Anastasia 1956 - Ingrid Bergman's Hollywood Comeback!

Ingrid Bergman is one of my top actresses so when the Ingrid Bergman Blogathon came back around, I knew I wanted to dive into one of her performances I hadn’t seen before. With growing up in the 80s and 90s, I had seen the 1997 cartoon version of Anastasia, so I was curious how these two would compare. I figured the fantastical elements, such as Rasputin, would not be present in the 1956 version, and I was right, but there are definite parallels to the story, which I’ll get into later, separate from the magical portions that were added for the cartoon.

But let’s focus on Ingrid first!

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Synopsis

Sergei (played by Yul Brynner) is an opportunistic businessman searching for the Grand Duchess Anastasia (or more accurately, a women who he can pass off as her) in order to collect on a reward. He finds Anna Anderson, who has been in and out of asylums. Her physical features, including a few scars, match with Anastasia, so he thinks he’s finally hit the jackpot. She resists, but her desire to find out her true identity wins out as she goes along with becoming royalty. The only snag is that her supposed grandmother is fed up with seeing so many Anastasias that she initially refuses to see her, but in the end, it appears that Anna has found her family, but what she really wants by the end…

****spoiler****

is Sergei’s love.

The Players

Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid won a much-deserved Oscar for this film. Her performance is multi-faceted, she flips from the insecure Anna to the self-assured Anastasia. The conflict that she presents in all of her identities is a true testament to her talent. This is also her first role after being essentially blacklisted in Hollywood by the huge scandal involving Roberto Rossellini and having his child. They were both married to other people at the time of their affair, and she’d been blacklisted since 1949 because of it since, even though they married in 1950.

She and Roberto made films in Europe, but it wasn’t until Anastasia that Ingrid made her comeback in the U.S. And what a comeback it was since she won the Oscar for best actress. She wasn’t present at the ceremony, so Cary Grant accepted on her behalf since she was still living in Europe and working on a play. Although the film was produced by 20th Century Fox, it was filmed in Paris, Copenhagen, and Hertfordshire.

Darryl Zanuck at 20th Century Fox wanted her to play the part and took a gamble on being a part of her comeback. He thought it might resonate with audiences to see her in a role that called for a parallel to her own life—an outcast searching to be accepted by former family (or in the actress’s case, her former audience). Although this film put her back in front of U.S. audiences, she didn’t actually make another film in Hollywood until Cactus Flower, which was released in 1969.

Yul Brynner

Ever since seeing Yul Brynner in his sassy role as Ramses in The Ten Commandments, I’ll admit that I love him. There’s something so charismatic about him. That film was an Easter tradition growing up, so I’m always excited to see him in additional roles. He possesses that snark here too. His character is also complex. On the surface, he seems like a con man just out to make some money, but underneath, we see that he has actual feelings. While it felt like that took longer than it does in the cartoon version, it seemed to fit with this character. Dmitri in the 1997 version softens much faster where as Sergei seems to hold onto that hard and cold exterior, though we do see it crack in moments before the end of the film.

1956 was a huge year for Yul. Not only did he have this release, he also had the releases of The Ten Commandments and The King and I.

One other interesting piece of this is that he’s actually inhaling when he’s smoking. That’s not always the case, but Yul was a heavy smoker until 1971, and unfortunately, died of lung cancer when he was 65 in 1985.

Background Trivia

Differences and Similarities with the Interpretations

The original story came from a 1955 play by Marcelle Maurett. He was inspired by a real-life story. Anna Anderson actually claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Later on, after this release, it was discovered that she wasn’t, based on examining DNA of a small piece of her tissue. They had thought she was initially because of her handwriting and because medical experts found 17 points of similarity between Anastasia’s ear and hers.

At the time this was filmed, the real Anna was still alive. When Fox realized that, they flew to her in Germany to ask to use her name.

When the animated Anastasia came out in 1997, it was again produced by 20th Century Fox. In the original film, they only reference Rasputin as the “Mad Monk,” but in the animated version, he is the villain. Historically, he had no connection to the church, but he was widely known as a mystic and worked as a healer.

In the animated version, he adds some evil magic to the film and gives us a villain.

The other part that felt different for me was the romance. With Anastasia and Dmitiri in the animated version, you know it’s coming. They banter and have chemistry throughout.

***spoiler***

While I did enjoy the dynamic between Anastasia and Sergei in the 1956 version, their romance didn’t seem as believable as I wanted it to be. They eventually get there in theory, but there’s no shot of them at the end, which I was hoping for/expecting, given how the 1997 version ends.

***end spoilter***

What if…?

They hadn’t taken a chance on Ingrid?

The fact that Zanuck facilitated her comeback is a huge deal. I’m not sure what would have happened to her if he hadn’t. Maybe she would have kept making movies in Europe, but the fact that she was able to come back in such a way with such a fantastic performance only could have been helpful to her career. Her next film would reunite her with Cary Grant for Indiscreet.

Alternative History/Classic Film Era Novels

If you like alternative history or biographical/historical fiction, I write that as well under the pen name Dottie Fray and historical paranormal romance under Elvira Fray.