Don't get me wrong, its not a classic and many of the scenes/jokes go on WAY, way too long, but other than that, it was an okay movie and Garbo was charming.
"And before we go any further, who the hell orders pizza under the name of Torchwood?"
yeah I actually liked this movie. I thought Greta Garbo was kinda playful in it and thats why I liked it.
Bow to Helen Mirren, bitch!share
Yes, it was good IMO, not a masterpiece....but fun.
"A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five."
I too enjoyed this film , which had me in stitches at times. It was interesting and good to see Garbo in light-hearted and frivolous mood, the only time I have ever seen her like this. The role she played was quite charming.
shareI just saw the movie a few hours ago, and I actually think that the light-heartedness of the role, while fun, didn't suit Garbo somehow. It seemed forced and unnatural coming from her. And, when she smiles and laughs so gaily, it actually seems a little creepy, if I may say so.
I'm not trying to be rude, but seeing Garbo in this has caused me to realize with a certain clarity that some people are at their best not when they try to be jolly, but when they are serious and dramatic. Garbo strikes me as one of those people. Thank heaven Hollywood realized that when they made her a star.
Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!
Even though I didn't think the film was that bad overall, I gave it a 5/10. The problem for me wasn't Garbo or Douglas or really any of the middle 80 minutes of the film. It was the first and last 5 minutes that ruined it for me. We go from Garbo being irritated with Douglas's bad come-ons and showing no hint of being charmed by him to them being married. I felt like the 15 minutes of the movie that explained how they went from one to the other had been cut. But the ending made even less sense: he falls down a mountain (miraculously unharmed), she pulls him out of a pond, and they're back in love? Many Hays Code-era films do a great job of naturally leading to their pre-ordained conclusion. This one did not.
shareI have read somewhere that the movie was pruned quite a lot, owing to censorship problems. Apparently it was seen as disrespectful and flippant about marriage.
shareIt's a lovely old movie, I've always liked it. And it's sad no one mentions the marvelous Melvyn Douglas, who is brilliant, as always.
shareI also really enjoy this movie, and totally am with you about Melvyn Douglas. Ditto all the primary cast, actually: LOVE Constance Bennett and Ruth Gordon in this, in addition to, of course, Garbo, who I think is a thorough delight.
shareThe film was quite funny. Melvyn Douglas was hilarious.
shareI've never seen this film in it's entirety....but I did see half of it on TV late one night, and was surprised that it seemed perfectly professional and....well, fine. After reading that it was a disaster for years, that surprised me.
I've read this was costume designer Adrian's break with MGM, because he designed his usual slew of breathtaking clothes for the star and then the studio threw them out, in an attempt to make Garbo appear more approachable. The black dress she wears in the nightclub was reportedly pulled from stock, and not even built for the film.
The other gossip attached to this film is that the studio did not WANT it to succeed, as Garbo had a very expensive contract, and with WWII closing the European market (where her ticket sales were best), they wanted her to go away. So they were not fully behind the film, and might even have halfhearted lay sabotaged it.
I don't know if this is true, but the story's out there...
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This is my favorite Greta Garbo movie. She was animated and funny, rather than the morose, tortured soul she often played. Douglas, as usual, was a perfect combination of suave and funny.
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