ANASTASIA (1956)
70TH ANNIVERSARY PRESENTATION
An impressive array of international talent came together to film the story of a mental patient who claimed to be the sole surviving member of the Russian royal family. Ukrainian-born director Anatole Litvak shot locations in Copenhagen and Paris along with studio work in England, where the world of exiled Russian royalty was sumptuously recreated by English and Russian art directors and a Swiss costume designer. The global cast included Helen Hayes (United States), Yul Brynner (Russia), Martita Hunt (Argentina), Felix Aylmer (Britain), and Akim Tamiroff (Republic of Georgia). The big news, however, was the casting of Swedish Ingrid Bergman, ending the seven-year Italian exile triggered by her scandal with director Roberto Rossellini where they had an affair despite being married to other people, and she had his son out of wedlock. The film’s success marked her comeback, capped by her winning her second Best Actress Oscar.
d. Anatole Litvak, 105, DCP
DCP courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.