After a career in silent films that made her a major star, 1930’s Anna Christie offered a leap for Greta Garbo. As sold with the tagline “Garbo Talks”, this became the actor’s first foray into sound movies.

Adapted from a Eugene O’Neill play, alcoholic Chris Christofferson (George F. Marion) works as a barge captain in New York City. After a 15-year period of estrangement, he hears from daughter Anna “Christie” Christofferson (Garbo) to learn she will come from Minnesota to see him.

Anna comes with some secrets that she feels reluctant to reveal to her dad. She also encounters more concerns in that domain when she falls in love with sailor Matt Burke (Charles Bickford) and fears that her past will taint their relationship.

As noted, Christie enjoys fame due to its place in cinema history. Heck, well before I ever actually watched one of the actor’s films, I knew of the “Garbo Talks” campaign.

This means Garbo’s legend preceded any of my experiences with her actual movies. These remain limited, as I saw only two other Garbo flicks – 1932’s Grand Hotel and 1933’s Queen Christina - before I took in Christie.

Hotel offered an ensemble, so Garbo didn’t get nearly as much screen time as she enjoyed via Queen and Christie. I admit she didn’t impress me in Queen, as I thought she seemed competent but a bit stiff.

I get the same impression with Christie, though to a greater extreme. I suspect that the transition from silent films to talkies became an issue for Garbo.

Initially I figured that the Swedish Garbo struggled with English and that led to some of her wooden qualities. However, apparently by the time of Christie, Garbo had adapted to the USA well enough that she had to fake an accent as Anna.

As such, I’ll attribute her less than natural performance to growing pains related to the move to sound films. Her co-stars don’t seem quite as uncomfortable, though I can’t claim any offer impressive performances.

Honestly, I find it tough to locate much about Christie that does seem impressive. O’Neill won a Pulitzer for the source, a fact that feels tough to swallow given the dull nature of the film.

Maybe something got lost in translation, though a lot of Christie feels like a movie taken from a stage production. Actually, the film opens up as it goes, but most of the initial one-third sticks with a single set, a clear nod to the source.

Not that Christie ever embraces a wide variety of locations. The film spends most of its post-Act One time on Chris’s barge, shot on an obvious soundstage.

Even without the lack of much location-based variety, Christie loses points because it just feels so slow and dull. Even with all their conflicts – internal and external – the characters never manage to capture the viewer’s attention.

We get nonstop melodrama without much to add real life or impact to the proceedings. All three main characters – Anna, Chris and Matt – seem overwrought and annoying, so we never invest in their fates.

It doesn’t help that the film takes too long to really get going. We find ourselves stuck in an extended opening that introduces Chris and his boozehound “girlfriend” Marthy (Marie Dressler).

This means we wait 15 minutes to meet Anna – not a huge chunk of time in the abstract, but a large piece of a short film. If Christie used that space well, I wouldn’t mind, but this opening feels indulgent and redundant.

Matters never really improve. Despite the movie’s desperate attempts to conjure drama, it feels tired and overbaked.

All of this leaves us with a slow and dull tale. A hit in its day, the film doesn’t hold up well 93 years later.

Anna Christie appears in an aspect ratio of 1.20:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Given the film’s advanced age, it came with anomalies, but it largely satisfied.

Sharpness usually fared well. A few shots came across as a little ill-defined, and I can’t claim the movie exhibits especially precise delineation much of the time.

Nonetheless, the image stayed reasonably distinctive and concise. I saw no problems with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent.

While I suspect the movie experienced some “noise management”, it maintained a decent layer of grain and showed no distractions in that regard. The film lacked obvious print flaws.

Blacks seemed deep and dense, and low-light scenes demonstrated positive clarity. A few shots looked a bit too bright, but those occurred infrequently. Overall, the image held up well over the years.

As for the DTS-HD monaural soundtrack of Christie, it never stood out as great, but it seemed more than acceptable when I considered its age. <

Speech worked best. The lines were surprisingly natural and not as tinny or rough as I anticipated. No edginess marred the dialogue, though the pieces were moderately thin and reedy.

Effects sounded meek and feeble but remained well within the realm of acceptability for their age. Little music appeared, and those components lacked much dynamic range, but they seemed perfectly fine when I factored in their age.

Some light background noise appeared sporadically through the flick, though not enough to create distractions. “Talkies” were in their infancy when they made Christie, so its soundtrack seemed pretty good in the context of its era.

When we move to the disc’s extras, the primary attraction comes from a German-Language Alternate Version of Anna Christie. Shot at the same time as the English production and with Garbo as Anna, this edition uses a different director and supporting cast.

The German-language Christie runs 85 minutes, 53 seconds. Don’t expect the same presentation quality as the English edition, for the German one shows many more visual and auditory flaws.

Which feels like a shame because the German Christie works substantially better than the English one. It comes across as darker and more honest.

The German version also boasts substantially better acting, as the supporting performers all fare better. Apparently more comfortable with German than with English, Garbo herself also seems significantly more natural and at ease.

Because I simply don’t love the core story, I can’t claim the German edition turns into a great film. Nonetheless, it easily betters the limp English version.

Next comes a 1956 episode of a TV series called The MGM Parade. Hosted by Walter Pidgeon, it runs 29 minutes, 22 seconds and also involves a chat with filmmaker George Cukor.

The program gives us an overview of Garbo’s career. Cukor’s remarks add some value to what otherwise mainly acts as a collection of movie clips.

Aired February 7, 1938, a Lux Radio Theater broadcast of Anna Christie lasts 54 minutes, 52 seconds. Joan Crawford plays Anna and Spencer Tracy portrays Matt, while George Marion reprises his role as Chris.

Despite the star power of the two leads, the radio version of Christie seems no more interesting than the dull movie. Tracy delivers an on-and-off stab at an Irish accent and nothing really meshes. This radio production fails to work for me, but it offers an interesting historical curiosity.

Finally, a 1930 Looney Tunes animated short called The Booze Hangs High goes for six minutes, 11 seconds. A spot for Mickey Mouse ripoff Bosko, most of the short shows that character as he romps on a farm.

So what about the booze in the title? Some piglets get soused and then so does Bosko. Expect a short heavy on cutesy and light on laughs.

As the first talkie to feature Greta Garbo, Anna Christie created a sensation in 1930. In 2024, however, it feels melodramatic and dull. The Blu-ray offers solid picture and audio along with a set of supplements boosted by the inclusion of an alternate version of the movie. The film offers intrigue due to its place in history but it doesn’t entertain.