Garbo's first scene in Ninotchka is when she gets off the train. She's in an agency. Garbo's character is really serious, really tough. It takes about half of the movie for her to laugh, for her to know what it feels like to have a life because all the time she has given, she has given to the organization. It makes me feel sorry for her character. I loved the scene when she really falls in love with Melvyn Douglas and she's like "There's nothing I can do, I gotta go back to Russia." This was Garbo's last best movie because she did two more movies after this and then quit acting.
Reviews
9 Reviews
Camille
(1936)
Garbo the Goddess
25 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
It takes place in 1847 in Paris. It surprised me a lot because Garbo at the end of the movie, she's dead. You feel so sorry for her because the character was so sweet. I see love, lost, and all of the above. I would totally recommend this movie for anyone that would want to know how films were made in the 1930s. The costumes were made by Adrian, which is someone that doesn't get enough recognition these days. But basically in the 1930s he was the person that made gowns for movies. The set is terrific. Most of the time the set is in an opera house for half of the movie, and the other half they're in this little cottage.
Anna Karenina
(1935)
Via la Russia
11 May 2021
The war is a really terrible war because I don't know what it's supposed to be, maybe the French war. In Garbo's other films she is stage acting, but in this film she is film acting. If you ever want to see a movie that is a tear-jerker that would make you cry, this film will make you cry. The film made me feel really great because I realized that good old writing will never die.
Queen Christina
(1933)
The 10 Year Old Queen
20 April 2021
It's based on a true person in the 17th century in France. The whole kingdom wants her to get married but she does not want to get married. This movie is an interpretation on the truth, meaning they took liberties of making the character not a lesbian because in real life she was a lesbian. The movie is a great movie. If they came out with it today it would be a terrific movie. I see a very powerful woman, a woman that does not want to be told what she can and cannot do.
Grand Hotel
(I) (1932)
Lionel Barrymore is Radiant
6 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Grand Hotel is an interesting movie. The characters you are supposed to hate, you hate, and the characters you are supposed to love, you love. Like Wallace Berry's character, he's who you're supposed to hate. The scenes with Greta Garbo by herself or with John Barrymore is magic. It's magical because Garbo has less scenes than the other people do, so it's more highlighted when she appears. Lionel Barrymore has a lot of scenes but I would say my favorite scene to see him in would have to be the scene where you see him talking back to Wallace Berry's character because he recognizes him because he works for the firm. Lionel Barrymore is a bookman. The doctor gives him only three months to live in the movie. Even though he is on the bottom of the totem pole, he still has his humanity. Lionel Barrymore's character is the "every man" where Wallace Berry is the "greedy man" and John Barrymore is stuck in a situation he doesn't want to be stuck in. He's supposed to steal certain stuff and he doesn't want to do it.
If anyone that reads this review would like to see more acting of Lionel Barrymore in this movie, then any scene that has him and his brother, John Barrymore, or scenes that Lionel Barrymore has with Joan Crawford. A light just goes on for Lionel Barrymore over his head, like an "aha moment."
If anyone that reads this review would like to see more acting of Lionel Barrymore in this movie, then any scene that has him and his brother, John Barrymore, or scenes that Lionel Barrymore has with Joan Crawford. A light just goes on for Lionel Barrymore over his head, like an "aha moment."
The Mysterious Lady
(1928)
It Defines Her Silent Movie Career
16 March 2021
I was so surprised with this movie and Greta Garbo's first appearance revealed as a piece of art. He could not take his eyes off her. It was said that he was a big music lover and did not want to miss this opera, but he wasn't watching the opera. He was too enamored with Tania.
The director, Fred Niblo, also directed Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). His style is very different. I have never seen someone use a lift board to get the shot of the stairway, not once but three times in The Mysterious Lady.
The director, Fred Niblo, also directed Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). His style is very different. I have never seen someone use a lift board to get the shot of the stairway, not once but three times in The Mysterious Lady.
Mata Hari
(1931)
Temptress of the Secret Service
23 February 2021
Garbo was amazing playing the title role. My favorite part of it is when she falls in love with the Ramon Novarro character. She's supposed to be so heartless in the film because she's an agent who only attracts people who give her information, but does it always happen that way? This is also for anyone who likes old movies with a little mystery and drama.
Anna Christie
(I) (1930)
Garbo Talks!
9 February 2021
This is the first talking film with Greta Garbo. It stars Charles Bickford also George F. Marion and Marie Dressler. It surprised me a lot. People don't think that a film they saw about ten times is going to surprise them, but it did. There were certain scenes with Garbo and Bickford where he tries to be really tough, but she puts him in his place. The crazy thing was I never saw someone do that in a film from the 1930s until I saw Anna Christie. I never saw a woman be like that except for Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and now Garbo in Anna Christie. It was surprising to me that she would be that bold. There are a ton of people that like Garbo's movies that are not understood because of their movie preference for older films.
Flesh and the Devil
(1926)
Surprising, Suspenseful, and Filled with Love
2 February 2021
It stars Greta Garbo and John Gilbert. I saw it and it made me feel glad. Some scenes surprised me because it was not what I was expecting, even though I've seen it 10 times. It's based on a book. Be prepared for a movie that's filled with romance and a surprise ending. It's also one of those movies you can go down and watch when you have a long weekend. It is also a silent movie.
Tell Your Friends