greta garbo star in anna christie and a very early 1930 mgm talkie and the first time garbo talk . anna christie be a powerful movie but not for everyone . the movie be film like a stage play and short on set and cinematography and long on dialogue and dramatic characterization . eugene oneil who write the play anna christie be know for his dark work and garbo character anna christie be a bleak figure with a tortured past . the sound quality on the dvd be mediocre . not help matter be that george f. marion who play anna estrange dad and chris christofferson and be verbally hard to understand . marion give a good performance a the old drunken seaman who ’ s teeter on insanity with his fixation of the evil wouldevil sea . but his dialogue be write with a very heavy swedish accent and this be true to oneils original play . marie dressler dialogue a marthy owen be equally hard to understand . dressler believably portray a broken down old drunken woman and a wharf rat . her dialogue also be true to oneils original play a be charles bickford a the irish seaman and matt burke who pursue anna in a troubled relationship . garbo be actually the easy to understand . the film strong point be greta garbo . she deliver a gut wrenching performance a the victim of neglect and abuse and lead to a life of prostitution . garbo be a huge star at the time and consider one of the most beautiful woman in hollywood . here her look isn not glamorous and it torture . her body posture nearly double over in agony . she scrunch her face to become a pathetic creature on the screen . garbo conveys these angst ridden feeling to the viewer to convince u of her misery . this be dark subject matter and garbo brings it to life . it ’ s not light fare and not fun and not for everyone . ‘ anna christie ’ be strong emotion dredge up from the depth for examination and this be one helluva ride .