Anna Sten Movies
Among the many "new Greta Garbos' " of the '30s, Russian-born actress Anna Sten was the most famous -- or rather, most notorious. Anna's father was a Russian ballet master who died when she was twelve; Anna herself worked as a waitress until she was discovered at age 15 while acting in an amateur play in Kiev. Her discoverer was the influential Russian stage director/instructor Konstantin Stanislavsky, who arranged for her to get an audition at the Moscow Film Academy. She acted in plays and films in Russia, then travelled to Germany to appear in films co-produced by German and Russian studios (this sort of "international" production was common in the years prior to World War II). Making a smooth transition to talking pictures, Anna appeared in such German films as Trapeze (1931) and The Brothers Karamazov (1931) until she came to the attention of American movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn. Goldwyn was looking for a foreign-born actress that he could build up as the rival of (and possible successor to) Garbo. The producer did not plunge into this endeavor half-heartedly; for two years after bringing Ms. Sten to America, Goldwyn had his new star tutored in English and taught Hollywood screen acting methods. He poured a great deal of time and money into Sten's first US film, Nana, a somewhat homogenized version of Emile Zola's scandalous 19th century novel. But Nana did not click with the box office -- nor did her two subsequent Goldwyn films, We Live Again (1934) and The Wedding Night (1935). Reluctantly, Goldwyn dissolved his contract with his "new Garbo." Speculation in recent years that Sten's failure to connect with American movie fans was due to a lack of talent is incorrect: Anna Sten could act quite well, but audiences were resistant to (a) her Hollywood-fabricated "exotic" image and (b) Goldwyn's overenthusiastic publicity campaign. Sten continued making films in the US and England, but none of them were remarkable, and few of them - notably a late-'50s "juvenile delinquent" epic produced at cellar-dwelling American International Pictures - were downright horrible. Happily, Sten did not have to rely on acting to support her comfortable lifestyle; she was married to film producer Eugene Frenke, who flourished in Hollywood after following his wife stateside in 1932. Most of Anna Sten's latter-day film appearances were, in fact, favors to her husband: She had an uncredited bit in the Frenke-produced Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957), and a full lead in her final film (also produced by Frenke), The Nun and the Sergeant (1962). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1962
In this war drama set during the Korean War, a grizzled GI must undertake a potentially suicidal mission. He decides not to waste his best soldiers and instead chooses from amongst his very worst. He then attempts to train them. His methods are harsh, and his men hate him. Secretly, they conspire to kill him and go AWOL as soon as possible. However, as soon as they cross enemy lines, they meet an injured American nun and her schoolgirls at the place they must blow up. Their hated, but experienced leader manages to help them all out of a potentially horrific situation thereby winning the respect of both the men and the young girls. The men become loyal to him. Only one remains rebellious. He attempts to rape one of the girls. Because the nun's injured leg grows worse, he allows the girls to take her to safety. He and his men then go on to succeed in their endeavors and they all become heroes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Webber, Anna Sten, (more)
- 1957
Another American-International opus which managed to attain top bookings on the strength of an exploitational titles, Runaway Daughters concentrates on the misadventures of a trio of teenaged girls. Audrey Barton (Marla English) wants something more out of life than her parents' money can buy; Dixie (Mary Ellen Kaye) wants to escape the tyranny of her misogynistic father; and Angela Forrest (Gloria Castillo) is a child of divorce, left to fend for herself in a hostile world. Not surprisingly, our three heroines end up in a heap of trouble in their pursuit of happiness; also not surprisingly, the film promises far more than it delivers. Of interest is the presence in the cast of 1930s film star Anna Sten. Runaway Daughters was originally released on a double bill with A-I's Shake, Rattle and Rock; it was remade for cable TV in 1994, as part of Showtime's "Rebel Highway" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marla English, Anna Sten, (more)
- 1955
The first of two Clark Gable films produced by 20th Century-Fox, Soldier of Fortune casts Gable as an American mercenary, running a successful smuggling operation in and out of Hong Kong. Gable is hired by Susan Hayward, who hopes to locate her missing husband, photographer Gene Barry. Upon discovering that Barry is being held by the Communists somewhere on the Chinese mainland, Gable risks his neck to rescue the man. Along the way, he falls in love with Hayward, which may or may not compromise his dedication to saving Barry's neck. Filmed largely on location, Soldier of Fortune deserves to be seen in its original CinemaScope form--or, at the very least, in the "letterboxed" version recently made available to cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1948
Sexual harassment can work both ways as can be seen in this romantic comedy when ad man endeavors to maneuver out of a relationship with his girlfriend. This is difficult as she controls a major account for his company and refuses to renew it unless he continues to go out with her. The frustrated fellow then begins having neurotic fits until, at last, he is taken off her account. For his new assignment, he must promote a psychiatrist's latest book. They meet and he is captivated by the lovely doctor. The nervous fellow then becomes her patient, and before long they both fall in love. Unfortunately, the other woman has not given up. His troubles are far from over when he later discovers that the shrink doesn't really love him--she is only using him for a case study. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hedy Lamarr, Robert Cummings, (more)
- 1943
Another of a wartime cycle of Hollywood films lauding the praises of America's Soviet allies, Three Russian Girls is a remake of Russia's The Girl From Stalingrad. Set just after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the film stars Anna Sten as Natasha, a Red Cross volunteer who is dispatched to a field hospital located in an old pre-revolution mansion. American test pilot John Hill (Kent Smith), who'd been in Russia on a goodwill mission, is wounded in battle and brought to the hospital. As he slowly recovers from his wounds, Hill falls in love with Natasha. A last-act crisis develops when the hospital personnel are forced to move immediately to Leningrad as the Nazis advance. Most of the "counter attack" scenes that follow were obviously lifted from the original Girl from Stalingrad. For the record, the other two "Russian girls" are played by Mimi Forsaythe and Cathy Frye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Kent Smith, (more)
- 1943
In this provocative WW II drama, an American agent sneaks into a Nazi spy ring to learn the identities of certain double-agents. The hero works for the FBI, but was born in Germany and speaks the language like a native. First he assumes a dead spy's identity and in that guise, contacts the Nazi superiors. He is then placed aboard a U-boat and sent to the US. Things go well until his cover is blown. Fortunately, he manages to escape. He then is forced to appear in a lengthy court case to help convict the treacherous spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Sanders, Anna Sten, (more)
- 1943
Subtitled The Fighting Guerillas, Chetniks tells the story of Yugoslavian guerilla fighter General Draja Mihailovitch. Based on the General's own memoirs, the film depicts Mihailovitch (played here by Philip Dorn) as a selfless idealist, leading his resistance troops, known as the Chetniks, on one raid after another against the Germans during WW II. The best scenes involve the deadly clashes between Chetniks and Germans in the treacherous mountain regions of Yugoslavia. Anna Sten, Sam Goldwyn's 1930s "answer" to Greta Garbo, co-stars as Mihailovitch's self-sacrificing spouse. Initially, some dismissed this movie because of the mistaken belief that the Chetniks collaborated with the Nazis during WWII, but as Michael Lees unequivocally proves in his book The Rape of Serbia, this was actually a myth fed to Churchill by the Communist partisans of Josip Broz Tito, to convince the British prime minister to shift Allied aid away from the Chetniks. The events in this film are thus factual. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Dorn, Anna Sten, (more)
The Nazis are clearly the villains in So Ends Our Night, but since the film was made before America's entry into World War II, Adolph Hitler goes unmentioned (we wouldn't want to lose those foreign markets, would we?) Based on Erich Maria Remarque's novel Flotsam, the film zeroes in on three German refugees. Frederic March despises the Nazis on ideological grounds; Margaret Sullavan, a Jew, is fleeing for her life; and Glenn Ford, born of a Jewish mother and Aryan father, is racked with confusion and torn loyalties. The three separate as they move from country to country in Europe, just a step or so ahead of the advancing Nazis. As Sullavan and Ford fall in love, March puts his life on the line by trying to arrange a reunion with his ailing wife Frances Dee, who has remained in Germany. Had So Ends Our Night been released a few months after the US entry into the war, it might have done better at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric March, Margaret Sullavan, (more)
- 1940
This cautionary pre-World War II drama stars Joan Bennett as an American girl who falls in love and marries a German (Francis Lederer) in 1938. At first he seems charming, but Joan discovers that her husband is slowly being seduced by the Nazi Party. Determined to leave, Bennett is forced to battle Lederer for custody of their child, whom the husband plans to raise as a budding Fascist. The Nazi is foiled by his father(Otto Kruger), who crushes Lederer's "iron will" by informing his son that his own mother was Jewish. At 77 minutes, The Man I Married cuts out all slack, and the result is a taut, exciting melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Bennett, Francis Lederer, (more)
Exile Express was the last film produced by Grand National Pictures, and a worthy farewell it was. Anna Sten, former Sam Goldwyn protegee and the wife of Exile Express producer Eugene Frenke, stars as Nadine Nikolas, a young European girl whose chances of becoming an American citizen are scotched when she is implicated in a murder. About to be deported, Nadine is rescued by reporter Steve Reynolds (Alan Marshall), who suspects that the killing was engineered by a gang of international spies. One delightful scene permits the haughty Ms. Sten to "let herself go" by dancing an energetic jitterbug. Directed by Universal contractee Otis Garrett, Exile Express is a satisfying blend of comedy, romance, and edge-of-the-seat suspense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Alan Marshal, (more)
- 1937
Having flunked out as Sam Goldwyn's answer to Greta Garbo, Russian actress Anna Sten retreated to Britain for the 1936 historical drama A Woman Alone. Based on a novel by Fedor Ozop, the film is set in 19th century Russia. Sten plays a peasant girl who falls in love with military captain Henry Wilcoxon. The subsequent emotionally supercharged complications are reminiscent of the similar ill-fated romance in Tolstoy's Resurrection (which Sten had earlier filmed as We Live Again). Produced by Anna Sten's husband Eugene Frenke, A Woman Alone was originally released in Britain as Two Who Dared. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Henry Wilcoxon, (more)
- 1935
In this Samuel Goldwyn production directed by King Vidor, the studio's intent was to make Russian-born Anna Sten a star, but it didn't succeed. Sten plays Manya Nowak, a Polish farm girl attracted to Tony Barrett (Gary Cooper), a novelist with writer's block who has retreated to a Connecticut farmhouse to find his muse. Barrett's wife Dora (Helen Vinson) misses the city and returns there, while Tony decides to use Manya as a character in his next novel. They become friends, and Tony learns that her straightlaced father Jan (Sigfried Rumann) has betrothed Manya to Fredrik Sobieski (Ralph Bellamy), whom she does not love. Manya and Tony spend a chaste night together when a blizzard shuts them in. Her father drags her home and demands that she marry Fredrik immediately. Many arguments and disagreements ensue. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Anna Sten, (more)
We Live Again was based on Tolstoy's Resurrection; the title was changed upon producer Sam Goldwyn's theory that it meant the same thing as Resurrection and was easier to understand. The film was meant as an introductory showcase for Goldwyn's latest discovery, Russian actress Anna Sten. The story, much laundered from the Tolstoy original, depicts the downfall of a peasant girl who is seduced by a Russian prince (Fredric March). The once-callous nobleman tries to make amends for the hurt he has inflicted on the girl, who has wound up in prison for solicitation. The first American version of Resurrection, directed by D. W. Griffith, was made in 1909 and lasted ten minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Fredric March, (more)
- 1934
In this handsomely-staged adaptation of the story by Emile Zola, Anna Sten plays Nana, a woman of the streets who is spotted by noted theatrical producer Gaston Greiner (Richard Bennett). Greiner is so impressed by Nana's beauty that he gives her a part in his latest revue. Almost overnight, Nana is the toast of Paris and a star of the highest magnitude; however, fame and fortune brings her little happiness, as two brothers, Lt. George Muffat (Phillips Holmes) and Col. Andre Muffat (Lionel Atwill), both vie for her affections, leading to a bitter rivalry that ends in tragedy. Russian actress Anna Sten was brought to America as a protégé of producer Samuel Goldwyn, who sought to make Sten the "next Garbo." The resounding box office failure of Nana and Sten's next two vehicles led Goldwyn to drop her contract two years after bringing her to Hollywood, though she continued to work sporadically in films for another 25 years. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Phillips Holmes, (more)
- 1932
Also known as Tempest and Storm of Passion, Stuerme der Leidenschaft was the first of Robert Siodmak's two directorial efforts of 1932. Emil Jannings stars as a tough but basically gentle gangster who, while serving a prison term, is betrayed by his sweetheart Anna Sten. Released from prison, the disgruntled Jannings murders Sten's seducer, forcing him to hide out from the police. Meanwhile, Sten, who has sworn total fidelity to her fugitive lover, again betrays him at the first opportunity. Wearily, Jannings gives himself up to the authorities, declaring that he'd rather be in jail than at the mercy of a faithless woman. Siodmak also supervised the French-language version, Tumultes, which starred Yves Mirande. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emil Jannings, Anna Sten, (more)
- 1932
E.A.Dupont's Trapeze was originally released in 1931 as Salto Morale (aka Circus of Sin). A rehash of Dupont's silent classic Variety, the film stars Anna Sten and Adolph Wohlbruch. A huband-and-wife pair of circus performers. Deeply in love, the couple is rent asunder by the intrusion of another man. Things end on a tragic note when the husband wreaks what he thinks is a clever vengeance -- but isn't. The film that made Anna Sten a star in Europe, Trapeze's 1934 American release coincided with the appearance of Sten's first Hollywood picture, Nana. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Reinhold Bernt, (more)
- 1931
The queen wants to take a vacation, and she wants passage aboard a ship whose crew is waiting for their pay. The captain has a winning streak and acquires enough money to pay the crew, but he doesn't know when to stop and loses all of the cash. He demands that the casinos of Monte Carlo refund his money or claims he will bomb the city. The queen, who has remained aboard, orders his arrest. Unwilling to be taken captive, he jumps ship and is saved by the crew of a ship which is going to Honolulu. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1931
This is a loose adaptation of Dostoyevsky's classic The Brothers Karamazov. It chronicles the story of Dimitri who gave up his high social standing and his fiance to pursue a love affair with a whore. Dimitri's father is also in love with her. When the father turns up dead, Dimitri is convicted for the crime and is sent to Siberia with the prostitute who refuses to leave her side. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Fritz Kortner, (more)
- 1931
Throughout his directorial career, E. A. Dupont endeavored to match the success of his 1926 silent classic Variety. Like the earlier film, Salto Mortale has a circus background and is predicated on a romantic triangle, but that's where the resemblance ends. The title refers to a particularly treacherous acrobatic feat, which is performed four times in the picture as a sort of connecting link. The protagonists are three acrobats, two men and a woman. The fact that both men are in love with the woman results in some pretty tense moments under the Big Top, leading to a near-tragedy in the middle of a performance of the "salto mortale." Heading the cast are Anna Sten and Adolf Wohlbrueck (aka Anton Walbrook), both of whom went on to brief Hollywood careers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Manès, Anna Sten, (more)
- 1931
Despite its title, the German musical comedy Bomben auf Monte Carlo is not a war picture -- not in the traditional sense, anyway. Hans Albers stars as a naval captain from a small, mythical kingdom who heads to his consulate in Monte Carlo, complaining that neither he nor his crew have received their wages in months. The Queen (Anna Sten), travelling incognito, overhears the Captain's beef and sells her pearls to pay his salary. Not knowing the queen's true identity, the captain accompanies her to the gaming tables, where they win an enormous sum of money -- only to lose it all on the draw of a single card. Once more unable to pay his crew, the captain threatens to aim his ship's guns at Monte Carlo and blow up the casino unless his money is returned. At this point, the queen reveals her true identity, then relieves the captain of his command. He jumps ship, she jumps after him, and the two fall in love. Such was Hans Albers' popularity in 1931 that few cared whether his films made sense or not. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hans Albers, Anna Sten, (more)
Originally Potomak Chingis-khan (The Heir to Genghis Khan), Russian filmmaker Vsevolod Pudovkin's Storm Over Asia is set in Central Asia in 1920. Valeri Inkijinov plays a young Mongolian trapper ostracized from his village after he is cheated out of a valuable fox fur by a European trader. Becoming a Soviet partisan, the trapper is thrust into prominence when it is learned that he is descended from Genghis Khan. The occupying English army (identified as the White Russian army in foreign prints of the film, downplaying the West's effort to secure a stronghold in Russia in the years following the revolution) puts the trapper in charge of a puppet Mongolian government. By film's end, however, the "puppet" has cut the strings in a spectacular fashion. "Spectacular" is indeed the appropriate word for this sweeping political drama, which though not a huge success with domestic audiences upon its first release, is now regarded as one of Pudovkin's finest efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- I. Inkizhinov, A. Dedintsev, (more)
- 1928
Lash of the Czar was one of several English-language titles for the Russian film Belyi Orel. The film was based on The Governor, a play by Leonid Andreyev. V.I. Kachalov plays the governor of a small Russian province who tries to treat the people under his authority with kindness and equanimity. But when a local factory goes on strike, the governor buckles under to pressure from the Czar and orders the wholesale slaughter of the strikers. He pays for this betrayal of his trust with his life -- at the hands of a courageous Bolshevik spy. Anna Sten, who in 1934 was brought to the U.S. as Sam Goldwyn's "answer" to Greta Garbo, appears as the governor's wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vasiliy Kachalov, Anna Sten, (more)
- 1927
In this silent Russian film, an underhanded boss pays an impoverished employee with a lottery ticket instead of the money she earned. However, when the ticket turns out to be a winner, the greedy man struggles to get it back. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Ivan Koval-Samborsky, (more)
