Garbo is always worth watching, even in her weakest vehicles, and "The Single Standard" is among the weaker ones. Based on a novel by Adela Rogers St. Johns, this melodramatic nonsense has Greta dallying with a chauffeur, who is an heir; a prize fighter, who has become a painter; and a self-sacrificing pillar of society. Throw in suicide, a cruise to the Far East, a boxing match in an art gallery, and a lecherous old man in the rain, and viewers will ponder: Did someone really write this drivel? Did anyone really find any of these fanciful plot concoctions credible? Ostensibly suggesting that women can be as liberated and independent in love as men, the film careens from the inexplicable to the ridiculous. Eventually torn between the exotic Nils Asther and the boyish Johnny Mack Brown, Garbo suffers in style and provides the full range of emotion for her legions of fans.
Forever beautiful and endlessly fascinating, Garbo is captivating in the role of Arden Stuart, a romantically restless socialite. If the part and the film fail to merit her talent, the fault lies elsewhere, because Garbo adds dimension to a character that is written with little motivation for her actions. Producer/director John S. Robertson's uninspired filmography suggests where responsibility lies. Filmed late in the silent era, "The Single Standard" has little distinction besides the presence of Garbo and the solid and handsome Brown. Mercifully short, the film is for die-hard Garbo fans and aficionados of silent films. All others be warned.
Forever beautiful and endlessly fascinating, Garbo is captivating in the role of Arden Stuart, a romantically restless socialite. If the part and the film fail to merit her talent, the fault lies elsewhere, because Garbo adds dimension to a character that is written with little motivation for her actions. Producer/director John S. Robertson's uninspired filmography suggests where responsibility lies. Filmed late in the silent era, "The Single Standard" has little distinction besides the presence of Garbo and the solid and handsome Brown. Mercifully short, the film is for die-hard Garbo fans and aficionados of silent films. All others be warned.