MGM was coddling its star attraction, Greta Garbo, when talkies were emerging as a force in movie theaters. The studio was the last to fully surrender its silent movie productions, and Garbo was the main reason. The Swedish actress was under intense tutelage to learn how to speak eloquently in the English language since she hardly knew a word of it when she arrived in the United States in 1925. There were a number of Hollywood silent movie stars from Europe whose language barrier spelled their doom in the transition to sound. MGM didn't want one its most valuable commodities to become a liability because of her thick accent. That, and Garbo's little stage experience, were potential stumbling blocks to further her career in film.
The studio found a role where she could speak English with a Swedish accent. Adapting a 1921 Eugene O'Neill play, MGM cast her as a woman from Minnesota in February 1930's "Anna Christie." Her character, Anna, hadn't seen her father, Chris (George Marion), a coal barge operator in New York City harbor, since she was five. Now that she's 20, her seedy past is coming back to haunt her. Sixteen minutes into the film, Garbo finally appears in the picture by walking into a waterfront bar.
"Gimme a whisky, ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby," she says to a waiter. Her first words on the screen became one of those huge monumental moments in cinema history. Garbo is finally heard talking. A New York Times film reviewer described the actress' tonality as "a boy's voice, really, rather flat, rather toneless, yet growing more attractive as the picture advances and you become somewhat accustomed to it." The studio's publicity department was in overdrive as it handed out releases of the actress' first talking picture to the nation's newspapers, who blared the headline "Garbo Speaks."
"Anna Christie" deals with a woman whose previous two years were torturous. Her father suspects she's had a sordid past. Anna's secretive about it until they rescue a sailor, Matt (Charles Bickford), whose ship has sunk. The two young 'uns fall in love, which spurs Anna to tell both Matt and her father her sad, dark history.
One of the highlights of "Anna Christie" is actress Marie Dressler as the mistress to Anna's father. Dressler was witnessing a rejuvenation from a stalled film career in the mid-1920s. She began speaking on the screen in her role as a wisecracking stage actress in February 1930's "Chasing Rainbows." Dressler possessed a strong speaking voice, suited perfectly for talkies.
The studio produced a German-language version of "Anna Christie," filmed after the English version. Garbo, who grew up learning German, retained her roled as Anna while she was surrounded by a cast of German actors. Her opening line was spoken as "Whisky - aber nicht zu knapp!" ("Whiskey, but not too short").
The Academy members loved Garbo's first talking performance, nominating her for Best Actress in both her "Anna Christie" role and for her next film, "Romance." Other nominations associated with the O'Neill film adaptation (which was first brought to the screen in Blanche Sweet's 1923 silent) was for Best Director (Clarence Brown) and Best Cinematography (William Daniels). But it's Garbo's role, as one critic says, that this movie will always be remembered. "Whether dramatically running her hands through her hair, throwing back her head with a sarcastic laugh, or simply hunching her shoulders with a sorrowful look on her face, she is absolutely riveting to watch." The American Film Institute felt so strongly about Garbo's first words on the screen its members nominated her opening line for consideration for its top 100 Movie Quotes of All-Time.
The studio found a role where she could speak English with a Swedish accent. Adapting a 1921 Eugene O'Neill play, MGM cast her as a woman from Minnesota in February 1930's "Anna Christie." Her character, Anna, hadn't seen her father, Chris (George Marion), a coal barge operator in New York City harbor, since she was five. Now that she's 20, her seedy past is coming back to haunt her. Sixteen minutes into the film, Garbo finally appears in the picture by walking into a waterfront bar.
"Gimme a whisky, ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby," she says to a waiter. Her first words on the screen became one of those huge monumental moments in cinema history. Garbo is finally heard talking. A New York Times film reviewer described the actress' tonality as "a boy's voice, really, rather flat, rather toneless, yet growing more attractive as the picture advances and you become somewhat accustomed to it." The studio's publicity department was in overdrive as it handed out releases of the actress' first talking picture to the nation's newspapers, who blared the headline "Garbo Speaks."
"Anna Christie" deals with a woman whose previous two years were torturous. Her father suspects she's had a sordid past. Anna's secretive about it until they rescue a sailor, Matt (Charles Bickford), whose ship has sunk. The two young 'uns fall in love, which spurs Anna to tell both Matt and her father her sad, dark history.
One of the highlights of "Anna Christie" is actress Marie Dressler as the mistress to Anna's father. Dressler was witnessing a rejuvenation from a stalled film career in the mid-1920s. She began speaking on the screen in her role as a wisecracking stage actress in February 1930's "Chasing Rainbows." Dressler possessed a strong speaking voice, suited perfectly for talkies.
The studio produced a German-language version of "Anna Christie," filmed after the English version. Garbo, who grew up learning German, retained her roled as Anna while she was surrounded by a cast of German actors. Her opening line was spoken as "Whisky - aber nicht zu knapp!" ("Whiskey, but not too short").
The Academy members loved Garbo's first talking performance, nominating her for Best Actress in both her "Anna Christie" role and for her next film, "Romance." Other nominations associated with the O'Neill film adaptation (which was first brought to the screen in Blanche Sweet's 1923 silent) was for Best Director (Clarence Brown) and Best Cinematography (William Daniels). But it's Garbo's role, as one critic says, that this movie will always be remembered. "Whether dramatically running her hands through her hair, throwing back her head with a sarcastic laugh, or simply hunching her shoulders with a sorrowful look on her face, she is absolutely riveting to watch." The American Film Institute felt so strongly about Garbo's first words on the screen its members nominated her opening line for consideration for its top 100 Movie Quotes of All-Time.