Ingrid Bergman’s Return to American Film as ‘Anastasia’ 1956

 

Ingrid Bergman made her first American film in seven years in 1956's "Anastasia."
 Though matured, Ingrid had lost none of her luminosity.

The best way to enjoy 1956’s Anastasia is to view it as the selling of a myth. When the play and film of Anastasia were created in the ‘50s, there was still some room for doubt. This, allowing for the fact the Grand Dowager Marie never publicly accepted Anna Anderson as Anastasia and many people at the time believed that she was an imposter. The film Anastasia teases the unlikely possibility that Anna is actually her but glibly leaves the mystery open-ended.

Anna or Anastasia? Now, we know. But in 1956, the mystery over the fate of Russia's
 "Anastasia" was still debated. Whatever, it gave Ingrid Bergman her second Oscar.

The conclusive truth about the death of this member of the Russian royal family wasn’t proven beyond a doubt till nearly a century after their assassinations.

Anna was gradually proved to be an imposter through later historical research and DNA tests. This Anastasia can be enjoyed as a commentary on people’s appetite for mythologizing public figures and those who peddle in myth for profit. As a “is she or isn’t she” drama, Anastasia is, in hindsight, just a stylish fairy tale.

Yul Brynner's General Bounine and his team search for the perfect "Anastasia."

Anastasia had just turned 17 when she and her family were assassinated in the Russian Revolution. The film Anastasia takes place 10 years later, when a woman who thinks she might be the royal duchess turns up. Ingrid Bergman was 40 at the time—while she's still lovely, Ingrid was no longer girlish. Fox studio president Spyros Skouras wanted Jennifer Jones, nearly Bergman’s age. He was probably swayed by Jones’ Oscar-nominated smash at Fox, Love is a Many Splendored Thing. I wonder if anyone thought of Audrey Hepburn—she did appear in another Russian epic that year, War and Peace. Luckily, roving studio head Darryl Zanuck thought bringing Ingrid Bergman back to American film would be a coup. Zanuck was a gambler and this bet paid off. Much like Bergman’s Anastasia, Ingrid sought the embrace of her former American audiences that once loved her, like her Anna/Anastasia desired from the royal grandmother.

"Anastasia" was just one of many tormented women that Ingrid Bergman portrayed
 in her film heyday, from "Gaslight" to "Notorious" to "Joan of Arc."

Ingrid Bergman excelled at playing tormented women, elevated by her emotionalist but natural acting style. Bergman had her best role as Anna/Anastasia since she left Hollywood for her out-of-wedlock pregnancy scandal seven years earlier. As the beaten down woman in the early part of the film, she is typically realistic. Even in the later sections of the film, when she gets her royal makeover, Bergman plays with occasional grandeur, but it’s all in character. She won her second Oscar for Anastasia in a strong year of competition. Aside from formidable contenders Carroll Baker (Baby Doll), Nancy Kelly (The Bad Seed), Deborah Kerr (The King and I), and Katharine Hepburn (The Rainmaker), there were also-rans Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor for Bus Stop and Giant. What better way for Hollywood to forgive Bergman than to bestow a second Oscar for her juicy comeback.

Though Ingrid Bergman was a dozen years too old for the role of "Anastasia,"
her performance was superb.

Yul Brynner parried a one-two-three punch to superstardom in 1956: The King and I, The Ten Commandments, and Anastasia. Yul is riveting and in fine form in all three films, though his character is secondary to Bergman's Anastasia. Yul walks a fine line as the mercenary character that has a humane side. Aside from being exotically handsome, Brynner had a marvelous speaking voice, and a most piercing stare! Of the three films, General Sergei Bounine is Yul’s most subtle role, and shows that he doesn’t have to play larger than life to hold audiences’ attention. With his modern style of direct acting, Yul definitely holds his own with Bergman in her star turn as the would-be Russian royalty. 

Yul Brynner was in peak form in 1956, in every way! Here, in "Anastasia."

I've read critical comments that Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner had no chemistry in Anastasia. For one thing, their characters were adversarial for most of the film, until near the last act as he realizes he has feelings for this woman, no matter what her origins or motivations. From that viewpoint, I thought Bergman and Brynner had a realistic, adult rapport that gradually turns romantic. Almost always in movies, the stars' characters fall in love at first sight or suddenly decide in the finale that they love each other after all, always an eye roll for me.

Hollywood Royalty! Yul Brynner and Ingrid Bergman in 1956's "Anastasia."

Helen Hayes, who always seemed old to me, was just 15 years older than Bergman, who was a dozen years older than the actual Anastasia, and here Hayes plays Anastasia's grandmother. Aside from that skewed bit of Hollywood math, Hayes is feisty but warm as the doubting Dowager Marie, who's endured a slew of imposters already. Hayes’ royal goes through an arc of distrust, acceptance, love, and finally, amused resignation that this isn’t going to be her happy ending. Surprisingly, Hayes didn’t get a best supporting Oscar actress nomination for her plum role and well-modulated performance. It was a very strong year in the actress category, both starring and supporting. Oh well, at least Helen gets the movie’s witty last line. Interestingly, Anastasia received only two Oscar nominations: Bergman as winner as Best Actress and Alfred Newman nominated for Best Score.

Helen Hayes and Ingrid Bergman's big scene, as the Dowager Empress & the woman
who claims to be her granddaughter "Anastasia."

A terrific cast supports the star trio of Anastasia superbly, including Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt, FelixAylmer, Natalie Schaefer, and Sacha Pitoeff.

Perhaps it’s because the story of this Anastasia feels so specific in relation to the complex saga of the Russian duchess and her later wannabes, that it feels smooth to the point of slickness. And though “opened up” with location shooting, Anastasia still feels like a lavish play. Adapted from the stage, the smart script by Arthur Laurents (Gypsy, West Side Story, The Way We Were, and The Turning Point, has some memorable lines. That smartness may also account for the feeling of slickness versus the gritty turmoil of the Russian mystery woman who may have survived a grisly assassination.

Helen Hayes' Grand Dowager realizes that the reunion with the woman who claims
to be her granddaughter "Anastasia" is not meant to be. With Yul Brynner.

Anastasia was directed with style and sophistication by Anatole Litvak, a Russian Jew who had to exile twice in his life, first from Russia and later from Germany. Litvak was just a year younger than the real Anastasia, by the way.

A beautiful score and photography by Alfred Newman and Jack Hildyard are two examples of the top drawer production values by 20^th Century Fox for this lavish film.

Here’s my Facebook entertainment page, FYI!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/178488909366865 

You can take Anastasia as a well-crafted '50s film vehicle for Ingrid Bergman or as a cautionary tale about myths. Either way, it’s well worth a look.

Here’s my take on Ingrid Bergman in her first Oscar-winning role from a dozen years earlier, Gaslight: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2022/10/stars-story-light-up-mgms-gaslight-1944.html

 

The many women who have claimed to be "Anastasia" muddy the waters for Ingrid
 Bergman's Anna, who's not truly sure who she is herself.

Joan Crawford’s Tailor-Made ‘Strait-Jacket’ 1964

Joan Crawford's Lucy Harbin has an ax to grind with cheatin' hubby and his bimbo,
in 1964's thriller, "Strait-Jacket."

Joan Crawford’s post-studio contract films were often beyond over the top. But Strait-Jacket is right up there with Johnny Guitar as a bizarro bonanza. After the surprise success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Joan appeared in a solo suspense film, Strait Jacket, while Bette Davis made Dead Ringer.

Did Adrian design Joan's "Strait-Jacket?"

The lighting a match on the record player scene never fails to make me laugh.
I wish that Carol Burnett had spoofed Strait-Jacket on her classic TV series.

So much has been written about this camp classic, that I chose to note things about Strait-Jacket that I found personally interesting. The set up is about a young woman who catches her husband in bed with another woman upon returning home late one night. She responds by chopping their heads off with an ax. Done and dusted! She then spends the next twenty years in an asylum. Upon returning home to her grown daughter, creepy things begin to happen. And when the tensions really rise, heads begin to roll!

Frank Harbin and his bar pickup look laid out just like corpses! That's Lee Majors,
in his film debut, about to get the ax by Joan Crawford in 1964's "Strait-Jacket."

Lucy Harbin’s scrapbook, with pics of her 7 years younger hubby Frank, played by Lee Majors. In reality, Lee was almost 35 years younger than Joan! Note the pics in Strait-Jacket with hubby’s heads cut out. Shades of Uncle Greg in Mommie Dearest!

Strait-Jacket was written by Robert Bloch of Psycho fame. Producer/director William Castle worshiped Psycho director Alfred Hitchcock, which he demonstrated by totally copying him! Castle also admired the old-time stars, so getting Joan Crawford for this B thriller was a coup in his mind.

Ankle straps are a few of Joan’s favorite things, all on display in Strait Jacket!

Joan’s introduction as Lucy Harbin in Strait-Jacket is very similar to her
Sadie Thompson in Rain, another “big” performance!

Mama 'pank hard! Joan Crawford as a hoochie mama at the choo-choo station
makes me think of Bette Davis’ small town overripe vamp in Beyond the Forest:
the black fright wig, drag makeup, peasant dresses, and ankle strap shoes. 

The result is a fun fright flick that is presented in a stylish way. What undercuts Strait-Jacket is the dialogue and the story's plotting. All this and Joan Crawford working overtime to sell you that she’s 29 and later 49 at almost 60 sends the movie straight into camp orbit. Joan gives it her all and works well with Diane Baker, as her daughter. But Joan stands out in the wrong way against the weathered character actors who are her age, and the younger actors who actually look youthful. Contrasted against all of this is Joan, looking like a hillbilly Natasha Fatale.

Note the clap board. Joan plays 29 as Lucy Harbin in the opening set piece of 
Strait-Jacket. Crawford then plays her at 49 thereafter; Joan was 60-ish at the time.

“My mother, an ax murderer! Aren’t the pie slices bad enough? Must you degrade
 us?” Diane Baker as daughter Carol recalls her mother's history for the audience
and her boyfriend in Strait-Jacket's prologue!

Strait-Jacket was made on an even smaller budget than Baby Jane but was a moderate hit, helped by Joan’s tireless promotion. The downside was that it further stamped Joan as a hag horror film star.

Joan Crawford promoted her later movies and Pepsi with equal vigor. She even got
 Pepsi's PR vice-president a role as her psychiatrist in "Strait-Jacket!" 

George Kennedy, as Strait-Jacket's farm hand, who leers in his spare time. Isn’t it interesting that future “realistic” stars like Kennedy, Bruce Dern, James Caan, and Donald Sutherland started out playing "challenged" characters?

Time is a great healer and Joan’s star reputation has overcome the latter day downturns of Crawford’s life and career. Enjoy Strait-Jacket for what it is, one of Joan’s last gaudy jaunts at the Hollywood rodeo.

I love this candid from the wardrobe tests for Strait-Jacket. Joan’s silvery gray hair, simple make up, and smiling. This is much more appealing than the increasingly grim drag queen look Crawford sported in her later years.

Here’s my deep dive into Joan’s Oscar-winning Mildred Pierce, made 20 years before Strait-Jacket: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-joan-crawford-became-mildred-pierce.html

So my mother's an ax murderer! Mainstreaming Mommie has its challenges in 1964's
  Strait-Jacket. Joan with Rochelle Hudson, Diane Baker, and Leif Erickson.

Stanwyck Saves ‘The Night Walker’ 1964

 

Barbara Stanwyck reunited professionally with ex-husband Robert Taylor in
William Castle's 1964 suspense starrer, "The Night Walker."

Cheap thrills artist William Castle’s The Night Walker, was really more suspense than shock. The flamboyant producer/director played up the scares to ride the early ‘60s wave of post-Psycho/Baby Jane style fright flicks, but this outing was light on horror.

The 1964 film was hardly “hag horror” as star Barbara Stanwyck played a perfectly normal person being tormented and looked quite attractive at age 57. Stanwyck was teamed opposite former husband Robert Taylor, who actually did look very haggard and prematurely aged at 53. They worked together as professionals and without feuding, unlike other stars with histrionic “history.” Five years later, Taylor would be dead of lung cancer, after a lifetime of chain-smoking.

Producer/Director William Castle with his stars, Robert Taylor &
Barbara Stanwyck,  for 1964's "The Night Walker."

The premise of this moody noir-like movie is that after the death of her unstable scientist husband (Hayden Rorke in disfigured makeup), Stanwyck’s Irene Trenton returns to her beauty salon to take her mind off hubby’s sudden death. Irene’s dreams have become increasingly romantic, which had inflamed her jealous husband, convinced that she had a lover. Well, we see at least in her dreams that she has one, played by that unctuous smoothie, Lloyd Bochner of Dynasty fame. At least he doesn’t wear his usual smoking jacket and ascot! He’s quite young and handsome, in his aquiline way.

That's quite a liplock dream lover Lloyd Bochner lays on
Barbara Stanwyck in 1964's "The Night Walker."

The dreams become more intense and dire, as Mr. McDreamy wants to marry her. Are the dreams becoming reality? Is Irene in danger? Or is she merely wigging out? With the rather small cast, there are not a lot of suspects to choose from. The plot of The Night Walker is as slim as Stanwyck’s figure. And you know that Barbara Stanwyck, one of the most sensible stars ever, is not going berserk like Joan Crawford or all “Baby”-ish like Bette Davis. So “the how” of this mystery is more the question than whodunit.

Stanwyck is supposed to go over the top in response to her mental torture, but acting a hysterical scream queen is not Barbara’s bag. “Stany” is best when she’s down to earth or cool and understated. In her best film noirs or suspense films, Barbara Stanwyck is the acting equivalent of Peggy Lee, slyly insinuating without going big. Overall, Stanwyck’s performance is her usual total pro turn, with natural empathy. But when she starts screaming and hollering, it feels false and falls flat.

Barbara Stanwyck bellowing hysterically was not a good look for the cool actress!

I think Stanwyck aged quite gracefully and strikingly, with her gray hair now silver, in a subtle hairstyle and makeup. This is a far cry from most of her contemporaries who were becoming increasingly cartoonish looking or just going to seed. Stanwyck looked her age, but with great style.

Barbara Stanwyck was subtle and stylish in her older years, here in 1964's "The Night Walker." Thankfully, "The Big Valley"was just around the corner, a big career boost.

As the family lawyer in The Night Walker, Robert Taylor acts like a sleep walker. As he aged in dog years, Bob looked increasingly dour, much like Alan Ladd. Taylor also didn’t have Gable’s strong personality or Tyrone Power’s warm charm. The long-time MGM star seemed to be put increasingly out to pasture in westerns. Still, this horror film was a hiccup in both Bob and Bab’s careers.

Robert Taylor was a rough-looking 53 when he made 1964's "The Night Walker."

Producer-director William Castle used great imagination to stretch his B-movie budgets. In The Night Castle, the intro, complete with spoken work creepiness by Paul Frees, is visually striking if not terribly related to the movie itself. The score is by Vic Mizzy, the prolific composer who famously came up with The Addams Family theme. One recurring riff sounds amazingly like “Food, Glorious Food” from the Broadway musical Oliver!, which made its Broadway debut around this time. Coincidence? Who can say?

No, Hayden Rorke and Robert Taylor aren't debating who's the hotter dude for Barbara Stanwyck! From 1964's "The Night Walker."

The dream scenes are stylishly done and subtly, too, except when the courtroom wedding scene is populated by puppets that look like life size versions of The Thunderbirds. Hilariously camp, especially when the chandeliers catch fire and spin, with Stanwyck’s smoky voice emitting raspy screams!

No, this isn't Raymond Burr with blonde hair from "Rear Window," it's one of the creepy puppets/mannequins from 1964's "The Night Walker." Bizzaro!

This film has a thin plot, low budget, and loony logic, typical of William Castle. As a mood piece, it’s quite entertaining and shows some style, along with some eye-rolling chills! The Night Walker pairs well with Stanwyck’s half-baked ‘40s WB thriller, Cry Wolf, with Barbara’s character dealing with the loony men in her life, and a secret lab!

Below is a link to "The Night Walker."
Enjoy!

Here is an excellent, free copy of The Night Walker to watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5RYClikxcc&t=5s

Below is the link to my review at Stanwyck's
"Sorry, Wrong Number."

Here’s my look at Barbara’s best “woman in jeopardy” role, 1948’s “Sorry, Wrong Number”:  https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2025/06/stanwycks-fatal-phone-call-sorry-wrong.html