Silver Screen Magic with Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo came into this world in 1905. She was born in Sweden and got her start in acting during the silent era, in Swedish films. Seeing her MGM chief Louis B. Mayer requested the actress to come to Hollywood. Garbo arrived and became a romantic leading lady with a beautiful silver screen presence. Mayer was worried about how she would sound on screen when talkies arrived because English was not her first language. However, in her role in the film “Anna Christie,” Garbo proved she could speak very well and it translated wonderfully on the silver screen. She became known for the line “I want to be alone,” portraying a depressed ballerina in the film “Grand Hotel.” Before anyone knew it Garbo actually retired from the silver screen and became a recluse, leaving wonderful memories behind.

In 1930 the film “Anna Christie” was advertised with “Garbo talks!” The film is based on a play of the same name by Eugene O’Neill. The film starred Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, George F. Marlon, and Marie Dressler.

Garbo’s first line of dialogue was “Give me a whisky, ginger ale on the side, and don’t be stingy, baby!” She portrays a wayward woman who reunites with her estranged father, Chris Christofferson (George F. Marion). Chris left Anna to be raised by relatives on a St. Paul farm 15 years before and hasn't seen her since. Anna arrives an emotionally wounded woman with a dishonorable, hidden past: she has worked in a brothel for two years. One night, Chris rescues Matt Burke (Charles Bickford) and two others displaced sailors from the sea. Anna and Matt fall in love, and Matt proposes to Anna, who is still haunted by her past. In the end, it will all work out.

In 1935 Garbo starred in “Anna Karenina,” adapted from the novel of the same name by Leo Tolstoy. This MGM film opened at the Capitol Theater in New York City and earned $2,304,000 at the box office. Ti won the Mussolini Cup for best foreign film at the Venice Film Festival. Garbo received a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. The film is ranked at number 142 on the American Film Institute’s list of AFI’s 100 Years...100 Passions.

Anna Karenina is the wife of the much older Czarist official Karenin (Basil Rathbone). While in Moscow, she tries to persuade her brother Stiva (Reginald Owen) from a life of debauchery and adultery. She also meets military officer Count Vronsky (Frederic March). Back home in St Petersburg, she begins an affair with him, a liaison that destroys her marriage; she is prohibited from seeing her son Sergei (Freddie Bartholomew). As she becomes shunned by society, her relationship with Vronsky also suffers, with eventual tragic results.

Filmed by MGM in 1936, “Camille” is the best of Garbo’s costume dramas. It is the adaptation of the 1848 novel and 1852 play “La Dame aux Camelias” by Alexandre Dumas. The film starred Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Jessie Ralph, Henry Daniell, Leonore Ulric, and Laura Hope Crews. Directed by George Cukor this is definitely a two-tissue-box movie.

It is about a Parisian courtesan, Marguerite Gautier, portrayed by Garbo. Marguerite leaves a stuffy baron, Baron de Varville (Henry Daniell), to marry a young man she has fallen in love with, Armand Duval (Robert Taylor). However, the young man’s father, Monsieur Duval (Lionel Barrymore), knows about the woman’s sordid past. The ending is tragically sad, and Marguerite dies of consumption.

The MGM film “Conquest” was directed by Clarence Brown. The story was based on the book “Pani Walewska” by Waclaw Gasiorowski and the play of the same name by Helen Jerome. The film starred Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, and Reginald Owen with a supporting cast.

The story is about a Polish Countess, Maria Walewska (Greta Garbo), dispatched by her country to become mistress to Napoleon Bonaparte (Charles Boyer) in the hopes of influencing him. However, love and heartbreak get in the way of politics. The much older husband of the Countess, Count Anastas Walewski (Henry Stephenson), annuls his marriage, and Napoleon divorces Empress Josephine. Now the pair are free to go on with their relationship. However, Napoleon shocks her by announcing his decision to wed the Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria (Dame May Whitty) for political reasons. While he doesn't expect it to impact his relationship with Marie, she leaves him without ever telling him that she is expecting his child. The child is born, Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo, and it all comes to an end. How? Watch the movie to find out.

Directed by George Fitzmaurice, “Mata Hari” remains as Garbo’s biggest box office hit. It was filmed by MGM in 1931. The film starred Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lewis Stone, and Lionel Barrymore. The film is based on the true story of an exotic dancer who became a spy for the Germans in WWI. Mata Hari is portrayed by Greta Garbo. She uses seduction as a weapon to get information from General Serge Shubin (Lionel Barrymore) while falling in love with Lieutenant Alexis Rosanoff (Ramon Novarro). Mata Hari was executed for espionage. The highlight of the film is Garbo’s erotic dance number.

In 1933 Garbo portrayed Queen Christina of Sweden in the film “Queen Christina.” The film starred Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, in their fourth and final film together. The story is the life of the queen, who rose to power in the 17th century and abdicated the throne for the love of a gallant Spanish ambassador, Antonio Pimentel de Prado (John Gilbert). As in all tales of love, things don’t go smoothly, and when the scheming Count Magnus (Ian Keith) rouses the people against the Spaniard, Christina chooses to name Charles X Gustav of Sweden (Reginald Owen) as her successor and abdicates the throne to be with Antonio. Unfortunately, it all will end in tragedy.

The film “Romance” was filmed at MGM and was based on the 1913 play written by Edward Sheldon. The film was written by Edwin Justus Mayer and Bess Meredyth. It starred Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone, Gavin Gordon Elliott Nugent, Florence Lake, Clara Blandick, and Henry Armetta.

The storyline begins on New Year’s Eve, when Harry (Elliot Nugent) tells his grandfather, a bishop, that he wants to marry an actress, even though this would be frowned upon by his social class. His grandfather recounts, via flashback, a tale of his great love affair with a “fallen woman” during his youth. At the age of 28, Tom Armstrong (Gavin Gordon), the son of an aristocratic family and the rector of St. Giles, meets the famous Italian opera star Rita Cavallini (Greta Garbo) at an evening party hosted by Cornelius Van Tuyl (Lewis Stone). Tom falls in love with Rita even though there are rumors that she is the mistress of Van Tuyl. His family disapproves of Rita, but he continues to pursue her. Unfortunately, Rita has been lying to Tom about her relationship with Van Tuyl. Tom chooses to forgive her but their different lives and social classes are too different. In the end, Tom marries Harry’s grandmother, Abigail Armstrong (Clara Blandick). In a surprise ending, Tom tells Harry to marry the woman he truly loves, regardless of the consequences.