Marie Dressler Min and Bill 1932

The role of Eugene O’Neill’s “Anna Christie” is a juicy one. Many actresses have competed for the opportunity to play this multifaceted character, regardless of the number of times it has been revived for the stage or remade for the big screen. Greta Garbo played the title role of Anna, a prostitute, in the 1930 film adaptation directed by Clarence Brown. This was her first talkie starring role. Marie Dressler portrays a seasoned streetwalker named Marthy Owen in the supporting role. In the scenes that they share together, the younger hooker and the senior hooker share war stories with one another. Frances Marion, who wrote the screenplay, penned a scene specifically for Dressler in which Marty makes a vow to Anna that she will be in her shoes “forty years from now.”

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