyone thought of Audrey Hepburn—she did appear in another Russian epic that year, War and Peace. Luckily, roving studio head Darryl Zanuck thought bringing Ingrid Bergman back to American film would be a coup. Zanuck was a gambler and this bet paid off. Much like Bergman’s Anastasia, Ingrid sought the embrace of her former American audiences that once loved her, like her Anna/Anastasia desired from the royal grandmother.

"Anastasia" was just one of many tormented women that Ingrid Bergman portrayed
 in her film heyday, from "Gaslight" to "Notorious" to "Joan of Arc."

Ingrid Bergman excelled at playing tormented women, elevated by her emotionalist but natural acting style. Bergman had her best role as Anna/Anastasia since she left Hollywood for her out-of-wedlock pregnancy scandal seven years earlier. As the beaten down woman in the early part of the film, she is typically realistic. Even in the later sections of the film, when she gets her royal makeover, Bergman plays with occasional grandeur, but it’s all in character. She won her second Oscar for Anastasia in a strong year of competition. Aside from formidable contenders Carroll Baker (Baby Doll), Nancy Kelly (The Bad Seed), Deborah Kerr (The King and I), and Katharine Hepburn (The Rainmaker), there were also-rans Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor for Bus Stop and Giant. What better way for Hollywood to forgive Bergman than to bestow a second Oscar for her juicy comeback.

Though Ingrid Bergman was a dozen years too old for the role of "Anastasia,"
her performance was superb.

Yul Brynner parried a one-two-three punch to superstardom in 1956: The King and I, The Ten Commandments, and Anastasia. Yul is riveting and in fine form in all three films, though his character is secondary to Bergman's Anastasia. Yul walks a fine line as the mercenary character that has a humane side. Aside from being exotically handsome, Brynner had a marvelous speaking voice, and a most piercing stare! Of the three films, General Sergei Bounine is Yul’s most subtle role, and shows that he doesn’t have to play larger than life to hold audiences’ attention. With his modern style of direct acting, Yul definitely holds his own with Bergman in her star turn as the would-be Russian royalty. 

Yul Brynner was in peak form in 1956, in every way! Here, in "Anastasia."

I've read critical comments that Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner had no chemistry in Anastasia. For one thing, their characters were adversarial for most of the film, until near the last act as he realizes he has feelings for this woman, no matter what her origins or motivations. From that viewpoint, I thought Bergman and Brynner had a realistic, adult rapport that gradually turns romantic. Almost always in movies, the stars' characters fall in love at first sight or suddenly decide in the finale that they love each other after all, always an eye roll for me.

Hollywood Royalty! Yul Brynner and Ingrid Bergman in 1956's "Anastasia."

Helen Hayes, who always seemed old to me, was just 15 years older than Bergman, who was a dozen years older than the actual Anastasia, and here Hayes plays Anastasia's grandmother. Aside from that skewed bit of Hollywood math, Hayes is feisty but warm as the doubting Dowager Marie, who's endured a slew of imposters already. Hayes’ royal goes through an arc of distrust, acceptance, love, and finally, amused resignation that this isn’t going to be her happy ending. Surprisingly, Hayes didn’t get a best supporting Oscar actress nomination for her plum role and well-modulated performance. It was a very strong year in the actress category, both starring and supporting. Oh well, at least Helen gets the movie’s witty last line. Interestingly, Anastasia received only two Oscar nominations: Bergman as winner as Best Actress and Alfred Newman nominated for Best Score.

Helen Hayes and Ingrid Bergman's big scene, as the Dowager Empress & the woman
who claims to be her granddaughter "Anastasia."

A terrific cast supports the star trio of Anastasia superbly, including Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt, FelixAylmer, Natalie Schaefer, and Sacha Pitoeff.

Perhaps it’s because the story of this Anastasia feels so specific in relation to the complex saga of the Russian duchess and her later wannabes, that it feels smooth to the point of slickness. And though “opened up” with location shooting, Anastasia still feels like a lavish play. Adapted from the stage, the smart script by Arthur Laurents (Gypsy, West Side Story, The Way We Were, and The Turning Point, has some memorable lines. That smartness may also account for the feeling of slickness versus the gritty turmoil of the Russian mystery woman who may have survived a grisly assassination.

Helen Hayes' Grand Dowager realizes that the reunion with the woman who claims
to be her granddaughter "Anastasia" is not meant to be. With Yul Brynner.

Anastasia was directed with style and sophistication by Anatole Litvak, a Russian Jew who had to exile twice in his life, first from Russia and later from Germany. Litvak was just a year younger than the real Anastasia, by the way.

A beautiful score and photography by Alfred Newman and Jack Hildyard are two examples of the top drawer production values by 20^th Century Fox for this lavish film.

Here’s my Facebook entertainment page, FYI!

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You can take Anastasia as a well-crafted '50s film vehicle for Ingrid Bergman or as a cautionary tale about myths. Either way, it’s well worth a look.

Here’s my take on Ingrid Bergman in her first Oscar-winning role from a dozen years earlier, Gaslight: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2022/10/stars-story-light-up-mgms-gaslight-1944.html

 

The many women who have claimed to be "Anastasia" muddy the waters for Ingrid
 Bergman's Anna, who's not truly sure who she is herself.

Stars & Story Light up MGM's ‘Gaslight’ 1944

The hot house atmosphere of 1944's "Gaslight" gets much of its heat from these
great stars: Ingrid Bergman, Angela Lansbury, and Charles Boyer.

As a suspense film fan, it’s amazing to me that I've only seen clips of 1944's Gaslight in my 50 years of watching movies. With the recent death of Angela Lansbury, plus the 40th anniversary of Ingrid Bergman’s passing on Aug. 29, I thought it was high time to remedy this.

Ingrid Bergman is the lady of the house who's so fragile that even the malicious maid
 (Angela Lansbury) gets under her skin, in MGM's "Gaslight."

Based on the Broadway hit 1938 Angel Street, MGM then bought U.S. film rights and tried to bury the British version that was made in 1940. They didn't succeed, but more about that later.

MGM glamorized Gaslight like they did to many period stories—Pride and Prejudice, Madame Bovary, and Little Women—all made to look super wealthy, though they weren't. Metro does so here, too, though it's not quite as intrusive. 

Ingrid Bergman in one of many striking shots from 1944's "Gaslight."

What MGM does well in this version, which makes me prefer their Gaslight as a suspense film, is a certain amount of ambiguity (partly due to censorship) and by not overtly giving away the husband's villainy from the get-go. 

A huge plus is the cast, particularly the stars whose characters inhabit this hot house household: Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Angela Lansbury—in her first film. Their personas say much that dialogue can't. Bergman and Boyer have so much natural sensuality, much can be implied regarding what flamed their relationship. And Lansbury had that saucy and impudent look that could turn sour and bitchy in a blink of her huge eyes as the maid on the make.

Charles Boyer surround by his tall co-stars, Angela Lansbury & Ingrid Bergman,
on the set of MGM's "Gaslight."

The changes made in the MGM version work well, overall. Though it's an excuse to slather on some more Metro gloss, the prologue where young Paula meets and is swept off her feet by Gregory in Italy shows that this is her first love, with Boyer in full romantic mode. They also flipped certain plot points from the leading man to the leading lady, which works, too. The biggest change is the murdered relative and empty house now comes from her side of the family, not his.

The prologue to MGM's "Gaslight" shows Boyer & Bergman in love, on their honeymoon.

Though you know Boyer is the bad guy, the fact that he's played both heroes and villains has you hoping against hope he's not a total rat. That we don't see him actually setting up his tricks on Bergman, or that he's not blatantly abusive or adulterous, as in the British version.

MGM's version of "Gaslight" cleverly plays on Charles Boyer's romantic image
to create suspense as to his character's later villainy.

The great trio of performances gives the edge to this Gaslight. Ingrid Bergman's naturalness and emotionalism was her calling card as an actress, which is perfect for the role of Paula. That she has suffered trauma finding her murdered aunt makes great plot sense, and gives further authenticity to her fragility. When Boyer's Gregory subtly toys with her to the point where she begs not to be shamed in front of the servants, her humiliation is palpable. As the heroine questions her own sanity as the movie goes on, Bergman is utterly believable. Hedy Lamarr was the studio’s choice as Paula, but director George Cukor rightly rejected the idea. Most of MGM’s great dramatic divas had already left, leaving mature newcomer Greer Garson. British Deborah Kerr, who could have been great, didn’t arrive to Metro until ’47.

One of cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg's amazing closeups of Ingrid Bergman
as Paula, who begins to question her own sanity, in MGM's "Gaslight."

Charles Boyer had already scored as charming cads in Algiers and Hold Back the Dawn. But he also played warm, romantic roles like All This, and Heaven Too. That duality adds to his fine performance. Those great dark eyes and deep romantic voice transfix you as much as Paula. The moments where Boyer’s charm turns cold are utterly chilling. As Gregory, Charles Boyer runs nearly the same range of emotions as Bergman’s, except his are those of a sociopath, and he’s a memorable villain.

Charles Boyer used his aristocratic looks, soulful eyes, and beautiful speaking voice
to help create the most manipulative villain in 1944's "Gaslight."

It's hard to believe that Angela Lansbury turned just 18 during the making of Gaslight. Her saucy, sharp-tongued maid reminded me a bit of Bette Davis as Mildred Rogers in Of Human Bondage. Which always made me think that Angela should been cast as a Bette Davis-style leading lady at MGM, which had more glamour girls than great actresses, frankly. But what a great start this was for Angela, and she's most subtle here. Nancy is tart with the missus and slightly tarty with the master. She’s very street smart and self-possessed. When Boyer’s master comments that she’s much too charming for the mistress of the house, Lansbury’s Nancy slyly replies, “She’s not the only one in the house, is she?”

Angela Lansbury as Nancy, the domestic who seems to be untamed! Angela was not yet
 18 when she worked on 1944's "Gaslight," but holds her own with Bergman & Boyer.

All three of these actors got Oscar nominations and Bergman deservedly won, I thought. Even Barbara Stanwyck, nominated for her classic performance in Double Indemnity, publicly lauded Ingrid’s victory. Watching the arc of Bergman’s character start off as bright and girlish to tormented and finally, nearly emotionally beaten, is fascinating to watch.

A fresh-faced Ingrid Bergman as young Paula at the beginning of MGM's "Gaslight."

This is one of those movies that more than a few have mistakenly attributed to Alfred Hitchcock. Indeed, since two of the stars—Bergman and Cotten—were under contract to David Selznick, it's a wonder that his director didn't come along to Metro for the ride. That said, MGM director George Cukor was in his prime here, his strengths were getting the best from his actors and in sophisticated storytelling.

Two of producer David Selznick's stars--Ingrid Bergman & Joseph Cotten--were loaned to MGM for "Gaslight." With Charles Boyer here.

I've watched the British version, which has been saved and restored. I notice that the 1940 and ‘44 versions have been pitted in the typical movie critics/movie lovers’ game of which is better. The '40 version gets a lot of sympathy because Hollywood's biggest studio tried to destroy the smaller British version. I believe MGM also tried to do the same with the Italian version of The Postman Always Rings Twice. Well, the 1940 version is more faithful to the Patrick Hamilton play and it is much more straightforward—in fact it barely runs 90 minutes. Does that necessarily make it better? The Mildred Pierce remake was more faithful, but I really prefer the 1945 film version.

Ingrid Bergman is radiant as a woman in love in 1944's "Gaslight."

What the British version offers are British leads whose characters live a more upper middle class British life. Also, playwright Patrick Hamilton offers side commentary on the British social hierarchy, especially when it comes to marriage and money. The two leads are Diana Wynyard and Anton Walbrook. Their performances are fine by their film era's standards. While her character stands up to her husband on occasion, Diana Wynyard’s performance feels very leading lady-ish, with much wide-eyed displays of  fear and disbelief. There’s very little of the raw emotion that Ingrid Bergman evinces as the beleaguered wife here. And while I enjoyed the expert mustache twirling of Anton Walbrook as the heartless husband, he feels a bit campy, and I wondered if Kevin Branagh’s mad “Maestro” was inspired by him later in Dead Again. Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh would have been wonderful—and British, but they didn’t get cast in either version. Cathleen Cordell as the maid was strictly one-note, with none of the magnetism or malice that Lansbury possessed. Joseph Cotten made a younger, attractive detective who is on the husband’s case in the ’44 Gaslight, and I found his warm charm preferable to his British counterpart’s aging ham. Yes, MGM does play the hint of romance card at the literal last minute, between Cotten and Bergman, with Dame May Whitty clucking cutely.

Angela Lansbury's maid on the make Nancy is performed with much more depth
in the MGM version of "Gaslight."

The 1940 version seems rather barebones and can’t imagine that the stage play was only 90 minutes. The MGM is 30 minutes longer, and feels more fully fleshed, not merely padded. Joseph Ruttenberg's photography is masterful, particularly depicting Bergman’s gradually growing unbalanced. BTW, though Bergman’s makeup-free, soft close-ups as the young Paula leaving the crime scene are convincing, did it look like they used an actual teenager in long-shot over the 5’9” Bergman? The score by Bronislau Kaper is superbly eerie.

Ingrid Bergman as the beaten-down wife in 1944's "Gaslight."

Gaslight is one of the first movies to depict spousal emotional abuse in a marriage, under the guise of a suspense film. The husband woos the wife, only to isolate and gradually wear down her self-esteem with abuse, is still relevant today. The final monologue, where Paula confronts her tormentor husband, is strongly written and performed by Bergman. Gaslight is a superior thriller with intriguing underlying themes.

Ingrid Bergman's big scene where her abused wife Paula tells off her
tormentor husband, now captured and helpless, in 1944's "Gaslight."

We'll Always Have 'Casablanca' 1942

'Casablanca' still casts its classic spell nearly 80 years later.

Critics and audiences still like to argue whether Casablanca is great art or merely great entertainment—let them, I say. Casablanca still captivates, no matter how you define the 1942 Warner Brothers’ war-time romance.

Bill Kennedy, movie host with the most!

I was junior high age when I first watched Casablanca on the late show. From where I sat on my plaid sofa, in 1970s Upper Michigan, it was just another dated war time romance: lots of air sirens, police whistles, patriotism, sneering Nazis, and brave Bogie and Bergman clutching one another in the face of danger.

A few years later, I watched Casablanca again on Detroit TV 50’s Bill Kennedy at the Movies. By then, I was hooked on classic Hollywood and much more impressed. Kennedy was as proud as a peacock whenever the one-time actor got to show and chat about a true blue classic like Casablanca. By high school graduation, I felt like Bill had been my favorite teacher—in film.

What set Casablanca apart from other exotic romances, especially the many cinema copycats to come, was the classic melodrama captured a time and place vital in American and world history. The U.S. had avoided getting into WWII, much like Rick/Bogart: “I stick my neck out for nobody.” 

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However, Pearl Harbor changed all that on Dec. 7, 1941. Casablanca was filmed the following year, in an atmosphere of uncertainty. Many of the supporting cast members were ex-pats and refugees from all over Europe, who had already suffered in varying degrees from the bulldozing Nazi regime. S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall, who played Rick’s head waiter—and memorably taught Barbara Stanwyck to flip pancakes in Christmas in Connecticut—lost three sisters to the concentration camps. Cast member Helmut Dantine spent time in a concentration camp before escaping to the U.S.

The plot of Casablanca is a cliché: Resistance fighters are trying to move through Casablanca and not get caught in the occupied city’s Nazi web. It’s a serviceable but straight-forward framework.

The rest, however, is memorable. The studio system was at its peak and Warner Brothers’ best was rolled out for Casablanca: Michael Curtiz, the studio’s # 1 director; Hal Wallis, their most artistic producer; Humphrey Bogart, emerging as WB’s top actor; promising newcomer Ingrid Bergman, “borrowed” from David Selznick; the pick of the studio’s stock company of great character actors; a polished script with some of movies’ most memorable lines; cinematography that was both crisp and dreamlike, a dramatic Max Steiner score, and of course, the ultimate movie love song, As Time Goes By.

Bogart & Bergman in a flashback of happiness as Rick & Ilsa. They'll always have Paris & we'll always have 'Casablanca.'

 Casablanca was a hit, making a leading man out of character actor/movie villain Humphrey Bogart, at age 43. The following year, his new status was confirmed when 19-year-old Lauren Bacall became Bogie’s baby, onscreen and off, in To Have and Have Not. Casablanca cemented Swedish star Ingrid Bergman’s status as a Hollywood leading lady. Three Oscars were to come later for other performances, yet Ilsa is still Bergman’s signature role.

Bogart and Bergman as Rick and Ilsa (two-thirds of a triangle) are genuinely moving because their performances are realistic, as well as romantic. Can you imagine if MGM had made this with Clark Gable and Joan Crawford, with Gable’s bluster and Crawford’s posturing? They might have made Casablanca popular but not an enduring classic.

Some of the great WB cast of 'Casablanca.' Bogart & Bergman with Claude Rains & Paul Henreid.

For those who think Casablanca is just high-grade Hollywood fluff, watch To Have and Have Not. WB was hoping lightning would strike twice. While it was just as well-made and entertaining as Casablanca, To Have has none of its emotional resonance or depth.

Casablanca became Hollywood’s greatest wartime romance, with its notion of sacrifice in an uncertain world. The film and its classic love theme became a touchstone of a time and place, but also as a symbol of true romance.

Luminous Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa, her signature role IMO.

I recently watched Casablanca four decades later, on yet another plaid U.P. sofa. I was knocked out anew by the film’s genuine romanticism, since movies are typically filled with phony romance. Casablanca is fascinating because of its perfect counterpoints: Bergman’s dreamy close-ups to Bogart’s sharp tongue; the stars’ chemistry to a scene-stealing supporting cast; great dialogue to classic cinematic images; the booming Warners’ soundtrack to Wilson softly crooning As Time Goes By; and most of all, the genuinely romantic versus traditional happy ending.

At 43, Humphrey Bogart finally becomes a romantic leading man at Warner Brothers!

Casablanca proves that, to lift a lyric, audiences will always welcome lovers, like Rick and Ilsa, no matter how much time goes by.

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1942: The beginning of a beautiful friendship between "Casablanca" and audiences.