Anna Karenina (1935)
The story is set in 19th century Russia. Anna Karenina (Greta Garbo) is married to a wealthy government official, Karenin (Basil Rathbone), and has a young son, Sergei (Freddie Bartholomew). She visits her brother, Stiva (Reginald Owen), to help resolve his marriage issues caused by his infidelities. While there, she meets Count Vronsky (Fredric March) and they fall deeply in love with each other. When she returns home, Anna continues to see Vronsky despite her marriage. She asks Karenin for a divorce, but he refuses and warns her that if she becomes Vronsky's mistress, she will lose all claim to their son. In spite of this, Anna, driven by her love for Vronsky, chooses to be with him.
Initially, their life together is idyllic, but Vronsky begins to miss the military life and after a fight with Anna, he re-joins the army. Anna goes to the train station to reconcile with him and sees him being introduced to a girl by his mother (May Robson). In that moment she realizes that she has lost everything that was important to her and tragically throws herself in front of a train.
Film programs
Books with substantial mentioning of Anna Karenina
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Stanley Hochman (editor) From Quasimodo to Scarlett O'Hara, A National Board of Review Anthology 1920 - 1940 New York, 1982 |
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Michael Conway, Dion McGregor and Mark Ricci The Films of Greta Garbo Secaucus, New Jersey, 1973 |
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Books with an entry on Anna Karenina
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Jay Robert Nash, Stanley Ralph Ross The Motion Picture Guide, Volume I A-B 1927-1983 Chicago, 1985 |
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Paul Michael, editor in chief. James Robert Parish, associate editor The American movies reference book, The sound era Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,, 1969 |
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