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Anna Karenina (1948 film)

Anna Karenina
AnnaKarenina Leigh.jpeg
Original Spanish film poster
Directed by Julien Duvivier
Produced by Alexander Korda
Herbert Mason
Written by Julien Duvivier
Jean Anouilh
Guy Morgan
Leo Tolstoy (novel)
Starring Vivien Leigh
Ralph Richardson
Kieron Moore
Sally Ann Howes
Martita Hunt
Music by Constant Lambert
Cinematography Henri Alekan
Edited by Russell Lloyd
Distributed by British Lion Films & London Films (United Kingdom)
20th Century Fox (United States)
Release date
  • 22 January 1948 (1948-01-22) (London premiere)
  • 27 April 1948 (1948-04-27) (New York City premiere)
  • 27 September 1948 (1948-09-27) (United Kingdom)
Running time
139 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Italian
Budget £700,000
Box office ₤149,414 (UK)

Anna Karenina [p] (also known within the UK as Tolstoy's Anna Karenina) is a 1948 British film based on the 19th-century novel, Anna Karenina, by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

The film was directed by Julien Duvivier, and starred Vivien Leigh in the title role. It was produced by Alexander Korda (with Herbert Mason as associate producer) for his company, London Films, and distributed in the United States by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was by Jean Anouilh, Julien Duvivier and Guy Morgan, music by Constant Lambert, decors by André Andrejew and deep focus cinematography by Henri Alekan.

Anna Karenina (Vivien Leigh) is married to Alexei Karenin (Ralph Richardson), a cold government official in St Petersburg who is apparently more interested in his career than in satisfying the emotional needs of his wife. Called to Moscow by her brother Stepan Oblonsky (Hugh Dempster), a reprobate who has been unfaithful to his trusting wife Dolly (Mary Kerridge) once too often, Anna meets Countess Vronsky (Helen Haye) on the night train. They discuss their sons, with the Countess showing Anna a picture of her son Count Vronsky (Kieron Moore), a cavalry officer.

Vronsky shows up at the train to meet his mother, and is instantly infatuated with Anna. He boldly makes his interest known to her, which Anna demurely pushes away – but not emphatically so. At a grand ball, Vronsky continues to pursue the married Anna, much to the delight of the gossiping spectators. But poor Kitty Shcherbatsky (Sally Ann Howes), Dolly's sister who is smitten with Vronsky, is humiliated by his behaviour and leaves the ball – much to the distress of Konstantin Levin (Niall MacGinnis), a suitor of Kitty's who was rejected by her in favour of Vronsky. However, after a change of heart, Kitty marries Levin.


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