DVD REVIEW: GRETA GARBO SIGNATURE COLLECTION

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STUDIO: Warner Home Video
MSRP: $99.92
RATED: NR
RUNNING TIME: 1440 Minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• 1931 German speaking version of Anna Christie
• Documentary: Checking out Grand Hotel
• Premiere Newsreel: Grand Hotel
• Just a Word of Warning Theatre announcement
• Musical Short Nothing Ever Happens
• 1921 Silent Version of Camille
• Leo is on the air Radio program
• Bonus Disc 1: Three Garbo Silent films
• Setting the Score
• Commentaries on the silent films by authors and historians
• The Divine Woman: The 9 minutes left of this movie
• Photo Montages for the silent films
• Bonus Disc 2: 90-minute TCM Garbo documentary
• Loads of trailers

Warner Brothers has released a massive box set for one of the greatest actresses of all time and I can’t think of a movie star more worthy than Garbo to get this sort of release. Greta Garbo made her mark in Hollywood by establishing herself as one of the must see actresses during the silent film era. When Hollywood went to the talkie format many major silent film stars saw their careers end abruptly because they were unable to make the transition and it was mainly due to audiences hating their voices. In 1930 the buzz in Hollywood was whether Garbo could survive the transition and her first test was with the movie Anna Christie.

What audiences heard was a deep yet sensual voice (the Swedish accent helped also) that commanded your attention. It was not squeaky, sweet or girlish and audiences fell in love with Garbo instantly and what followed was a short yet illustrious career. Her voice is not the only reason audiences enjoyed a Garbo movie and once she got over that major hurdle, the studio was confident that her talent would fill seats. In the early 30's Garbo's movies accounted for 12% of MGM's profit which placed her in a unique position not afforded to many actresses even today. She was able to choose her own scripts, leading men, directors and costumes. Whatever Garbo wanted, Garbo got. She never attended premieres and rarely gave interviews and oh how she loathed the press! They pursued her like a pack of animals even going so far as jumping on her car and breaking the windows.

The face that sunk a thousand ships.

What makes Garbo a unique actress was her choice of movies. She was not your traditional girl next door type nor was she too keen on portraying needy or weak women. Even when her character was physically ill (Camille,) Garbo managed to make that characters other attributes stand out in every scene she was in. Garbo left Hollywood for good around 1943 when she was just 38 years old. She knew her appeal was fading and so she decided to get out of a business that is not too kind to fading stars. Some say she left because she just got tired of the rat race while others say she did not want to wind up playing bit parts or begging for movie roles. I believe when she saw what had happened to John Gilbert (one of the loves of her life) this had a lasting affect. During the silent era John was one of the major stars in Hollywood and although he co-starred with Garbo in some talkies his career took a nosedive which resulted in him becoming a broken down man who died of heart failure at the age of 37 in 1936. Whatever the reason the fact is she left on her own by going to MGM and asking them to end her contract. Not only did she leave a body of work that fans still enjoy today but her image as the reclusive and eccentric film star will still be talked about for a longtime to come.

The Flicks

Anna Christie (1930)

Based on the Pulitzer Prize play by Eugene O'Neill, Anna Christie is a story about Anna (Garbo) who is coming home to meet her father, Chris (George F. Marion) who had sent Anna and her mother away to live with relatives when she was a child. Anna is uncomfortable meeting her father after all these years and as she says "I'm not expecting much from him. You get kicked when your down, that's what all men do." Anna is bitter and fed up with men and can't forget how badly she was treated by the family she was staying with after her mother had died (a cousin had raped her when she was a kid.)

Anna does not meet her father for the first 30 minutes of the movie and during that time she is in the bar drinking with Chris' companion Marthy (Marie Dressler) and this is where we learn a little about Anna's past. Now it should be noted that her story is not told openly and it is paced to where we learn bits and pieces gathered from her conversations in the bar with Marthy and towards the end with her father and suitor Matt (Charles Bickford.)

Considering that Chris has not seen Anna since she was five he has the impression that she is an upstanding young woman who has a career as a nurse. After the reunion Anna wants to stay with her father, who is a fisherman, to rest. While they are out on the barge a storm hits and Chris winds up rescuing three men whose boat had sunk. One of the men, Matt, takes a liking to Anna and they begin to date. Matt proposes to Anna but Chris wants no part of it due to a family curse (all the men in the family have died at sea.) What follows are both men getting into a verbal spat over Anna and she eventually cuts their yelling short by filling them in on her past. Anna tells them about being raped by her cousin and goes into some detail about working at a whorehouse.

"Gimme a Whiskey" were Garbo's first words ever spoken in movies (talkies as they were called back then.) and just like Lon Chaney and Charlie Chaplin she continued to do silent films after the introduction of "talkies" but Anna Christie was a milestone for Garbo and her fans. In fact the studios marketed this movie with two words "Garbo talks!"

Anna is gritty, tough and tired of life yet she has enough left in her to find true love and who better to portray this character than Garbo. The beauty of Greta's acting was not so much based on her looks but she had an ability to take on these types of roles and turn out a believable and captivating performance. Although there was some overacting done in a couple of emotional scenes, especially the one involving her father and Matt, this can be understood if you consider the fact that her background was silent films which placed greater emphasis on hand gestures and facial expressions. With all the talk about Garbo there is one performance in Anna Christie, which is the true highlight. Every time Marie Dressler is in a scene she steals it hands down. Marthy is a likeable drunk who, although comical, is no dummy when it comes to reading people. Her scenes with Garbo at the beginning in the bar is classic. Watching these two women down drink after drink and exchange a few digs at each other is priceless. Marthy: "What are you looking at?" Anna: "I'm looking at myself in 50 years."

Back in the 1920's and 30's it was not uncommon for women to play the "vamp" role. In fact the most popular actresses of the time were those who portrayed unsavory characters and since Greta already had an audience used to her choice of roles, portraying a prostitute did not come as a shock. Anna Christie covered incest, prostitution and alcoholism which even today is watched very closely by the morality police at the MPAA. Anna Christie is a solid movie that goes quickly (running time is 89 minutes) and although I would have preferred a more tragic end, the sappy ending does just fine.

9.4 out of 10

A look at my living quarters.

The Look

WOW. Let me type that again in case you missed it, WOW. Presented in standard full screen Anna Christie has been given some special attention because for a movie that is 75 years old this baby is clean. I was amazed at how crisp many of the scenes were and noticed very little grain. Now there are some night scenes where there is fading but not enough to take you out of the movie and in fact adds to it.

9.6 out of 10

The Noise

Standard Mono sound and again considering the age of this movie the music, dialogue and outdoor sounds come through pretty clear. No garbled dialogue however there is some skipping of the music but I will not hold that against this movie.

9.1 out of 10

The Goodies

In 1931 the German speaking version of Anna Christie was released that also starred Garbo. The other cast was strictly German. I prefer the actor who portrays Anna's father (Hans Junkermann) in this version as he comes across as a more believable fisherman. Where George F. Marion played him as sweet and dumb Hans gives him some weariness that you'd come to expect from a seasoned man of the sea. There is not much difference in this version except they cut out the first four minutes in which a scene is shown of Chris kicking a very drunk and hiccuping Marthy. I prefer Garbo's performance in the English version because she portrays Anna more true to character. I got the feeling from this version that they wanted Anna to have some sophistication to her which did not work for me. No work seems to have been done with this version so there is quite a bit of fading and grain.

8.9 out of 10

The Artwork

This is the original poster (which goes for a couple of grand nowadays) and I simply hate it. It is a drawing of Garbo as Anna and even considering the year this was made I found the cover to be cheap and did not convey the tone of this movie.

4.6 out of 10

Overall: 8.3 out of 10

Mata Hari (1931)

In 1917, France's major enemy was Mata Hari (Garbo) an exotic dancer who seduces men in order to obtain documents or secrets out of them for Germany. The film starts out with a firing squad killing three men who had been seduced and duped for secrets by Mata Hari. Her latest conquest is Russian General Shubin (Lionel Barrymore) who has resigned to the fact that he is head over heels in love with Mata. Considering that he is a traitor to his country he is placed in a predicament when a French representative asks Shubin to help them get information on Mata. He knows his time is short in getting caught yet Mata manages to calm his nerves for the time being.

As all this is taking place a young Russian Lieutenant, Alexis Rosanoff (Ramon Novarro) has fallen in love with Mata and since he appears to have nothing that would interest her (secrets) there is no interest shown in him. Later on she finds out that not only does Alexis have something worthwhile he is the one who will be taking back to Russia some extremely top secret documents. Mata sets her sights on him and soon begins to fall in love with Alexis and this is where her problems begin.

General Shubin finds out about Mata and Alexis' affair and through a drunken fit of jealousy plans to turn him in as a traitor. Mata is forced to kill in order to protect an innocent Alexis and when she finds out that Alexis has been injured in a plane crash Mata forgoes fleeing the country to safety in order to be with Alexis at the hospital. Finally in one of the saddest scenes in movies Mata has convinced Alexis that she is going to be operated on when in fact it is something entirely different.

Probably my favorite part about this type of movie is all the little scenes showing spies at work. People bumping into each other and whispering secrets or a woman drops something and a man picks it up and switches what the woman dropped with something else. I know they marketed this movie as a love story but what captured my interest was the espionage.

Mata Hari is without a doubt my all-time favorite Garbo movie and it delivers on all levels. Besides being a great espionage thriller it is a wonderful love story and director George Fitzmaurice (who by the way is un-credited!) captures both stories with amazing dialogue. He manages to keep the suspense going at a pace in which the movie does not become too wrapped up in just the love story or espionage. They are both integral to keeping things interesting and if anything Mata Hari does just that.

Of course the cast is about as solid as it gets with Garbo, Barrymore and Novarro taking up most of the screen time. All three work well off one another and add to that a solid supporting cast which includes Lewis Stone as the Pavilion owner whose place is the headquarters for the spy ring that Mata works for and C. Henry Gordon as Dubois head of the French Secret service and what you have here is a must see movie. Of course I have a weakness for espionage movies and if a touch of romance is added for me that is movie gold.

9.8 out of 10

"Now will you tell us how many licks it DOES take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"

The Look

When the opening credits are bouncing you know a film has not aged well and it appears there has been little to no restoration done with this wonderful movie and that saddens me. You have the standard full screen format with considerable grain and some scenes jumping off the screen, which was very aggravating at times. In some cases when a scene faded out there was a black screen and then when the new scene finally started it was not blending in too well for a few seconds. To say the least I was disappointed, as there is no excuse whatsoever that no work has been done to this classic.

5.0 out of 10

The Noise

Dolby Mono and as with the look not much has been done to clean this up. Some of the music was breaking up during scene changes although I had no problem with the dialogue I did notice some wear, as there was slight abrupt changes in pitch.

7.4 out of 10

The Goodies

Theatrical Trailer eh.

6.0 out of 10

The Artwork

The original Theatrical poster is used and it works well with this movie. At the top is a headshot of Mata Hari and at the bottom is a shot of Mata with Alexis.

8.6 out of 10

Overall: 7.4 out of 10

Grand Hotel (1932)

During the 1930’s Louis B. Mayer had an idea on how he wanted to promote his movie stars. The concept was simple in that he wanted all their publicity stills and public appearances to project glamour. He did not want his stars to appear in public looking frumpy and poor (even though most of them were) as he believed that it was Hollywood’s duty to create a fantasy for moviegoers who did not want to see on the screen someone that looked like them. One of the actresses who projected this glamorous image was Greta Garbo and at the time she was MGM’s most bankable star so it would only make since that she should star and get top billing in Grand Hotel, a story about wealth, eccentricity and glamour.

The Grand Hotel is the most expensive hotel in Berlin and the film starts out with a variety of characters using a phone giving us an indication of the frantic activity that takes place at a popular hotel. One gentleman needs more money because the hotel is taking it all. Another has got news he will not live long, a woman is frantically telling someone that the ballerina refuses to leave her room and lastly a bellhop is anticipating news on the birth of his first child.

It is established right away this is a movie that is going to require your undivided attention due to the fast pace of events going on in the lobby and the various conversations from key characters that are taking place. Grand Hotel focuses on several story lines including Preysing (Wallace Beery) an industrial magnate who is determined after a failed merger deal to continue on. Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) who just found out he does not have long to live and plans to live out the remainder of his life in grand style. Baron Felix Von Geigern (John Barrymore) who is broke and although a likeable sort is up to something that is not so nice. A wealthy ballerina Grusinskaya (Garbo) who is tired of the game and finally there is Miss Flaemmschen (Joan Crawford) who is Preysing's spirited stenographer.

This diverse group of people will cross paths at the Grand Hotel for a few days and what follows is drinking, scheming, romancing, gambling, killing and some business deals. Each one seems to affect the other however, when it is all said and done things still go on and as they leave the hotel in come another group to take their place. As Dr. Otternschlag (Lewis Stone) says "Always the same. People come. People go. And nothing ever happens."

Grand Hotel is the first time that Garbo and John Barrymore had worked together. Garbo wanted John Gilbert in the role as Baron Geigern but the studio refused because he was now considered box office poison. As much as I love seeing Garbo and Gilbert together the studios cast the right actor for a role in which the Baron is smooth talking, good natured, has a way with the ladies and is able to cover up his sinister plans from everyone. John Barrymore took this part and made it work on all levels. His scenes with the seasoned Garbo and a relatively new actress, Joan Crawford, are the highlights of this movie.

When Grand Hotel was screened for a select audience of critics the talk was about Joan Crawford. As one said, “wait till Garbo sees this!” and sure enough the studios went back in and did some adjustments to several scenes attempting to make Garbo’s performance stand out while diminishing Crawford’s role. Would love to have seen this movie before they did work on it but as it turned out moviegoers enjoyed both performances.

All the actors involved give standout performances and this is what keeps Grand Hotel moving along at a fast pace. I won’t go into much detail about the plot because that would entail giving away too much. Also, considering there are several small stories taking place, this review would be bogged down with details that need to be seen within the whole context of the movie. Garbo Tidbit: This is the movie where she said her most famous line “I want to be alone.”

9.4 out of 10

"My dear I do believe your panties are on fire."

The Look

The film is practically flawless with very little grain and no fading whatsoever. I have noticed on this set that these movies have been taken care of nicely for the most part and Grand Hotel is no exception.

8.7 out of 10

The Noise

What I look for in these older movies is distortion, fading and drastic changes in music pitch. Thankfully this Oscar winner (1931-32 best picture) has stood the test of time and everything comes through loud and clear.

8.7 out of 10

The Goodies

Documentary: Checking out Grand Hotel A new documentary that tells the origins of Grand Hotel (A former maid at a hotel wanted to share some stories and wrote the script. MGM bought it for $35,000.) An excellent documentary that offers tidbits on how the movie was made and how the cast was chosen. The budget for this movie was $700,000 and if you adjust for inflation, by today's prices it would cost eighty million to make!

Premiere Newsreel When you have the likes of Marlena Dietrich, Gene Harlow, Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Walter Huston and Clark Gable attending a premiere you are guaranteed excitement. This was a nice montage of Grand Hotel's premiere however no sign of Garbo.

Just a Word of Warning Theatre announcement A quick two minute reel shown at Grauman's Chinese Theater letting people know that this was their last chance to see Grand Hotel in that theater.

Musical Short Nothing Ever Happens A light hearted featurette in which various actors (mostly unknown) recreate the main characters from Grand Hotel and they do it with rhyming dialogue.

Trailers Both trailers for this version and the 1945 remake Week-end at the Waldorf.

9.0 out of 10

The Artwork

The original theatrical poster is packed with stars, lights and scenes. It is a lively cover that does convey the look and feel of this movie.

8.6 out of 10

Overall: 8.9 out of 10

Queen Christina (1933)

Garbo had left Hollywood for a vacation in Sweden to be with her family and back in the States the press were proclaiming that Garbo had left for good. MGM was frantic to get their #1 box office star back to work so when Garbo did come back she insisted that Queen Christina would be her next project. Although the studio was not too keen on this movie because they felt it would bomb at the box office they gave in. However, the studio fought Garbo over her choice for the romantic lead, Antonio, as they wanted Lawrence Olivier in the role. Garbo insisted that her good friend and former leading man John Gilbert have the part. At this time Gilbert was a broken down drunk and even though he got the part his image was kept out of all promotion, including trailers.

The reason I bring this up at the beginning of the review is to point out that even though Garbo was #1 she still had to fight with the studio every step of the way and yet her instincts about this project paid off. Not only was Queen Christina a huge success overseas (her main market) many today regard this movie as her finest performance.

In the 17th century the King of Sweden is killed during the Battle of Lutzen and his daughter Christina (Garbo), five years old, is crowned Queen of Sweden. In a scene that I found eerie was the young queen, after a brief coronation ceremony, pronounces "Concerning this war which we are bitterly waging, we promise..We promise to win it! I bless you all." This is coming from a five-year-old!

Sixteen years later the Queen is seen riding to the castle and what I love about this scene is how the camera follows Garbo from the woods to the castle then up some stairs all the while her face is hidden. It is not until after this lengthy montage that her face is revealed and thus we have another grand entrance from the "The Swedish Sphinx."

Queen Christina is preparing to welcome home her cousin Prince Charles Gustavus (Reginald Owen) who has led a victorious battle and announces that after thirty years "Sweden has the commanding place in Europe." After his entrance and speech the Parliament weighs in demanding that Sweden continue their war in order to avenge the King and Sweden. Christina asks the peasants their thoughts. Since they are the ones who are actually fighting this war they want no more bloodshed and the Queen agrees.

There is some suggestion that Christina marry Gustavus as the Swedish people want heirs yet the Queen is hesitant to make such a commitment at this time. Christina soon begins a secret affair with the Spanish Ambassador, Antonio (John Gilbert,) and this is where she begins to question her role in life as Queen. This affair is only the beginning of Christina’s problems as she has unrest in Parliament and the people are questioning her loyalty and leadership abilities. With all the turmoil going on Christina abdicates her thrown in order to be with her true love, Antonio. After he is killed Christina decides to leave anyway and be with her one true love and live where he will be buried in Spain. Now that’s love baby!

Queen Christina is loosely based on the real life of Queen Christina yet in true Hollywood fashion they change several important actual events and instead make this movie a love story. The real Queen did abdicate her throne yet it was because she converted to Catholicism and she refused to marry.

What I enjoyed the most out of this movie besides Garbo’s incredible performance (make no mistake about it this was HER movie) was the sexual overtones. Christina dresses like a man, seems to have more affection for her lady in waiting, Countess Ebba (Elizabeth Young,) and pushing the lesbian story to the point where they kiss on the lips. Then there was the subtle sexual foreplay dialogue between a prostitute and Christina at the pub where she is hiding out pretending to be a man. This movie pushed a lot of buttons and it had the censors sweating, but thank goodness common sense won because movie goers for generations to come would have missed out on one of Garbo’s greatest performances.

9.4 out of 10

Well now!

The Look

As mentioned before so far most of Garbo’s movies in this set are presented with little to no flaws. Queen Christina is no exception as the settings are clear and when there is scenery change (from dark to light) the transition is smooth which is surprising for a movie this old.

9.4 out of 10

The Noise

Although I did notice some skipping in the music it was not enough to deduct points for. Overall the dialogue comes through loud and clear.

9.4 out of 10

The Goodies

Theatrical Trailer eh.

5.4 out of 10

The Artwork

Yet another cover I dislike. At the top is the word Garbo taking up half the cover and at the bottom is a drawing of Garbo. In the middle is the movie title. For this powerful of a movie the cover is bland.

5.4 out of 10

Overall: 7.8 out of 10

Anna Karenina (1933)

Anna Karenina starts out showing the gluttonous lifestyle of Russian officers at a club. They are feasting and drinking like Kings which is in contrast to how the Russian people were living. The difference between the economic classes is not covered in detail in this version but it did play a much larger role in Tolstoy’s novel. One of the officers, Count Vronsky (Fredric March,) heads to the train station to pick up his mother. He travels with another officer, Stiva (Reginald Owen,) who is going to pick up his sister, Anna (Garbo.) As soon as Vronsky and Anna meet there is an instant attraction yet that is soon put aside due to a horrific accident at the station. A train has just crushed a train track cleaner and this has an affect on Anna in which she says, “this is an omen.”

While Anna is in Moscow visiting her brother she runs into Vronsky again at a ball. Although Anna’s niece, Kitty (Maureen O'Sullivan,) has dated Vronsky it becomes obvious to several people that it is Anna who Vronsky is interested in. They both dance at the ball and Anna begins to show an interest in Vronsky but there is a problem, she is a married woman. After a couple of days Anna goes back home to with her husband, Count Karenin (Basil Rathbone), and son, Sergei (Freddie Bartholomew.)

Count Karenin is twenty years older than Anna and his only reason for marrying her was because she was young and beautiful, a trophy wife. Karenin is cold and distant towards Anna and after meeting Vronsky, she realizes just how lonely life has been for her. To Anna’s surprise she finds out that Vronsky has followed her to St. Petersburg. While at a picnic, which consists of societies finest, Vronsky and Anna being playing croquet. The gossip picks up steam and when Vronsky gets Anna alone this is where he tells her that he is in love. Later that evening Karenin confronts Anna about the gossip and this only causes Anna to drift further away from Karenin.

A few days later Vronsky is nearly killed after his horse falls and Anna cannot hold back her feelings for Vronsky any longer. To Karenin’s dismay Anna asks for a divorce but he refuses and for the next month Anna has to endure even more cold and harsh treatment and this drives her to the breaking point. She leaves Karenin and goes to Venice with Vronsky where for the first time in many years she is truly happy. Anna misses her son though and one night Sergei has a bad dream about his mother and Karenin coldly tells him that Anna is dead.

Vronsky gets a letter with orders to go and join the Serbians in their war against the Turks. Anna is devastated and insists that Vronsky is leaving because he does not love her yet that night they go to the Opera where the gossip about them is in full swing. With Anna still pressuring Vronsky he gets another letter with orders to leave for the war and he makes a decision that it was not meant them to be together. Anna has sent Vronsky a letter yet it is returned unopened and that night she goes to the train station to see Vronsky off. With her unopened letter and seeing Vronsky with another woman Anna sits alone at the train station all night and as the last train is leaving she throws herself under the train.

Anna Karenina is without a doubt one of the most tragic love stories of all time and thankfully this version conveys all those elements. With a stellar cast and solid directing this version is about the best I have seen. As with many adaptations much is left out as the movie does not cover in detail the conditions (political, economic) at the time in Russia and instead focuses primarily on the love story.

Garbo is true to form in delivering yet another solid performance and although her scenes with Vronsky took up a large part of the movie it was her scenes in the other small stories taking place that I found enjoyable. The only problem I had with the cast was Basil Rathbone Anna’s husband. He was supposed to be twenty years older than her and yet some of his mannerisms were not that of an older man.

9.6 out of 10

To help keep production costs down MGM resorted to using manure in this scene.

The Look

As with all the movies in this set it is black and white full screen. In some scenes there is some heavy grain and on a couple of occasions the screen did jump. Overall it is still a solid presentation and the flaws are excusable.

8.7 out of 10

The Noise

Standard mono format with some minor skips in the dialogue and music.

8.2 out of 10

The Goodies

Trailer eh (trailers don't impress me after I have seen the movie!)

5.7 out of 10

The Artwork

A wonderful cover with Garbo featured on one side. The other half is filled with titles and towards the bottom are caricatures of various scenes from the movie.

8.6 out of 10

Overall: 8.2 out of 10

Camille (1936)

Camille is based on the Alexandre Dumas novel set in 1852 Paris, France which tells the story of a failed romance between a Parisian courtesan suffering from tuberculosis and the nobleman Armand Duval. This version, directed by George Cukor, was the first talking version and the one that other subsequent adaptations were compared against.

Marguerite (Garbo) and her friend Prudence Duvernoy (Laura H Crews) attend a play where Prudence insists that Marguerite go after the wealthy yet older Baron de Varville (Henry Daniell) however Marguerite is turned off by his age. As Prudence is trying to set up a meeting between these two a young suitor, Armand Duval (Robert Taylor,) catches her attention because he the way he is looking and smiling at her. Marguerite seems to be more interested in Armand until she finds out he is not wealthy.

She then turns her attention to the Baron and we see these two several months later at his mansion where he is lavishing her with money to buy some horses at an auction. See Marguerite is a kept woman and considering that she is beautiful and one of the most desirable women in Paris it is not hard for her to latch onto a wealthy man. The Baron begs her to go to Russia with him but due to her health she feels the trip would be too much.

At the horse auction Marguerite runs into Armand and is touched when she finds out that while she was ill Armand had come to visit her everyday and even brought flowers. She invites Armand to a party she is having and while at the party she retires early because of a coughing spell. Armand goes in to check on her and she hands him a key asking him to come back to her once everyone leaves. Marguerite is waiting on Armand when suddenly the Baron comes into her room and this leaves Armand left out in the cold again. What follows is Marguerite and Armand getting together with plans to marry. However, Armand’s father who insists that Marguerite leave his son explains that her past would ruin Armand’s chance as a diplomat. Marguerite understands and winds up going back to the Baron. With Marguerite’s health rapidly declining and the Baron no longer giving her money she lies in bed waiting to die. She gets word that her one true love Armand has come to see her. For one last time Marguerite is happy and radiant again.

Greta Garbo received high praise for her performance and rightfully so. When it came to portraying these other worldly women no one could get the most out of these type roles than Garbo. In Camille she shines and if given to an actress with less talent and experience they would have made Marguerite weak and frail. Garbo makes her spirited and it is her illness that makes her vulnerable. Robert Taylor as the young and in love suitor performs exceptionally well against the more seasoned Garbo. In fact the acting is superb all the way around and the highlight for me was Laura Crews as Prudence.

This was the first time that George Cukor had worked with Garbo and it is through his direction that scenes are fleshed out more to give the movie a realistic quality. You will believe they are filming on location and Cukor’s attention to detail pays off.

9.7 out of 10

Reason #5 why talkies were a blessing!

The Look

The film is practically flawless with very little grain and no fading whatsoever. I am delighted to see movies of this caliber have been taken care of.

9.8 out of 10

The Noise

The dialogue and music has held up exceptionally well with no noticeable signs of distortion.

9.0 out of 10

The Goodies

1921 Silent Version Although I enjoyed the one starring 1936 better mainly due to Garbo in the lead you will get no complaints from me as the silent version has been restored and the story moves along at a quick pace. The main attraction in this movie is Rudolph Valentino and he is remarkable as Armand.

Leo is on the air Radio program This is nice to have if only for the historical part of the program. It was radio's version of Entertainment Tonight.

Theatrical Trailer eh. Have you noticed yet I do not have too much to say about trailers?.

9.2 out of 10

The Artwork

Nice cover featuring Robert Taylor holding Garbo. I like how they bold the last names of Garbo and Taylor.

8.6 out of 10

Overall: 9.3 out of 10

Ninotchka (1939)

This was Garbo’s next to last movie and since she was losing her box office appeal the studio was desperate to get her career back on track by casting her in a comedy. The studio was also worried that audiences would not see this movie because of the title and so they marketed it by proclaiming “Don’t pronounce it – See it!” and “Garbo laughs.” MGM and Garbo believed that a comedy would bring back her fans and even though the movie won high praise from critics, and Garbo received her fourth Oscar nomination, it was a box office failure.

Ninotchka tells the story about a Russian representative who is sent to Paris by the government to oversee problems three diplomats are having with a jewelry sale. The jewels once belonged to the Grand Duchess of France and were confiscated when the Russian government was overthrown. The Russians are in need of money and have begun to sell valuables to interested parties throughout Europe. The three diplomats are now caught up in a legal problem so the sale is placed on hold. Ninotchka (Garbo) is a cold and very stern loyalist who does not believe in frivolity nor doing anything that would go against the teachings of her party.

One evening she decides to check out Paris and wants to see the Eiffel Tower but it having difficulty reading the map. This is when she runs into Count Leon (Melvyn Douglas,) who at the time is the one helping the Grand Duchess with the jewelry court case, and he is instantly attracted to her looks and is amused at her frankness. Leon takes Ninotchka to the Tower and invites her over to his place for a drink. After spending more time with the Count it is becoming obvious that Ninotchka is starting to loosen up and seems to be enjoying Paris. She also has fallen in love yet at the last moment she is called back to Russia. She is back to performing her daily functions for the party in robotic fashion. She is lonely and longing for the days in Paris and as fate would have it, she is sent away to straighten up another mess the three diplomats have gotten themselves into.

Although my summary does not make this movie seem like a comedy trust me it is. Garbo is perfect in the role of a cold woman who gradually begins to show signs of life thanks in no small part to a determined and likeable man. Garbo is funniest in this movie when she is cold and straight-laced while everyone around her is laughing, joking and making fools of them selves. When Ninotchka begins to loosen up it is gradual and not overdone and much credit to director Ernst Lubitsch for not allowing this drastic change and keeping Garbo’s performance in check. Although Melvyn Douglas is perfect in the role as the love struck and quick witted Count it was the three Russian diplomats who stole this movie. Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart and Alexander Granach have all their scenes together and it is these three who keep the comedy balanced. Although Ninotchka is dated by today’s standards it is still a must see movie just to enjoy the solid acting given by everyone involved.

8.8 out of 10

The face that broke a thousand mirrors.

The Look

The same standard full screen black and white presentation. Very little grain yet in some scenes I noticed there were several cast members in a shot the ones on the edge of the screen were blurry.

6.5 out of 10

The Noise

Nice presentation with very little signs of distortion. In a couple of scenes an actor would turn his back to the camera and still be talking his voice would fade considerably.

7.5 out of 10

The Goodies

Trailer They sure worked hard on selling the fact that Garbo laughs throughout this movie when in fact this was misleading because she only burst out laughing twice.

6.4 out of 10

The Artwork

Beautiful cover with an even more beautiful Garbo looking radiant and happy

8.6 out of 10

Overall: 6.3 out of 10

Bonus Set 1 The Garbo Silents

This bonus 2 disc set would be a film historian’s dream come true. Not only have all three films been restored, they also have a musical score which only enhances the story line. The three silent films on this disc are regarded as Garbo’s finest silent film work and which help establish her as a cinematic superstar.

Flesh and the Devil (1926) Garbo portrays Felicitas a young and beautiful woman, who almost destroys a life-long friendship between two men, Leo (John Gilbert) and Lars (Ulrich Von Eltz.) When Leo is sent away to a military post he entrusts Lars to look after Felicitas however, when Leo comes back he finds that those two have married.

The Temptress (1926) Garbo is Elena who has a way of seducing men and ultimately this becomes their downfall. Even when Elena leaves Paris with a lover and travels to Vienna there is still trouble with men fighting over her which eventually leads to two men in a whipping duel (I kid you not.) This duel is a must see!

The Mysterious Lady (1928) This movie is just another version of Mata Hari which starred Garbo as a spy who seduces men to obtain secrets. Garbo is Tania who meets and falls in love with an Austrian Captain Karl Von Raden (Conrad Nagel.) Ironically it is Karl who has the documents Tania wants and after she gets them he winds up getting arrested. It’s a classic love story with a touch of spy thriller that is a delight to watch. Out of the three silents on this set, this was my favorite.

Bonus Features

Setting the Score Goes behind the scenes of the TCM young film composer’s competition featuring these young artists scoring notable silent movies, including the three Garbo films on this set.

Commentary on Flesh of the Devil by Garbo Author Barry Paris - It is a no brainer that considering Barry wrote a book about Garbo that he would be enthusiastic about doing a commentary of one of her movies. Since he did not work on this film there is not much in the area of behind the scenes info he can share and what I usually look forward to hearing.

Commentary on The Temptress by Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy Author Mark A. Vieira Same as Barry's commentary.

Commentary on The Mysterious Lady by Film Historians Tony Maietta and Jeffrey Vance These two offer decent opinions and thoughts on a movie they never worked on.

The Divine Woman: Surviving 9-minute excerpt of this lost 1928 silent – A treasure for Garbo fans and film historians. Sad this is all that is left.

Alternate endings on Flesh and the Devil and The Temptress Garbo is not seen in these alternate endings and the one they used in the initial releases works better as it leaves you with more suspense on what happened to a couple of characters.

Photo Montages of all three movies Nice feature yet I am never too big on these as they provide nothing new and I can't hang them on my walls!

Well now! #2

Bonus Disc 2 – Garbo

A fantastic 90-minute documentary put together by Turner Classic Movies. With insights from family, co-stars and biographers this feature is filled with tidbits about Garbo’s early beginnings and explains to some extent of why she left Hollywood for good at the age of 38. Fans of Garbo will only appreciate her more while others will hopefully appreciate her contributions to the film industry even more.

9.9 out of 10

Thank you dear lady for these wonderful movies.

Greta Garbo Signature Collection
Overall: 9.5 out of 10