In 1875 Russia, beautiful servant girl Anna Sten (as Katusha Maslova) smiles prettily as she works in the fields. Normally a house servant, she enjoys laboring so much, Ms. Sten voluntarily went out to work with the field hands. Other women don't smile quite as beautifully as Sten. Meanwhile, handsome young prince of the estate Fredric March (as Dmitri Nekhlyudov) returns home for a visit. He shocks relatives by declaring beliefs about equality between peasants and royalty – then Mr. March (accurately) predicts a Russian Revolution will occur, if the noble class doesn't improve life for the lower class...
Aside note, the Communism theme present in this story was an idealistic view then held by many in the west – they would not agree with how the hoped-for egalitarian society transformed into the repressive dictatorships we are familiar with today. March is uncomfortable accepting gifts of food from obviously needy peasants. He is amazed upon seeing Sten after six years. Declaring she's a "raving beauty," March romances the servant girl...
Thus begins Samuel Goldwyn's production of Leo Tolstoy "Resurrection" (retitled "We Live Again") for his Greta Garbo-patterned discovery Anna Sten. Her second American film gets a wonderful start with direction by Rouben Mamoulian, photography by Gregg Toland and beautiful set decoration. However, the leading woman still seems taken aback by the Hollywood launch – understandably, being "Goldwyn's Garbo" was a daunting enterprise...
March is almost always good, but the operative word "almost" is earned by his military scenes. While drinking and carousing with various women, he displays some increasingly goofy faces. As the story goes on, we see Sten and March "make hay" on a rainy night. The blessed event created turns into a problem for Sten, who finds herself on a downward spiral. She adopts March's ideals, while he loses them. Years later, they meet under extraordinary circumstances. Sten and March do their best in the courtroom sequence – but, neither they nor we needed the mini-flashback dissolves to happier times.
**** We Live Again (11/1/34) Rouben Mamoulian ~ Anna Sten, Fredric March, Jane Baxter, Jessie Ralph
Aside note, the Communism theme present in this story was an idealistic view then held by many in the west – they would not agree with how the hoped-for egalitarian society transformed into the repressive dictatorships we are familiar with today. March is uncomfortable accepting gifts of food from obviously needy peasants. He is amazed upon seeing Sten after six years. Declaring she's a "raving beauty," March romances the servant girl...
Thus begins Samuel Goldwyn's production of Leo Tolstoy "Resurrection" (retitled "We Live Again") for his Greta Garbo-patterned discovery Anna Sten. Her second American film gets a wonderful start with direction by Rouben Mamoulian, photography by Gregg Toland and beautiful set decoration. However, the leading woman still seems taken aback by the Hollywood launch – understandably, being "Goldwyn's Garbo" was a daunting enterprise...
March is almost always good, but the operative word "almost" is earned by his military scenes. While drinking and carousing with various women, he displays some increasingly goofy faces. As the story goes on, we see Sten and March "make hay" on a rainy night. The blessed event created turns into a problem for Sten, who finds herself on a downward spiral. She adopts March's ideals, while he loses them. Years later, they meet under extraordinary circumstances. Sten and March do their best in the courtroom sequence – but, neither they nor we needed the mini-flashback dissolves to happier times.
**** We Live Again (11/1/34) Rouben Mamoulian ~ Anna Sten, Fredric March, Jane Baxter, Jessie Ralph