Anastasia

Classic film from the play by Marcelle Maurette, adapted by Guy Bolton and screenplay by Arthur Laurents. The story is based on a factual account of the mystery that surrounded the Russian princess Anastasia, youngest daughter of Tzar Nicholas II, who along with her family was imprisoned and shot after the 1917 revolution. Or was she shot? Did Anastasia in fact live on? The scene is Paris in 1928 during the time of Russian Easter. A destitute and suicidal woman suffering from amnesia who remarkably resembles Princess Anastasia (Ingrid Bergman) is rescued by exiled Russian General Bounine (Yul Brynner). The suave, but forceful General, conspires to pass this woman off as the long-lost daughter of the Tzar for the sole purpose of benefiting from the Princess’s ten million pound inheritance. But there are many who remain sceptical, not least of all the Russian Grand Duchess (Helen Hayes), grandmother of the real Anastasia. An intriguing plot played out superbly by Bergman and Brynner but also made all the more intriguing following Bergman’s own Hollywood comeback from exile in Europe after her affair with Italian director, Roberto Rossellini. (Awards: Academy Awards, 1957, Ingrid Bergman for Best Actress in a Leading Role; Golden Globes, 1957, Ingrid Bergman for Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama)