Anna Karenina

Jeremy Spenser

Vivien Leigh

Ralph Richardson

Kieron Moore

Hugh Dempster

Mary Kerridge

Marie Lohr

Frank Tickle

Sally Ann Howes

Niall MacGinnis

Michael Gough

Martita Hunt

Heather Thatcher

Helen Haye

Mary Martlew

Ruby Miller

Austin Trevor

Ann South

Gus Verney

John Longden

Leslie Bradley

Beckett Bould

Judith Nelmes

Valentina Murch

Therese Giehse

Michael Medwin

John Salew

Patrick Skipwith

Gino Cervi

Maxine Audley

Margaret Boyd

James Carney

Jack Faint

Barbara Murray

Catherine Paul

Leslie Phillips

Bernard Rebel

Philip Ridgeway

Leonard Sharp

Robert Brooks Turner

Geoffrey Wilmer

A Note Regarding Spoilers

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

Is 'Anna Karenina' based on a book?

Yes. Anna Karenina is based on the novel of the same name by Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy [1828-1910]. The story was first published in serial installments in the periodical The Russian Messenger from 1873-1877 and was first published in novel form in 1878. The novel was adapted for the movie by British screenwriter Guy Morgan and French writers Jean Anouislh and Julien Duvivier (who also directed). Since the time of the silent film era, Anna Karenina is a story that has been retold numerous times in numerous countries. Silent films include Anna Karenina (1911), Anna Karenina (1914), Anna Karenina (1915), Anna Karenina (1919), and Love (1927). The first 'talkie' was Anna Karenina (1935). Anna Kareina (1948) was followed by Anna Karenina (1961), Anna Karenina (1985), Anna Karenina (1997), and Anna Karenina (2012), along with two TV mini-series: 'Anna Karenina ' (1977) and 'Anna Karenina ' (2000).

What is 'Anna Karenina' about?

In early 1800s Czarist Russia, Princess Anna Arkadyevna Karenina (Vivien Leigh), the wife of statesman Count Alexei Karenin (Ralph Richardson) of St Petersburg, travels to Moscow to help settle a dispute between her womanizing brother Stefan Oblonsky (Hugh Dempster) and his wife Dolly (Mary Kerridge). While there, Anna meets and falls in love with Count Alexei Vronsky (Kieron Moore), a young officer in the emperor's guard. At first, Vronsky and Anna keep their affair secret, but word soon gets out amongst Russian high society. Her husband, always concerned about his public image, refuses to divorce her, making her choose between Vronsky and their young son Sergei (Patrick Skipwith). Anna chooses Vronsky, and the couple go off for a few glorious months together in Venice. When they finally decide to return to St Petersburg and stop hiding their relationship, Anna finds that all her friends have shunned her. As she becomes more and more isolated from Russian society, she also fears that Vronsky is no longer in love with her.