Anna Karenina, dutiful wife and doting mother, knows contentment but not passion. That changes when she meets ardent Count Vronsky. For him, she throws away marriage, family, social position...and finally her life.
Leo Tolstoy's novel receives sumptuous treatment in David O. Selznick's production. The cast - including Fredric March (as Vronsky), Basil Rathbone, Maureen O'Sullivan and Freddie Bartholomew - is stellar under the direction of Clarence Brown. But the soul of the film in Greta Garbo in a nuanced performance that won the New York Film Critics Best Actress Award. At the height of her art, Garbo is unforgettable as a woman helpless in love's thrall and heartbroken at the loss of her son. Her final scene will haunt you.
Product Description:
This stunning film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic romantic tragedy stars the incomparable Greta Garbo in the title role. Anna Karenina, a young Russian woman trapped in a loveless marriage, meets and falls in love with Count Vronsky (Fredric March), a member of the Russian army. Karenin (Basil Rathbone), her husband, refuses to give her a divorce, but, determined to pursue true love, she leaves her marriage and child to follow the soldier to Venice. Desperate to avenge his lost love, Karenin tells their son, Sergei (played by child star Freddie Bartholomew), that his mother has died in a foreboding and tragic twist of fate. However, Anna's romance with Vronsky falters when he deserts her to join the Turkish-Serbian war. In pursuit of their love, Anna follows him to St. Petersburg, but only tragedy awaits. Garbo gives a masterful and remarkable performance as Leo Tolstoy's ill-fated heroine--one of the most remade film stories--set against the sumptuous vision of czarist Russia.
Description by Warner Home Video:
Anna Karenina, dutiful wife and doting mother, knows contentment but not passion. That changes when she meets ardent Count Vronsky. For him, she throws away marriage, family, social position and finally her life.
Leo Tolstoy's novel receives sumptuous treatment in David O. Selznick's production. The cast - including Fredric March (as Vronsky), Basil Rathbone, Maureen O'Sullivan and Freddie Bartholomew - is stellar under the direction of Clarence Brown. But the soul of the film is Greta Garbo in a nuanced performance that won the New York Film Critics Best Actress Award. At the height of her art, Garbo is unforgettable as a woman helpless in love's thrall and heartbroken at the loss of her son. Her final scene will haunt you.
Plot Keywords:
Adventure |
Romance |
Tragedy |
Vintage
Production Notes:
This was the third screen adaptation of Tolstoy's novel. The first was a silent version, also starring Greta Garbo, entitled LOVE. A fourth version of ANNA KARENINA was made in 1948.
Film Collectors & Archivists: Alpha Video is actively looking for rare and
unusual pre-1943 motion pictures, in good condition, from Monogram, PRC,
Tiffany, Chesterfield, and other independent studios for release on DVD. We
are also interested in TV shows from the early 1950s. Share your passion
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Based on 
![Broadway Melody of 1940 [Rare & Out-of-Print]](http://d3dvedx3sqrauf.cloudfront.net/i/boxart/mid/57/08/012569570825.jpg "Broadway Melody of 1940 [Rare & Out-of-Print]")
