Russian exiles in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute, suicidal girl to pose as heir to the Russian throne. While Bounin is coaching her, he comes to believe that she is really Anastasia. In the end, the Empress must decide her claim.
Acting
Bergman's Oscar-winning fragility—every scene a masterclass in doubt.
Costume
Helen Rose's imperial wardrobe: exile desperation meets royal delusion.
Direction
Litvak's shadowy Paris: romantic noir where identity itself is the heist.
Director
Anatole Litvak
Ingrid Bergman
Anna Koreff / Anastasia
Yul Brynner
General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine
Helen Hayes
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna
Akim Tamiroff
Boris Adreivich Chernov
Martita Hunt
Baroness Elena von Livenbaum
Felix Aylmer
Chamberlain
Sacha Pitoëff
Piotr Ivanovich Petrovin
Ivan Desny
Prince Paul von Haraldberg
Natalie Schafer
Irina Lissemskaia / Nini
Grégoire Gromoff
Stepan
Karl Stepanek
Mikhail Vlados
Ina De La Haye
Marusia
Katherine Kath
Maxime
Peter Sallis
Grischa (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Bergman's Hollywood redemption after the Roberto Rossellini scandal exiled her; the Academy ate it up, giving her a second Oscar. Meanwhile, the real Anna Anderson was still alive and litigious.
The 1956 release capitalized on Cold War Romanov obsession—American audiences loved the fantasy that some spark of imperial Russia survived Stalin's erasure. DNA testing would later crush this particular fantasy.
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