In Paris in 1928, a downtrodden woman
wandering the streets is approached by Gen. Bounine, a Russian
exile who once served as an officer in the Russian Imperial Army,
and who now runs a Paris nightclub. When asked by Bounine if
she is the Grand Duchess Anastasia, the woman claims that her name
is Anna Korov and adds that she has just been released from an
asylum. Anna dodges her way through the streets to the banks
of the Seine, and is about to jump when she is saved by Bounine.
Meanwhile, in their cellar headquarters,
Chernov and Petrovin, Bounine's partners in a business enterprise to
produce the grand duchess and thus claim her ten million pound
inheritance, worry that they will be unable to meet the deadline
that their stockholders have given them. Just then, Bounine
arrives with Anna, and although he discounts her authenticity, he is
confident that he can mold her into the image of the grand duchess.
Anna, haggard and suffering from bouts of amnesia, bears scars on
her palms and forehead, similar to those inflicted on Anastasia
during the massacre of her family at the hands of the
revolutionaries.
Anna, weak and susceptible, succumbs to
Bounine's promises to help her find herself and agrees to become his
Anastasia. Daily, Bounine tutors her on Romanov family history
and schools her on royal comportment. With just three days
left until the deadline, Bounine arranges for Anna to meet a few of
the more gullible stockholders. When Anna is introduced to the
Czarina's former lady-in-waiting, the woman breaks down in tears of
disbelief when Anna addresses her by her nickname, a name known only
to the royal family. Anna's next test occurs at a reception
for Russian exiles. There, Bounine reminds the crowd that it
is their duty to restore Anastasia to the living and asks them to
sign a document vouching for her authenticity. The Czar's
chamberlain calls Anna a great illusionist until she rebukes him for
smoking in her presence, just as Anastasia once did. When only
eighteen of the fifty-one present sign the document, however,
Bounine decides he must introduce Anna to the Dowager Empress,
Anastasia's grandmother, who resides in Copenhagen.
Anna, now assured that she is the grand
duchess, scorns her doubters and decides to go off on her own.
Bounine convinces her to accompany him to Copenhagen, however, and
the two travel to Denmark, where Anna, traveling under the name A.
Anderson, is granted a fourteen-day visa. When the Empress
refuses to meet with Anna, Bounine arranges a rendezvous with
Baroness Elena von Livenbaum, her lady-in-waiting. The
Baroness, infatuated with the dashing Bounine, tells him that the
Empress will be at the Royal Theater on Thursday. That
Thursday night, Bounine escorts Anna to the theater and there
introduces her to Prince Paul, the Empress' nephew and Anastasia's
betrothed. As Paul and Anna converse in the lobby, Bounine
gains admittance to the Empress' box. After coldly informing
Bounine that she is weary of all her "spectral grandchildren," the
crusty Empress refuses to see Anna and deems Bounine's interest
purely monetary.
After he leaves, the Empress intently
studies Anna through her binoculars. Paul begins to squire
Anna around town, and one night at the Tivoli Club, Anna, tipsy from
champagne, giggles and kisses Paul. Bounine, jealous, intrudes
and sends Anna home to bed. Paul, a womanizing fortune hunter,
presses his aunt to meet Anna, and one day, the Empress unexpectedly
appears in her hotel room. The Empress, imperious and
unyielding, excoriates Anna for manipulating the Romanov legacy for
financial gain. When Anna recalls a quarrel her grandmother
and father once had over a necklace, the intimate memory distresses
the Empress and she offers to pay Anna to end her charade. The
lonely Empress secretly longs to reunite with her lost
granddaughter, so when Anna coughs nervously from fright, as
Anastasia once did, the Empress embraces her as the grand duchess.
Weeks later, Paul, the Empress and Anna
return to Paris amid rumors of Paul and Anna's impending engagement.
When Anna is introduced to the press, Viados, a reporter, claims
that she is really Anna Korov and that her wounds were incurred
during a train explosion. Afterward, Bounine and Anna see each
other for the first time since Copenhagen, and he accuses her of
being seduced by the wealth and status of the grand duchess.
On the night that the Empress is to present Anna as her heir,
Bounine informs the Empress that he plans to leave before the
presentation. Sensing that Bounine is in love with Anna, the
Empress asks him to wait in the green room. The Empress then
asks Anna if she really wants to marry Paul. Perceiving that
Anna is in love with Bounine, she sends her to the green room where
Bounine waits. As Chernov and the others prepare to present
Anna, they discover that she has disappeared with Bounine. The
Empress then grandly proclaims that the play is over and everyone
should go home.
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