Anastasia

Anastasia

Year: 1956

Runtime: 105 mins

Language: English

Director: Anatole Litvak

DramaRomanceHumanity and the world around usLavish dramas and sumptuous royaltyCaptivating relationships and charming romance

Russian exiles in Paris devise a scheme to steal ten million pounds from the Bank of England by training a impoverished, suicidal young woman to impersonate the lost Russian grand duchess Anastasia. As their instructor Bounin teaches her, he becomes convinced she truly is the heir, forcing the Empress to decide whether to recognize her claim.

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Timeline & Setting – Anastasia (1956)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Anastasia (1956). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1928

In the late 1920s, post-revolutionary Europe is a landscape of aristocratic excess and opportunistic schemes. Exiled White Russians and資 investors chase fortunes tied to long-lost czarist wealth, while rumors of Anastasia fuel a dangerous gambit. The period's opulence, suspicion, and social maneuvering drive the drama.

Location

Paris, Copenhagen, Bucharest

Set largely in 1928 Paris, the story unfolds against the backdrop of a Russian émigré elite and a glittering nightclub world. The plot also travels to Copenhagen for a grand ball and touches Bucharest in flashbacks, weaving a web of exile, prestige, and manipulation. The settings reflect a Europe still reeling from revolution and the allure of wealth and status in the interwar era.

🗼 Paris 🚲 Copenhagen 🏛️ Bucharest

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:15

Main Characters – Anastasia (1956)

Meet the key characters of Anastasia (1956), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Anna Koreff / Anastasia (Ingrid Bergman)

An ailing woman with amnesia who bears a striking resemblance to the Grand Duchess Anastasia. She is drawn into a dangerous impersonation scheme, gradually gaining poise while remaining vulnerable to the motives around her. Her choices oscillate between self-preservation and a yearning for a real identity.

🎭 Identity 🧠 Amnesia 💞 Romance

General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine (Yul Brynner)

A former White Russian general who profits from the Anastasia legend. He coaches Anna, orchestrates meetings with former courtiers, and grapples with jealousy as his feelings for Anna intensify. His manipulation is tempered by a growing emotional stake in the outcome.

🎭 Manipulation 💼 Ambition 🗝️ Deception

Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (Helen Hayes)

The cautious matriarch who tests Anna's claim with keen insight. She balances skepticism with a glimmer of recognition, ultimately steering the dramatic revelation and posing the central question of truth versus performance.

👑 Royalty 🔎 Judgment

Prince Paul von Haraldberg (Ivan Desny)

A rival fortune hunter who pursues Anna for love and legacy. His presence heightens the tension between romance and the pursuit of nobility and wealth, fueling rivalry with Bounine.

💎 Aristocracy 🥂 Jealousy

Mikhail Vlados (Karl Stepanek)

A former associate who questions Anna's identity at a press event, representing doubt and the clash between memory and truth in a world built on legends.

🧭 Memory 🗨️ Skepticism

Boris Adreivich Chernov (Akim Tamiroff)

A conspirator aligned with the scheme, whose loyalties and ambitions shift as the truth about Anna's identity becomes murkier. His involvement underscores the broader fraud at the heart of the tale.

🤝 Alliance 💭 Suspicion

Piotr Ivanovich Petrovin (Sacha Pitoëff)

A fellow fortune hunter with ties to Anna from past years, whose questions and claims add pressure to the impersonation plot and to the pursuit of a fortune.

💰 Greed 🕶️ Deception

Irina Lissemskaia / Nini (Natalie Schafer)

A social connector whose presence deepens the circle around Anna, adding complexity to the impersonation and the interplay of loyalty and desire.

💬 Identity 💘 Love

Stepan (Grégoire Gromoff)

A court figure who embodies the aristocratic aura and social codes of the imperial era, highlighting the old regime’s lingering influence on the plot.

🏛️ Court 🎩 Aristocracy

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:15

Major Themes – Anastasia (1956)

Explore the central themes of Anastasia (1956), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🎭 Identity

Identity is manufactured and contested as Anna Koreff is coached to pass as Anastasia. The line between genuine memory and performed identity blurs under pressure from powerful suitors and skeptical relatives. The Empress’s test and Anna’s evolving self-confidence heighten the mystery of who really is Anastasia.

💰 Fraud & Ambition

A calculated con sits at the heart of the narrative, with exiled nobles and stockholders chasing a fortune tied to the Anastasia legend. Deception is a tool wielded to secure wealth and status, often at the expense of truth and trust. The pursuit of money continually clashes with personal relationships.

💞 Love

Romance emerges amid deceit as Anna and Bounine grow a genuine connection while still orchestrating a masquerade. Jealousy and longing complicate decisions about truth, loyalty, and money. The romance becomes a crucible that tests whether love can survive manipulation.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:15

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Anastasia Summary

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Anastasia Summary

Anastasia Timeline

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Anastasia Timeline

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