[katie with the helmet]

I know, I said that after the Dreamiest Actors list I was going to do a companion list for actresses, but now I just don't feel like it. Plus, I wanted to get this thread at least started before September was over.

On September 18th, the luminous legend of the great Greta Garbo turned 100 years old. To celebrate that important day, and the release of the Greta Garbo Sugnature Collection DVD (which I won't be getting until Christmas ), I decided to make my next thread dedicated to Garbo.

For a long time she was my absolute favorite actress. Recently, the #1 spot was taken over by Ginger Rogers. But that doesn't lessen my love for Garbo. She was the most beautiful woman in film history, and her mysterious legend is something that fascinates me.

I've compiled a lot of stuff for this thread. I've made lists for her best films (silent and sound seperate), her best performances, her best leading men, and her best gowns. And in addition to the lists, the thread will start with a mini-bio.

[katie with the helmet]

The Beginning


She was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholme, Sweden on September 18, 1905. Her father was Carl, a common laborer, and her mother was Anna Lovisa, a peasant. There were already two children in the film when Greta was born, Sven, the oldest, and Alva.

Greta's childhood was ordinary. She attended school and played with the other children. But even at a very young age she took part in more boyish activities, such as sports, and she even referred to herself as "the Gustafsson boy". She also possessed the shyness and social awkwardness that would follow her for the rest of her life, mostly due to the embarassment she felt from her family's poverty.

At eleven years old she saw her first play. She immeadiately became star-struck, and at that moment decided she wanted to be an actress.

[katie with the helmet]

Star-Struck


At only 12 years old, Greta was already determined to become a star. She thought if she could just get an audition, surely she would be put in films. In that winter of 1917, Greta and a friend set out for Nordisk Film Studio to ask for an audition. But the snow was deep and they didn't have enough money to pay for transportation, so the got lost and returned home.

Greta spent most of her time in school, dreaming about being a star. But those thoughts were put aside when he father became ill in 1920, when Greta was 14. She spent all her time caring for him, but he died on June 1st.

Though Garbo had to go to work to hel support her family, her father's death made her ambitions even stronger. She was a hard worker, and enjoyed her jobs as a lather girl in a barber shop, and as a salesgirl at Bergstrom's department store, where she advanced quickly.

Early in 1921, the advertisement department of Bergstrom's gave Greta a chance to model hats in one of their ads. She had friends at movies studios looking out for roles, and in 1921, one of her friends at the Skandia film Company found a role for her in The Gay Cavalier. It was a very small role, she only appeared for a few minutes, but it was a start.

Meanwhile, the advertising department at Bergstrom's was becoming interested in using film for ads, and Greta appeared in their first, How Not to Wear Clothes. Later that year, she appeared in another promotional film, Our Daily Bread. By this point, she was starting to attract notice from directors with a films a bit higher-scale than advertisements.

[NumeroCinco]

Interesting. Bump.

[odionevol]

I think the only film with Garbo I've seen is Ninotchka, which is wonderful.

***checks IMDB***

Good god that was her second to last film. Anyway, that is the only one I've seen with her. It has always been on my highly recommended list.

[katie with the helmet]

The Big Picture


After her work in promotional films, Greta finally got a shot at the big time. One day while she was shopping, she caught the attention of a man. He followed her as she tried to get away from him, and though she finally did, he didn't forget her.

The man was slapstick director Erik Petschler, and though he hadn't been admiring Greta for any particular reason, when she saw him later in Bergstrom's and called him up, he remembered who she was, and happily gave her a role in his next picture, Peter the Tramp. It was Greta's first real film. Neither the film nor Greta recieved much attention.

Petschler introduced Greta to the director of the Royal Dramatic Theater, and she was accepted into the school. The school was not the right place for her. Most of the students were upperclass, and Greta shied away from them, ashamed of her roots. She seemed to have lost all drive to succeed as an actress. She payed little attention to her lessons and she did whatever she felt like. She did several plays, however, and her teachers did notice her talent, despite Greta's restlessness.

Luckily, she wouldn't be there for long.

[astor]

I'm subscribed.

If I may make a suggestion for the thread, I'd recommend dl'ng the pics you'd like to use and uploading them to imageshack.us or photobucket.com, as that last one in particular won't show up no matter how I try to copy and paste the link or adjust referrer logging.

[katie with the helmet]

Stiller and the Birth of Garbo


After a few months at the academy, Greta recieved and invitation from acclaimed Swedish director Mauritz Stiller. He had heard about her and was interested in putting her in some films. The two spoke briefly, and then several weeks later Stiller gave Greta a role in his latest film The Saga of Gosta Berling.

Stiller immeadiately made Greta his project and started to transform her into the actress he imagined. He ignored other people's criticisms toward her. He made her lose 20 pounds and kept a close watch over the clothes she wore and the things she did. He signed her to his film company and renamed her: Greta Garbo.

Garbo and Stiller grew very close to each other while filming. His friends thought she was boring, but Stiller found her exciting. He said she was like wax in his hands. The film was released, and Garbo recieved very good reviews, but Stiller sent her back to the academy, where she continued to feel restless.

Meanwhile, Stiller was trying to pull together a huge project, but had failed miserably and found himself in poverty. Garbo and friend Lars Hanson stood by Stiller. Director GW Pabst was putting together his film The Joyless Street, and wanted Garbo in the role. Stiller complied, but only after several demands were met.

The set of The Joyless Street was much different from Gosta Berling. Stiller had spent months filming his movie, but Pabst was in a hurry, and worked his actors for 16 hours a day to finish the movie in just over a month. The film was praised by critics.

Garbo had conquered European film. Hollywood was next.

[katie with the helmet]

On to Hollywood


Garbo and Stiller were a package deal for MGM. Mayer seemed to want Stiller more than Garbo, but he paid closer attention to Garbo's career. When he signed the pair, he said, "Tell Miss Garbo that in America people don't like fat women."

She was paid a measly $350 a week to start with. Their arrival was viewed with little to no importance. The only people to greet them were a few photographers. They didn't even work for their first two months in the US. She recieved a bit of press due to some photographs she had taken, but Mayer had seemed to lose interest completely. Garbo was ready to give up, but Stiller would not. They boarded a train from New York to LA.

In LA, they were greeted warmly, not by the studio, but by several Swedish residents and actors. Unfortunately, the change in location did nothing for them. They were just as ignored in LA as they had been in New York. It was starting to look like Garbo would never be the star Stiller wanted her to be. Who would have guessed a dumb accident would change all that?

[katie with the helmet]

I was going to update once more, but the combination of sleepiness and West Wing high makes it hard to concentrate on much. So, for now, bump.

[Kuehnepips]

Oddly, I never liked her.

[katie with the helmet]

The Vamp


Director Monta Bell was preparing his next film, Torrent, by viewing footage of flood scenes to put into the film. Somehow, purely by accident, one of Garbo's screen tests had been spliced into the reel. Bell was enchancted. "I want that girl for Torrent," he said.

And so, in 1925, after months and months in Hollywood, the very Swedish Garbo made her American film debut playing a Spanish opera singer. Hey, it was silent film. Anybody could play anybody. Torrent was the only American film Garbo made in which she would recieve second billing. From then on, she was the star.

Garbo was a huge hit with the critics. She was praised for everything from her looks to her performance. She was now a hot commodity, and a real star vehicle was needed. Since she was such a hit, so was her mentor. Stiller's newest screenplay was recieved favorably by Mayer, but it was quickly rewritten to make Garbo a femme fatale, which angered Stiller. But he was given the chance to direct, so he shut his mouth, figuring that he could tamper with the story to his liking until it ws once again his own vision.

But things on set of The Temptress were a mess. Stiller's temper was short, and he spoke almost no english. His crew simply couldn't understand what he wanted. The actors were terrified of him, even Garbo. To make matters worse, early on in the films Garbo recieved word that her sister had died, and she collapsed onset. The dailies were good, but things were taking too long and it was causing the studio too much stress. Production head Irving Thalberg removed Stiller from the picture and replaced him with Fred Niblo. After that, MGM would have nothing to do with Stiller.

Garbo was a mess during filming of The Temptress. She came close to a nervous breakdown, and she grew more and more bitter toward Hollywood and MGM. At the same time, MGM seemed to be contradicting the image they were creating for her through her films by making her pose for photos as an outdoors-y tomboy. Garbo was confused and lonely.

Luckly, The Temptress turned out rather well, mostly due to cameraman William Daniels, who was always able to capture Garbo best. But both Garbo and Stiller hated the movie, and hated the image that was created for Garbo.

Garbo was almost completely fed up with Hollywood. But all she really needed was a little romance.

[katie with the helmet]

Bump.

[<"_]

Originally Posted by the_kid_with_the_helmet

For a long time she was my absolute favorite actress. Recently, the #1 spot was taken over by Ginger Rogers.

That was a short love affair with Ms. Hopkins.

[katie with the helmet]

Originally Posted by <"_

That was a short love affair with Ms. Hopkins.

She's never been my #1. She's been my #3 for as long as I can remember.

[katie with the helmet]

Gilbo Garbage


For Garbo's third American film, she was to be teamed with not only old friend and fellow Swede Lars Hanson, but also with MGM's newest top star, John Gilbert.

The chemistry between the pair was evident on screen. They were immeadiately one of the most popular pairings Hollywood had ever seen. But the chemistry between them onscreen only reflected what was happening off-screen. The two had begun a rather passionate love affair.

By September of 1927, the pair had moved into together and were hardly seperated at all while on the MGM lot. Their affair made the front page of every gossip magazine. Soon, news about them had been labeled, "Gilbo Garbage".

It was hoped that love would turn Garbo's sour view on Hollywood around, and while she was a much happier worker, the sorrow over the loss of her sister and the separation from Stiller, who had returned to Sweden, was evident not just in every day life, but on the screen.

And she still felt the studio wasn't giving her what she deserved, especially now that Flesh and the Devil had made her so popular. MGM was dying to put Garbo and Gilbert in more movies together, but Garbo wanted more money, and when she didn't get it, she went on strike.

Garbo stayed away from the studio for months, and while they negotiated, MGM put Gilbert in 3 films to bide their time. Finally an agreement was met, and her first picture back on the job was opposite Gilbert in Love, and adaptation of Anna Karenina.

The romance started to fizzle. While filming Love, Gilbert proposed for the first time, and Garbo flatout turned him down. Rumors of Garbo's lesbianism began to fly around town, and while Garbo and Gilbert remained together, things were on shaky ground, and they started to see less and less of each other. With the death of Mauritz Stiller while Garbo was filming Wild Orchids in 1928, she became more and more distant. While filming A Woman of Affairs, Gilbert again proposed, only to be met with refusal.

Gilbert was frustrated, and Garbo had returned home to Sweden for Christmas, clearly ready to be finished with the romances. When she returned, Gilbert desperately proposed again. Garbo refused, and he hastily married actress Ina Claire shortly after. The love affair was over.

And after only one more year, Garbo's silent career would be over, too.

[katie with the helmet]

Garbo Talks


Surprisingly, MGM was the last studio to get in on sound. Irving Thalberg thought it was a fad, and waited as long as he possibly could to put out their first talkie, The Broadway Melody of 1929, which became the first talkie to win Best Picture.

Garbo was kept out of talkies longer than any other star. By 1929, she still hadn't mastered the english language. Many stars were already failing in sound, and Thalberg and Mayer were terrified of losing one of their biggest stars. So they continued making silent films in 1929 for Garbo while she worked on her english. She made The Single Standard, Wild Orchids, and The Kiss, the final films of the silent era in 1929. Finally, by 1930, she was ready for sound.

MGM advertised Anna Christie with the simple tagline, "Garbo Talks!" knowing it would pull in a huge audience. They were still worried, though, that the audience wouldn't repsond well. Fortunately, when Garbo spoke her first words on film 34 minutes in, the crowd was more than pleased. Garbo would certainly be huge in sound films.

Garbo enjoyed another considerable hit in 1930, Romance, and she would recieve double nomination in the Best Actress category at the Academy Awards for both films.

Garbo was indeed a hit in sound, but 1931 was such an awful year, that Garbo started to look for a way out.

[Dade Devlin]

Katie, you are a threadmaking machine. This is very interesting.

[Maxx3000]

I've always compared her most to Marlene Dietrich, with Dietrich edging just a tad over Garbo, perhaps because Garbo quit so early. They both really epitomize the golden era of the silver screen and truly deserve the title "Movie Star".

[katie with the helmet]

An Early Retirement?


In 1931 and 1932, Garbo made a total of 5 films, to disappointing outcomes. While they all pulled in lots and lots of money, all but one were slammed hard by critics. And critical bashing was something she took to heart. Inspiration, Mata Hari, Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise, and As You Desire Me opened to poor reviews, which upset Garbo. She had had a difficult time on the sets for all those films, not getting along with her costars and disliking the material, so the fact that she had suffered for something that wasn't well-recieved made her angry.

However, she did have one huge critical success. She had managed to get top billing in the all-star film Grand Hotel, which opened to glowing reviews, and won the Oscar for Best Picture.

But Garbo was still crushed by the reaction to the other films, which she hadn't wanted to make in the first place, so she announced her retirement.

Garbo took and 8 month vacation while MGM tried to renegotiate her contract. It looked bad at first. Garbo was tired with Hollywood, with the demands of the studio, the intrusiveness of the press, and the harshness of the critics. But MGM was finally able to persuade her to make at least two more films. Garbo seemed to be in better spirits when she returned, probably due to her budding relationship with writer Mercedes De Acosta.

But though the studio had promised her better projects, when she returned to Hollywood, things seemed no different than usual.

[Dade Devlin]

*waits for entry titled Lubitsch, Brackett & Wilder to the Rescue*

[katie with the helmet]

Bump. I'm going to do huge, massive updating tomorrw, I swear.

[Felliniesque Clown]

yaay! for this thread. I love Garbo

[katie with the helmet]

A Reunion


Things really seemed to be looking up when MGM put Garbo in Queen Christina. It was a part she had wanted very badly, and was extremely pleased to not only be in a film she actually wanted to be in, but also to be playing someone of the same nationality.

Her costar was to be Laurence Olivier. The two reported to rehearsals, but it quickly became clear that the two lacked an kind of chemistry, and they didn't get along particularly well. MGM knew they needed to handle Gabro gently, so they released Olivier from the project and allowed Garbo to choose her new costar. She chose John Gilbert.

They Gilbo romance had ended long before, but Garbo still care about Gilbert, whose career was falling apart since sound had come onto the scene, so she tried to help him in any way she could, and MGM granted her request.

The marketing for the film was clever, though. In all the advertising, there's not a trace of Gilbert. The whole campaign was geared toward Garbo. The film did nothing to revive Gilbert's career, but it did wonders for Garbo. It recieved huge acclaim, and it seemed like Garbo was back on top.

[katie with the helmet]

The Literary Garbo


The studio's next step was to make Greta Garbo into a prestige star. This meant putting her in many high profile films, and to MGM, high profile meant literary adaptations.

With their first attempt, things looked like they were off to a poor start. The Painted Veil was a critical dud, and Garbo was looking pretty weary with Hollywood again.

Luckily, the next two films she made were adaptations she was very eager to do. In 1935, Garbo and Fredric March were offered the lead roles in Dark Victory, a film that didn't interest Garbo at all. (As we all know, Dark Victory would be successful 4 years later with Bette Davis and George Brent). Garbo had been wanting to film Anna Karenina with sound for awhile, and she finally got her wish. For a second time, she played the Tolstoy heroine, this time set in its original time period. The film was a hit, Garbo recieved glowing reviews, and a Bets Actress award from the New York Film Critics Circle.

Next, she gave another fantastic performance as the tragic heroine Marguerite Gautier in Camille. Again, the film recieved fantastic reviews, and Garbo recieved another nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, and her second consecutive Best Actress Award from the NYFCC.

Thing really were looking amazing for Garbo. But, of course, it wasn't going to last.

[katie with the helmet]

Bump

[Cinephelia]

Originally Posted by the_kid_with_the_helmet

The Literary Garbo

I love this picture. The thread is fascinating, as always.

[RitterRed]

Originally Posted by the_kid_with_the_helmet

The Beginning


She was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholme, Sweden on September 18, 1905. Her father was Carl, a common laborer, and her mother was Anna Lovisa, a peasant. There were already two children in the film when Greta was born...

heh, film...
Good stuff, as always, Katie. I'm on the edge of my movie seat waiting for the next installment.

[katie with the helmet]

Box Office Poison


Coming off the success of Anna Karenina and Camille, MGM wanted to make another biographical film with Garbo, since Queen Christina had been such a hit. They selected Conquest, a slightly fictionalized account of the affair between Napoleon and the polish Countess Marie Walewski. Garbo was cast opposite rising French star Charles Boyer. The movie was advertised hard by MGM, who hoped the film would be an enormous hit.

It was not. Conquest was a critical and financial dud. In 1937, it was MGM's biggest money loser to date, and remains one of the biggest today (adjusted to inflation, of course). The reviews ranged from mediocre to horrible. The film was poorly recieved. Except for Boyer. Boyer was praised for his performance as Napolean, and he recieved his first Academy Award nomination. But everything else about the film, including Garbo, was quickly forgotten.

MGM was at a loss. They couldn't figure what had gone wrong with the film, so they didn't know how to make their next Garbo effort better. As a result, Garbo didn't make any films in 1938.

In May of 1938, the Hollywood Reporter released an advertisement proclaiming Garbo, among others, "Box Office Poison". MGM panicked, unsure of what to do with a star who had once been their hottest commodity.

What Garbo needed was an image change.

[katie with the helmet]

Garbo Laughs!


MGM thought up the tagline "Garbo Laughs!" before they even had a film for her to laugh in. The world was in unrest. MGM knew that people were growing weary of heavy dramas. Screwball comedy was the most popular type of film. If they could successfully transform Garbo into a comedy star, they would most certainly have a hti on their hands.

In reality, Garbo was very lighthearted and friendly when amongst friends and family. She liked to laugh and she liked to tell jokes. This, combined with the poor box office numbers for Conquest made her more than willing to try to turn her image around. She was very happy to be making Ninotchka.

MGM brought in Hollywood's top people in comedy. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett to write and Earnst Lubisch to direct. There were several people up for the male lead. For a long time, it looked like Spencer Tracy would take it. Nobody ever would have thought MGM would put Garbo in another film with Melvyn Douglas, considering what a disaster their first pairing, As You Desire Me, was. But when Douglas had made that movie, he wasn't yet an established star in Hollywood. Now he was, and he had established himself quite well in comedy. Though apprehensive at first, MGM liked Douglas for the role, and he and Garbo had gotten along pretty well before, so they took what they saw as a gamble, and hired Douglas.

The film opened in the fall of 1939 and immeadiately was a tremendous hit. People loved the new Garbo, and Ninotchka was one of the biggest hits of the year, and Garbo recieved yet another Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

But, as always, things wouldn't stay perfect for long.