1926 , three Russian exiles (Yul Brynner , Sacha Pitoeff, Akim Tamiroff) in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute , amnesical and suicidal girl Anna Koreff (Ingrid Bergman) to pose as heir to the Russian throne . 18-year-old orphan Anna is chosen by General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine (Yul Brynner) and convinces her that she could be the long lost princess and as incarnate Anastasia , the last surviving member of the Romanoff dynasty. As such , she becomes part of a scam to collect millions of rubles deposited in a foreign bank by her supposed father Nicolas , the now-dead Czar , after the fall of Russian Empire due to 1917 Revolution . While Bounin is coaching her he comes to believe she is really Anastasia . And Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (incomparable Helen Hayes) as the key to the conspiracy . In the end the Empress must decide her claim. From the sensational Broadway stage success that had audiences crying its acclaim!. The Great Ingrid Bergman as the mystery woman - Anastasia ; in her Best Actress Academy Award winning title role. WHEN THESE TWO MEET... But is she just impersonating the princess ? it is the beginning of the most amazing conspiracy the world has ever known!.The most amazing conspiracy the world has ever known, and love as it never happened to a man and woman before!

Enjoyable and attractive film concerning a strong drama freely based on facts , in which a girl disguising as a Russian princess , but the premise is the following : Is she really Anastasia ? . Based on Marcelle Maurette's play with big success in Broadway and all around the world . This is a charming movie in which Bergman returned to Hollywood, as Ingrid Bergman won her second Oscar in the title role , and deservedly so , for the classy portrayal of amnesia victim chosen by Russian expratiate Brynner to impersonate Anastasia . As Yul Brynner as the arch-conspirator is magnificent ,playing perfectly the scheming White General ; however , both actors are out-acted by Helen Hayes who steals the show giving a sensitive acting as the Grand Duches who needs to be convinced . Support cast turn in fine acting as well , such as : Martita Hunt , Akim Tamiroff , Sacha Pitoëff , Felix Aylmer , Natalie Schafer, Ivan Desny, among others.

The motion picture was competently directed by Anatole Litvak. He was born in Ukraine and stayed in Germany working . Litvak's stay in Germany was cut short by the rise to power of Adolf Hitler. Litvak moved to France, and directed Mayerling (1936),starring Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux. His first film in Hollywood was The Woman I Love (1937),which starred his future wife Miriam Hopkins. His experience with diverse aspects of stagecraft, as well as his fluency in four languages enabled him to competently tackle a wide variety of subjects: from sophisticated continental comedy : Tovarich (1937) to historical drama : Anastasia (1956)) and romance All This, and Heaven Too (1940). Litvak was at his best directing taut, suspenseful crime dramas, such as Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) with Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart, ; and two tough action films starring John Garfield: Castle on the Hudson (1940) and Out of the Fog (1941). Having become an American citizen in 1940, Litvak enlisted in the US army and collaborated with Frank Capra on the wartime "Why we Fight" series of documentarie s. Arguably his best film was the superb thriller ¨Sorry , wrong the number¨and the splendid psychological drama ¨The snake pit¨ (1948),Hollywood's first attempt to seriously examine the treatment of mental illness . Indeed, the film was so influential that it precipitated changes in the American mental health system . And this ¨Anastasia¨that has a high-rating : 7/10 , better than average . And it received effusive praises from critics and very good reception by the public.

What a wonderful movie!!!! They simply don't make them like this anymore. Start with the most mundane matters, the production values. The glorious wide screen aspect ratio is a delight, as is the wonderful Technicolor process, which gives us a vividness that is sorely lacking from movies nowadays. The great Alfred Newman wrote the score. Then consider the acting - first rate on all fronts. Yul Brynner and Ingrid Bergmann play beautifully off each other, and Akim Tamiroff shines in the type of role he excelled in, the sweaty, seedy, slightly comic con artist. Martita Hunt is wonderful as the slightly loony lady in waiting. Helen Hayes is off the charts as the Empress Dowager, in what was evidently a comeback role for her. To watch her display her ambivalent emotions as she deals with what could be her long-lost granddaughter are a revelation. Her wordless final embrace with Anna is a ten second master class in the heights to which great acting can rise through facial expression alone. Finally, the script; it impishly refuses to engage the central question - was Anna Anderson really Anastasia, or an impostor? By the end, the question doesn't seem to matter, so beautifully has the script dealt with things like lost hopes, wishful thinking, doubt, deceit, treachery, nostalgia for a lost world, romance, and amnesia. Don't miss this great story, beautifully told in a lavish production.

The Russian Tsar and his family were executed in 1918 during the Russian revolution. Soon afterwards, rumors spread that the youngest daughter Anastasia had escaped. It's 1928 Paris. Anna (Ingrid Bergman) is a destitute woman who claims to be Anastasia. General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine (Yul Brynner) had been collecting fees to find the princess even though he doubts her existence. He sees an opportunity with Anna to collect the £10 million account from a London bank that belongs to the royal family.

Bergman is marvelous. She has the regality of royalty and she can also act downtrodden. She's great winning an Oscar. On the other hand, I don't like Yul Brynner's character. I'm not saying that his acting is bad. I just don't like this character. Brynner has a way that accentuates his harshness. I don't buy the romance. There is much more feeling with the Empress. In the end, that is the best relationship. Helen Hayes is amazing. She has so much chemistry with Bergman. This movie should be about these two women.