Anna Christie (1930): The German Version

A young woman (Greta Garbo) comes to New York to see the father (Hans Junkermann) that abandoned her 15 years ago to a farm family. Unknown to her father, she was raped on the farm and later turned to prostitution to support herself. When she meets a burly if crude sailor (Theo Shall), she finds herself falling in love but will he be able to accept her past? Based on the play by Eugene O'Neill and directed by Jacques Feyder (CARNIVAL IN FLANDERS). In the early years of sound films, studios frequently produced foreign language versions of their films. Usually with the same sets but different actors. Garbo had made her sound debut in the English language version (released the same year) and she's the only cast member to appear in both versions. I've always preferred Garbo's performance in the German version to the English language version. Her performance in English version seems too stilted and she seems uncomfortable with the language (that would quickly improve) and she's more relaxed and natural in the German version. With Salka Viertel and Herman Bing.