Greta Garbo: Ninotchka

 

Many film critics and historians regard 1939 as the Annus Mirabilis or greatest year of American film. In that year Hollywood produced Gone with the Wind which swept practically all the Academy Awards; The Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland in an iconic role; Stagecoach which made John Wayne a star; and Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Worthy to be included in this pantheon is Ninotchka, a charming comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and starring the great Greta Garbo.

Garbo had come to America from Sweden in the 1920s and became an immediate silent film sensation. When “talkies” arrived, she made the transition with ease, despite her accent, in Anna Christie. Film publicists merely relied on two words: “Garbo talks!” Her first words were “Give me a whiskey” spoken to a waiter in a dingy waterfront bar.  She went on to star in dramatic blockbusters Grand Hotel, Mata Hari, Queen Christina, Camille, and Anna Karenina. Ninotchka, however, would be her first attempt at comedy. This time publicists again used only two words to hail the film: “Garbo Laughs.”

Garbo plays a frowning, no-nonsense Soviet agent sent to Paris to complete the sale of jewels confiscated by the Communist regime to raise funds for the faltering Russian economy. Actually, she is sent to take over the job from three bumbling Soviet bureaucrats who had quickly become corrupted by the charms and luxury of Paris. It turns out that the jewels were formerly the property of a Russian Grand Duchess living in exile in Paris, and whose lover is a French nobleman, played by Melvyn Douglas, obviously a “kept” man who will eventually fall for Garbo. 

Communism was still enjoying a springtime in Hollywood in 1939. Despite Stalin’s show trials and purges, and his recent non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, many in the film industry still regarded Communism as the wave of the future, the solution of America’s problems, and the savior of the downtrodden and oppressed. 

Nevertheless, director Ernest Lubitsch, a German émigré, and the film’s writers which included Billy Wilder, another German émigré, continually poked fun at the failures of the Soviet system. At one point, Garbo even refers to Stalin’s show trials: “There will be fewer Russians, but better ones.” Compared to Paris, Moscow is drab, cold, and dreary. However, despite the political satire, this film is really a love story and Garbo plays it beautifully.  

She initially appears at the train station wearing a drab Soviet outfit most likely designed by Adrian, her favorite costume designer.  During the film she brilliantly transforms herself into a beautiful woman falling in love not only with Paris but also with Leon, the French Count.

In one famous scene set in a neighborhood café he tries to make her laugh by telling one lame joke after another, but she sees nothing funny. Only when he gives up and falls to the floor after leaning too far back in his chair does she break out into prolonged laughter along with the other patrons. He joins in and the ice is broken. She is a woman.

Later, he takes her to a fancy nightclub. She has shed her Soviet attire and wears an evening gown. He introduces her to champagne, something she thought was only used to launch warships, and we see her slowly get high and then outright drunk. She plays it beautifully as she goes through the various stages of inebriation. Finally, he takes her back to her hotel room where she collapses. Later, we discover that he just put her to bed and left her sleeping. He is in love with her and would never take advantage of her. That was the way a man was supposed to act in those days, and that is one of the reasons why films like Ninotchka are part of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

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Note: clink on this link for a brief clip from the film, or see the video below.