Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Remade by Greta Garbo: Anna Christie

 



The policy of filming on a closed set that was almost a trademark for actress Greta Garbo may have in part originated earlier. Exhibitor's Herald during 1923 ran an announcement credited to a "Special to Exhibitor's Herald" in Los Angeleas titled "Ince Signs Sweet", which read, "'Anna Christie' star has been signed by Thomas H. Ince for another big special to be made behind closed doors."
     "Anna Christie" was seen as a comeback film for Blanche Sweet for many fan and trade magazines. Picture Play magazine during 1924, in a full page of photos entitled "Fulfilling the Promise" wrote, "Years ago, Blanche Sweet gave promise of being one of the screen's greatest emotional actors. Then we saw no more of her, for illness had forced her to give up her work. To her has fallen the honor of playing the title role in 'Anna Christie', one of the greatest contemporary emotional roles and the photograph at the left suggests what an interesting characterization it will be."



For readers familiar with the photographers of Greta Garbo, the above photograph was published by Clarence Sinclair Bull, who became photographer for Greta Garbo with the advent of sound film and her filming for director Clarence Brown with cameraman William Daniels and set designer-costume artist Adrian. Several photographs of Greta Garbo taken by Clarence Sinclair Bull that were scanned from the original negative and left over from the biography Greta Garbo, A Cinematic Legacy, appear in this page in the margins.
Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo

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