America gave a belated welcome home to Ingrid Bergman in this film (her first studio-produced movie after being practically banished from the US for having an illicit affair and an illegitimate pregnancy!) It was thanks to her rather regal nature and the persistence of Darryl F. Zanuck that she even got the chance. The story is a fictionalized account of what became of a Russian princess believed assassinated with the rest of her family during the Russian revolution. Like several others before her, Bergman's character turns up believing that she could be a surviving royal---in her case Anastasia. Brynner is a con man who doesn't particularly care if she is or is not the princess, so long as the Dowager Empress (Anastasia's grandmother) believes that she is. In order to fully enjoy the film, one must say goodbye to a lot of the cold, hard historical facts and just accept the film as a dramatic fantasy. Bergman shines in the title role (though at 41, was a touch too old to be playing this character!) She has the right European strength and dignity, beaten down by time and turmoil. She's a heroine to root for (much more so than the actual woman she is based on.) Brynner completes a stunning threesome for 1956 with this film and his work in "The Ten Commandments" and "The King and I". He and Bergman make a compelling pair. An added bonus is the rather surprising casting of Helen Hayes as the Grand Duchess. She was choen in order to win the approval of Americans who had reviled Bergman previously...if a monument to American values like Hayes approved enough to appear in the film, then the rest of the country had permission to enjoy it. Though some reviewers didn't approve of her at the time, her scenes are filled with great professionalism and, finally, stirring emotion. Her stoic countenance is quite a contrast to her impish work with Disney and other projects later. The supporting cast is colorful and interesting as well (keep an eye peeled for "Mrs. Howell" of "Gilligan's Island"!) Special mention goes to the effervescent Hunt who steals every frame of film she appears in. The icing on the cake is Alfred Newman's magnificent score. The music is grand and appropriately Russian and royal in flavor. (Some of it was derived from original Russian works.) It adds the perfect feel to this gloriously beautiful film.
Review of Anastasia
