Greta Garbo and The Controversial Film that Ended Her Career

[@MyDarkmarc]

Having grown up in New York City I had a run-in with the Great Greta Garbo it was on November 3, 1978 I was waiting to cross Fifth Avenue and 57th street it was at 2:30 PM, as I stood waiting for the light to change someone came up and was standing very close to me, I turned to glance who it was and to my complete surprise it was an older woman who looked directly ahead then in a instant I recognized that it was Greta Garbo. (I was 19 and all ready a film fan) Lucky for me I was wearing sunglasses so I could look at her without giving myself away it must have been 60 seconds as I looked and marveled at her when the light changed and she was gone walking fast across Fifth Avenue. I still remember seeing Garbo for just 60 seconds like it was yesterday. Garbo was wearing a trench coat and hat Garbo blended in with the crowd if it wasn't for her to stand so close to me I would never have looked up to see her.

[@GladysAlicea]

You lucky, lucky man. The only old-time movie star I ever saw was Van Johnson. It was just the two of us in a small Beverly Hills Hotel elevator. I recognized him right away and, of course, he was much older (I was in my early 30's). Looking back, I wish I had simply kissed his cheek, without saying a word, because I loved him in "The Last Time I Saw Paris" with Liz Taylor and his dancing with Lucille Ball on "I Love Lucy." Oh well, lesson learned.

[@isabellind1292]

It would take my breath away to have such a chance encounter w/Greta Garbo. I don't know if you've seen "Garbo Talks" (1984) w/Anne Bancroft, Ron Silver, Carrie Fisher...it wasn't well-rec'd by the critics but I really liked the movie and of course, the actors. Also, about Van Johnson, he also starred w/Lucy in "Yours, Mine & Ours"...Hollywood treasures, all these actors mentioned. Nice to read both your encounters, thank you.

[@MyDarkmarc]

@@isabellind1292I loved Garbo Talks in fact I got to see it with my mother who was a big Garbo fan and I was a big Anne Bancroft fan. Since I lived on the West Side where more actors and actresses live I remember seeing Yoko Ono walking on West 72nd by the Dakota where she lived. I worked in the D & D Building which stood for the Decoration and Design Building which was opened to the trade only. I remember entering the elevator and who should be in there by herself was Lauren Bacall and I just nodded to her and she nodded back and smiled. Then a woman got in on the next floor and she turned to Miss Bacall and said "you look so much better in person." All of a sudden Lauren Bacall looked at me and rolled her eyes and I almost laughed out loud and when the elevator came to a stop we all got off and went out separate ways. This happened on August 10, 1979.

[@MyDarkmarc]

@@GladysAliceaBack on August 10, 1979 this happened when I worked in the D & D Building which stood for the Decoration and Design Building which was opened to the trade only. I remember entering the elevator and who should be in there by herself was Lauren Bacall and I just nodded to her and she nodded back and smiled. Then a woman got in on the next floor and she turned to Miss Bacall and said "you look so much better in person." All of a sudden Lauren Bacall looked at me and rolled her eyes and I almost laughed out loud and when the elevator came to a stop we all got off and went out separate ways. I had a summer job working weekends this was back in 1981 at a shoe store at 81st Street and Broadway and many movie stars came in to buy shoes like: Jane Powell, Harry Belafonte, Barbara Cook, Joan Van Fleet, Jill Clayburgh, Roberta Flack, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and many others it was fun working especially on the West Side of Manhattan. I also attended the Palm Springs Film Noir Festival since 2000 and we get many movie stars who have retired to Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs, and Canyon Sands. I've got to meet: Jane Russell, Barbara Rush, Carroll Baker, John Saxon, Marsha Hunt, Robert Loggia, Carol Lynley, Ann Blyth, Arlene Dahl, Audrey Totter, Coleen Gray and Marie Windsor everyone as very nice and very gracious.

[@isabellind1292]

@@MyDarkmarc Oh my gosh! I am so glad you saw the movie. I just loved Anne Bancroft, as well. That is very cool that you saw Yoko Ono. And Lauren Bacall! I bet you could have recognized her, just by her distinctive voice. Another Hollywood treasure. I'm sure she could appreciate your reaction to the remark by the roll of her eyes, hahaha. So very cool! It's a great city for people-watching!🍎🗽🍎

[@outinsider]

It amazes me how Garbo's abrupt (well, not so abrupt) end of her film career turned into everyone else's career advice. "Garbo knew when to go." Did she? This video shows that it really wasn't up to her to go away, it was the times and the studio who failed her. I love how Garbo remained a mystery for the rest of her life. The way she maintained a fairly private life is exemplary.

[@Celisar1]

Still watching but if that’s what the video concludes It is not what I have read. She wanted out. Her deity status was too much. She wanted privacy more than anything else.

[@NadiaSawicki-lt1uf]

At least going out the way Garbo did was smart. She will be remembered as forever young. We've never seen her age as we have other stars.

[@outinsider]

@@NadiaSawicki-lt1uf To be fair, we did see her age, just not in roles, but I don't have a problem with aging actors, as long as roles are there that fit their stature.

[@LaurenceDay-d2p]

Without Thalberg as her mentor, Garbo was lost. Mayer hated her, and never understood her mystique. He preferred stars like Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, and Mickey Rooney.

[@unowen-nh9ov]

Pay attention, there are multiple later screen tests posted here, she CHOSE not to return to Hollywood.

[@usagi2988]

"Recurring villain of the channel, Archbishop Francis Spellman..." lol

[@reshawndrezenbarriga7218]

Another recurring villain is Ronald Reagan

[@instinctivelychelsea2905]

Ahhh I was thinking the same thing ,the old bulbous mushroom head

[@billsweet2293]

Bulbous head

[@falconeshield]

​@@reshawndrezenbarriga7218Esp for us born from the 80s onwards

[@seeleunit2000]

Well, she's not wrong.

[@kleerude]

I still get blindsided every time someone mentions how old an actress was when she retired. Thirty-six?? Really???

[@itsnautsch]

the selection of (good) roles for women over like 40 is miniscule even today, so i totally understand why some actresses decide to just retire...

[@smackamoe]

Consumer driven businesses focus on target demographics. The majority of movie patrons were younger than 36. By 36 most women of that time would have been wives and mothers, not freestyle cougars looking for romance. Most people want some relatability in a movie fantasy. Now that many more women are older and single in their thirties compared to back then, it seems wrong to say a woman aged out at 40. Many women today are still in the dating game and looking for romance at 40+, so a movie or movies about older sexually active single women are more common. Didn't Jane Fonda just make a movie about her being in a romance in her 80's? Older women today don't look at themselves as mothers or grandmothers like the women of Garbo's day.

[@falconeshield]

​@@itsnautschOnly because Hollywood men are allergic to any woman over 45

[@seeleunit2000]

Seriously ? For women actors being anything other then eternally young is like a death sentence. Take a look at the difference in roles for actors fourty and over for women and men then count on your hands how many times you see women that age take roles that the men get ? Not many compairson wise, huh ?

[@smackamoe]

@@seeleunit2000 it has to do with money. It's a for profit industry. If older women were a marketable concept in Rom-coms or in action thrillers or anything at all the market would reflect that. Why is that so hard for gyno Americans to understand? It's not about keeping older women out because they are not talented or available, it's because nobody will PAY to see the movies they star in.

[@cradio52]

Haven’t watched this full vid yet but I gotta say that I absolutely love these new thumbnails! They’re classy, simplistic, well composed and professional looking. Kudos!

[@bkrewind]

ok actually thank you so much i have been working so hard on them haha

[@cradio52]

@@bkrewind Haha I’m a bit of a graphic design nerd so I immediately noticed the shift in your thumbnail style and the effort that’s been put into them! They truly look fantastic! 😊

[@mariellletomtom2235]

BABE WAKE UP BKR POSTED

[@icravedeath.1200]

I'm considering introducing my friends to these lol, I'm gonna say that to them every new episode I show😆

[@prateekdabeer7614]

You stole my comment idea 😂

[@MuhammadAhmad-oj6mf]

I've read this same comment so many times

[@yumeluna2171]

the patron goddess for us introverts

[@ElizabethMcCormick-s2n]

Yeah, but don't go all reculsive the way she did, that's taking it too far!

[@wompwomp9946]

don't tell me what to do you're not my dad @@ElizabethMcCormick-s2n

[@AmyPieterse]

Patron goddess of undercover introverts masquerading as extroverts 😂

[@ginak615]

I think what she had was more pathological than simply introversion

[@ElizabethMcCormick-s2n]

@@ginak615Yeah, that's why she went all hermit-like towards the end!

[@rivaridge7211]

A wonderful neighbor friend of mine (now passed away) lived in NYC for many years, and had several "Garbo sightings" during her time there. Greta Garbo loved to take daily walks, to enjoy the fresh air and window shop, so it was not unusual to see her around and about in Manhattan. One night my friend went to one of the movie "art houses" where "Camille" was being shown, and just as the lights were dimmed, and as the film started, she saw Garbo slip in and take a seat in the back row. My neighbor friend was seated nearby and immediately recognized her even though GG had disguised herself a bit (wearing a hat and scarf). Greta left just before the film's end. (This was in the early 1960's).

[@davidfairbrother4292]

Wow - that would of been so Thrilling ! Thank you for sharing it..💙👍

[@karlwieler9205]

Once as a young teen in the 1970s walking with my father in mid-town Manhattan he pointed his umbrella in the direction of someone walking ahead of us and said simply 'GARBO'. I remember that rainy evening like it was yesterday.

[@karlwieler9205]

Years later when Ms. Garbo passed away they had a well publicized auction of her household and personal effects. Thinking to myself I might like to have something of hers I purchased a catalogue and looked through the pages when to my amazement there was the coat she had worn that I saw all those years ago... smart, stylish, belt in the back, brown in color, and in a word GARBO.

[@lawrencenodarse3090]

There used to be wonderful little movie theater in Manhattan called Theater 80 Saint Mark's Place. They showed classic double features. My very first night in NY, the first time I visited it (February of 1990), my mother and I went there to see Grand Hotel and Ninotchka. The theater was packed. 34 years later, I remember the laughter. It really is a hilarious movie when you watch it with an audience. The moment that got the biggest laugh was when Garbo asks Douglas, "Must you flirt?" He replies, "I can't help it, it's my nature." She then says in a total deadpan, "Suppress it." The audience exploded in laughter and applauded. I've never forgotten that retort and say it often. Anyhow, I feel lucky that the first time I ever saw Greta Garbo movies was in the theater, on the big screen with an audience, the way people did in the 1920s and '30s. That's the best way.

[@Mr.Zodiac_Garcia]

I'm that sim with her baby on fire saying “not now baby bkr just uploaded”

[@cvill03]

We need a CLARA BOW video. Out of all the Silent Stars I've learned about, her story has fascinated me the most.

[@johneyon5257]

done!

[@darylchin53]

Another brilliant and insightful addition to your channel; you've really given a lot of thought to Garbo's career. But it should be noted that NINOTCHKA was an example of MGM trying to ensure Garbo's success, and it had the classic example of "stunt casting": to play the Grand Duchess Schwana, MGM hired the theater star Ina Claire (who had done a number of movies in the early sound period, including THE GREEKS HAD A WORD FOR THEM and THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BROADWAY). The reason this was stunt casting... to use a modern analogy, it would have been as if Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie agreed to costar in a TV series. Because when Garbo called off her wedding to John Gilbert, he decided to go to New York, where he impulsively married Ina Claire. That was his rebound wedding, and it didn't last long, but it was certainly very widely publicized. Now, this proves how ephemeral this type of publicity is, because the connection of Garbo and Ina Claire is no longer mentioned in discussing NINOTCHKA, but it was certainly a factor in the publicity of the film in 1939.

[@1234cheerful]

Thanks for the tea. True, it has cooled off in the intervening years, if not iced up. I have probably run across Ina Claire in some movie or book but don't recall it and cannot place her face. It is so for most of us, I think. Time for a visit to Google.

[@matthewmiskiewicz8357]

Great video, just one sidenote at 9:43, Marie Skłodowska-Curie was actually Polish

[@yordalyn]

She was naturalised French. Just as Alber Einstein was naturalised U.S. citizen.

[@adapienkowska2605]

@@yordalyn yes, and I have yet to see somebody refer to him as something else than German scientists in the USA's media.

[@yordalyn]

@@adapienkowska2605 Of German origin or German born.

[@adapienkowska2605]

@@yordalyn but not American. Have you seen anybody refer to him as American scientists? I haven't.

[@yordalyn]

@@adapienkowska2605 I think you might right (bad example) as he had been naturalised Swiss. Which made him Germano Swiss.

[@alinaandritoiu-bm7jw]

Great video as usual, just one minor issue: Marie Curie was polish and she kept her polish name Sklodowska while married to Pierre Curie. I mention this because eastern europeans tend to lose their easterness when they move and work in a western country. For instance, Greta Garbo remains swedish even though she became word wide famous after moving to USA while polish Marie Curie moves to France and all of a sudden becomes french. As a eastern european, i find this very annoying. Sorry for the rant 😅. Like I said, I really liked the video and I appreciate the channel!

[@Nikanike0905]

Thanks for the comment, this is exactly what I also noticed. There is a tendency to erase some nationalities more than others (often due to deeply-rooted implied inferiority of certain ethnicities) and as for Skłodowska-Curie, she was actively involved in Polish societies in France throughout her life so I think it is particularly important to respect her in a way that reflects her Polish-ness. The video is great as usual, I hope your comment can serve as a useful footnote to generally well-researched video essay.

[@sophiejurfest6243]

Marie Curie was born polish but she was naturalised as a french citizen

[@Ana20arA]

@@sophiejurfest6243that’s beyond the point dear.

[@alinaandritoiu-bm7jw]

@@sophiejurfest6243 Greta Garbo was also naturalised as a US citizen but she is still reffered as swedish in the video so I think my point stands

[@WobblesandBean]

I'm a Czech, and yes, when my family moved here they tried to erase our Czech-ness. It makes me sad.

[@cinemaocd1752]

I think Billy Wilder never got over Garbo. In The Major and the Minor, there's a bit where Ginger Rogers character claims to be Swedish and when asked to say something in Swedish she says "I want to be alone" in an affected deeper voice.

[@swooningtree]

Haaa that’s genuinely funny

[@unowen-nh9ov]

Recurring gag, Ginger Rogers does it in Bachelor Mother, Garbo used to be made fun of in cartoons.

[@Lommy9999]

Garbo did laugh and smile before Ninotchka. Especially in Camille. Her performance was warm and endearing which only made everything more tragic the way the film ends.

[@sallyreno6296]

I passed Greta Garbo crossing Central Park. My heart stopped.

[@anikarozich7747]

the brief mention of hedy lamarr reminding me of her tech accomplishments! i’d love a video on her career

[@randyfloyd560]

❤ In the late 1970's i went to Paris. My grandmother was a huge Dietrich fan and being a naive teenager i mused hiw wonderful it would be to see Dietrich. Alas no Dietrich but when we visited Napoleon's Tomb who did i see standing looking down at the Emperors tomb, Garbo. Standing there with no one aware of her but me. When she saw me staring she put her finger to her lips as if to say shhhhh. She smiled and quickly disappeared. Last year i visited her building. Thank you for a great video!

[@Hippydaze35]

As a kid it was a Garbo movie that got me into Black and white movies, began my luv for cinema. To this day anytime I see a best of all time actress/actor list and she’s not on it, I just chuckle and discount its validity.

[@lyndjo]

Yes!!!! Me too. Totally invalid without her.

[@elagabalusrex390]

It was "Camille" wasn't it? lol

[@ErinM-m2i]

Love the channel if you ever get the chance please do a video on Clara Bow I would love to hear more people talk about her

[@krystinacorrea9698]

I love love love my silent screen queens and I am so grateful that people still make videos on them! The first time I watched Flesh and the Devil I was automatically addicted to the Garbo persona! I would be over the moon if you did a deeper dive on her career.

[@ahleahhook9791]

ive been waiting of ra Garbo video since I found your channel. im so excited for you to cover more of my mid-20s hyper fixation!

[@jld4444444444]

another flawless video from my favourite channel! I dread the day you call it quits!!

[@indy-fs6de]

30:03: Tiny little correction: Thalberg died in 1936, not '37, during the production of Camille which would be released later that same year. Amazing video as always!!!

[@TheGardner22]

So good! As ever. Yours is by far the best classic cinema YT channel 🙏🏼

[@aryankhan65]

I love your videos on classic Hollywood actresses of the 20s, 30s, 40s & 50s. 😊 Please make more videos on classic Hollywood ladies! ❤

[@MsWillowbayOrelse]

Queen Christina is one of my fav films! I can't wait to see your vid on it.

[@abandonedfragmentofhope5415]

More Garbo sad! 🎉❤😍💚💖

[@markwestphal4437]

You read the quiet part out loud when you described the formula used on Garbo for over a decade...and while it's fascinating to watch her, there IS a sameness to her films, yet with an expectation of being captivated by what she does again. And of course SHE never disappoints. In this age of InstaGram influencers saying anything all the time to be looked at, or Madonna who's going through her Late Elvis Stage, it's amazing how THAT face, and THAT talent were matched with such an intensely private woman who didn't want the world to know her...only her images she gave the screen. This video was terrific. Thank you. (you may also be interested in the book "Greta and Cecil" about her relationship with Cecil Beaton, unlikely as that pairing sounds)

[@EyebrowCinema]

LOVE the Garbo tragedy spreadsheet.

[@abandonedfragmentofhope5415]

Me too!

[@rhianasnyder1943]

I have been waiting for a Garbo video!!! Thank You 💙

[@cindymora6714]

me tooooo i gasp whhen i see the thumbnail OMGGGGG

[@jenniferwelch]

youtube recommended this video, and now a subscriber; clear storytelling and i love the citing of references with book covers and quotes... kudos!

[@DavidVarkonyi]

When I was a child, growing up in Hungary they did show all of Garbo’s talkie movies on tv in chronological order going backwards. They started with Two Faced Woman and finished with Anna Christie, so this is the first film I have ever seen of hers. She seemed so modern to me… I did like it then and still like it today. It’s still a pleasant film for me to watch…

[@hannahford777]

Garbo's hairdo in Two-Faced Woman looks like a 1930's version of big 80's hair

[@mikeymullins5305]

Take a guess where the eighties got the idea! (The forties!)

[@AlexYorim]

Ain't '40s hair already big?

[@martijnkeisers5900]

THE video i have been waiting for! Thnx ❤

[@LeeannG]

My favorite elective classes in college were my film studies classes. Your videos always make me feel like I’m back there, only my chair now is much more comfortable :)

[@belorama8]

Omfg yes!! How did I open this 8 seconds after it was uploaded? Also I have been WAITING for a Garbo video!! Thank you

[@jlofty281]

6:34 FINALLY someone who exaggerates “take it with a grain of salt” properly. I’ve seen so many KZbinrs say stuff like “take it with a massive grain of salt” when saying to dismiss something and it’s like no that’s not how that works. Thank you

[@sparksfly6149]

Isn't it? The larger the grain of salt the larger the caution?

[@Punky_Brewski]

@@sparksfly6149 Yeah, you can take it with a bucket full of salt too. It's just tweaking the idiom to emphasise that what you're saying could be enormously exaggerated or invented.

[@jlofty281]

From my understanding the saying means that the statement said has very little weight behind it, like a grain of salt, so you should trust it with caution. Exaggerating the size or amount of salt means that it has more weight behind it and is therefor even more trustworthy which is not what people are trying to say. Then again you can never tell with idioms

[@phillylifer]

Thanks!

[@77heraclitus]

Superb research and well-crafted narration! I appreciate and applaud your passion for films. ☺

[@FonMeller]

What a coincidence, today I was listening to an interview with Gore Vidal talking about her. It was the first time I heard someone talk about her as a friend

[@arcanondrum6543]

I'm not staying to the end but Garbo and Vidal were both homosexuals so, while keeping that under wraps was something they both did, Garbo elected to retire quietly, Vidal went on to keep writing.

[@agustinprystupa280]

@@arcanondrum6543 Garbo's sexually has never been proved no one can assure she was lesbian indeed but if she was I don't believe that we should care

[@Ana20arA]

@@agustinprystupa280oh but it has been on record that she had torrid love affairs with men and women.

[@arcanondrum6543]

@@agustinprystupa280 I didn't say that I cared. If Garbo wanted to bring a woman to bed and the 3 of us had a great time, I'd care. I was making the connection that Garbo had with Vidal. But hey, you go ahead and be mad at me until that sinks in.

[@agustinprystupa280]

@@arcanondrum6543I'll make myself clear because you do not know me it takes more than that to make me mad and oh you were the one who said that she was homosexual not me

[@BroadwayBabyyy744]

GARBO Talks is a great film. Ann bancroft plays a dying fan who just wants to meet Garbo...

[@frankpeter6851]

Such a great sleeper film

[@agustinprystupa280]

Here's a fact probably few people know in 1935 Selznick was going to do "Dark Victory" and he chose Garbo to play the dying socialite but Greta chose "Anna Karenina" instead so the project was shelved until Warner released its version in 1939 with Bette Davis playing the role that once could've been Garbo's what I always find funny about her that she being swedish she played european women of different nationalities like dutch in Mata Hari or russian in Ninotchka and also I feel that some of the early talkies she did like Susan Lennox,As You Desire Me,Inspiration,Romance are so underrated also Garbo's original talkie debut was going to be The Hollywood Revue of 1929 but Thalberg decided that Anna Christie was a better project than The Hollywood Revue perhaps he was right because The Hollywood Revue flopped at the box office

[@annajacob7981]

Insightful comment, thanks. I'm wondering: did you intentionally not use punctuation? Perhaps because it's too much trouble to add commas and periods. I'm not being snarky or sarcastic. I truly hope to understand why so many KZbin comments are mostly long run on sentences, where the reader has to mentally decipher the writer's thought beginning and end.

[@kalublah]

I AM TODAY YEARS OLD finding out Greta wanted to play St. Francis of Assisi (and Dorian Gray???). We were robbed.

[@bkrewind]

She had many ideas and most of them were men and I am absolutely fascinated by that!

[@MariaVosa]

@@bkrewind I want to live in the alternate universe where these movies were made.

[@rainespells1273]

Hamlet too iirc

[@Polo-po]

Again, another brilliant input, BKR. Very glad to have watched - and smarter for it, too. Thank you.

[@sus817]

Another great video! I always look forward to your uploads. Also side note: Greta Garbo had fantastic eyebrows.

[@yasminragozin6244]

great video! please do more Garbo content❣

[@javieratoz3434]

The fact that the clip from “Death Becomes Her” of Isabella Rossellini saying “I want to be alone” is not used highly upset me

[@elagabalusrex390]

Btw Garbo never really said that. It's a common misquotation of what she actually stated, which was: "I want to be left alone." Two very different things.

[@Howling_Ghosts]

In the movie grand hotel she says “ I want to be alone “ in real life she said “ I want to be left alone”

[@ultraviolettas]

FINALLY!!!!! We’ve been blessed with Greta Garbo!!!!! 😭😭😍🥰💕🥲

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

I loved the cinema culture of the late '70s and early '80s when I was a young film buff and could see Garbo on the big screen in arthouse cinemas on projected 35mm like she ought to. I saw Camille and Grand Hotel and Queen Christina that way... the latter film blew me away. Thanks for not letting the legend die.

[@arcadianarcade0003]

God, how I've wished I could see her films that way.

[@DianaCGarciaG]

YOU ARE MY FAVORITE CHANNEL!!! ❤ As soon as my new job begins in the fall… I am becoming a Patreon.

[@johnjones5424]

Reminds me of Streep in the 80's! As wonderful as she was (probably the best decade in her career), many people couldn't stand her because of the suffering of her characters. She reinvented herself too in her middle age as a comedienne in much lighter movies.

[@livingabstraction2206]

I am so glad to have bumped into this video like when I did considering not only am I planning on eventually doing a video on a Ninotchka, but I'm literally trying to put the finishing touches on my first major video essay, and Be Kind Rewind you were a major influence on me finally deciding to take the plunge

[@karolmongiello2725]

Looking forward to it

[@2law2be]

Fun fact about Greta is that she was a big Michael Jackson fangirl. “He is handsome and so musical, I never miss seeing him on television if I can help it. What a star he is!”

[@rainespells1273]

Katharine Hepburn admired MJ too. There’s a clip on here of her praising and saying they became friends not realizing how talented he was but then she later saw him perform and was impressed.

[@milliemouse6525]

Complements on your bravura! Excellent video and amazing research! I hope you are teaching cinema history somewhere 😅. I have seen at least one of your videos in the past but though I know it was no doubt excellent I confess I didn't pay as much attention to the details and commentary as I did this time. So again complements and keep up the great work! It's nice to see that there are still people out there 2ho appreciate good old classic cinema 😊!

[@DanteFiceti]

Garbo was an actress ive waited patiently for! Now Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Norma Shearer and Janet Gaynor!

[@courtneywilliams5565]

Great choices ❤️✊🏽

[@scottjeffery6438]

Lillian Gish's last role was in the Whales of August along with Bette Davis ( who apparently was absolutely horrid toward sweet Lillian)Lillian was superb. Norma Shearer is largely forgotten today but she was a major star back then partly due to the fact that her husband was Irving Thalberg!

[@DanteFiceti]

@@scottjeffery6438 id love to see BKR talk about Marie Antoinette and Normas casting leading to Marion Davies leaving MGM and Norma going without her glam look at the end of the picture. When I saw her without make up as she heads to the Gallows I was shook 😳. Shes totally underrated, #LOVENORMASHEARER

[@beiderbecke1927]

I fell in love with that face when I was a kid, sixty years ago, when I saw Anna Karenina, and I've never grown weary of seeing her. A lot of her movies creak and groan at this late date, but there's always that face, her voice, and technique granting us a few memorable moments. I can't see her working effectively in any films during WWII, but I've always felt that she would have been glorious in a postwar film noir. You've inspired me to blow the dust off my Garbo dvds and escape reality!

[@Celisar1]

Excellent point. Film noir would have been absolutely perfect for and with her.

[@drewgoin8849]

The legendary "Lubitsch Touch" in movies during this time definitely plays a factor in my love for "Ninotchka".

[@SerenaWilliams-g1c]

I love Garbo and this is a great video-I enjoyed your content immensely. The presentation and your detailed explanations are spot on. I appreciated how layered the narrative is, providing context and insights that are actually quite funny. The remark about how Two Faced Woman unfortunately cast Garbo in an Irene Dunne role, and how you begin to feel sorry for her made me laugh…..you definitely are not wrong! Thank you for sharing your superb analysis!

[@michaelgordon8763]

I really appreciate all your video docs....this one was intriguing...my fav continues to be your focus on another doc on Marilyn Monroe and the Misfits which continues to be my fav MM film...thank you and looking forward to your next doc with intriguing insights about women in film. By the way...I saw Ruth Gordon's name come up on one of the films...she would be an intriguing focus for one of your documentaries...cheers :)

[@jeffwatkins352]

A million thanks for this lovely insight into both Garbo and the system that first immortalized then fumbled her. My mother, born in 1917, was addicted to movies and as a kid often attended previews at the Riverside Theater so glimpsed many a Hollywood star in the flesh. But it was Garbo she adored above them all. Me, born in 1952, hadn't yet caught that bug. It wasn't until my mother passed that I inherited her large collection of Garbo DVDs. Two-Faced Woman was not among them, and I'd always thought that, like Monroe's last film, it had never been released. Your history is a big eye-opener for me! Can't thank you enough.

[@bridgethester8235]

As always, your video essay was fantastic and fascinating. It's wild how all the elements came together for Ninotchka perfectly and not at all in Two-Faced Woman, even with my man Melvyn Douglas.

[@buzzawuzza3743]

No one else on Planet Earth has me watching videos about subjects I have so little interest in than you. You are an excellent story teller.

[@kefaloforia]

Amazing video, all's fun and games but Maria Skłodowska-Curie was Polish and believe me you don't want Poles finding out you claimed she's French 💀💀💀

[@bkrewind]

omg i flopped im sorry

[@kefaloforia]

@@bkrewind you're providing such high quality videos that you're forgiven...

[@monmothma3358]

Well, she became a French citizen, and lived in France from her twenties. I do agree it would be most correct to call her Polish, but it's not the huge, scandalous mistake you seem to imply it to be.

[@agatazietek9098]

@@monmothma3358 well the mistakes are understandable, I have zero ill feelings towards the author, but it IS certainly a mistake given how Slavs are treated by the Western countries (especially until recently) and how their achievements are erased. Not blaming BKRW here at all, but there's a reason why Greta Garbo is called Swedish by so many and yet Maria Skłodowska-Curie, who kept using double name and named a whole chemical element Polonium after the country of Poland, often gets called "a French woman".

[@Octobris]

​@@monmothma3358 it is though

[@biancachristie]

Thanks for your nuanced discussion of Two-Faced Woman (and Garbo's career prior to and after its release); it really isn't good, and more importantly, Garbo isn't good in it, and your discussion of the reasons why are especially helpful. The loss of Irving Thalberg can't be overstated in MGM's (and classic Hollywood's) history. I've been waiting for you to talk about GG, and I'm thrilled you got around to her. Xo

[@vanpelt2321]

Great insights, previously unexplored, into the failure of Two Faced Woman. I think you're right on the money that the loss of Thalberg, his wise handling of great stars and material and Mayer's total control of production sounded the death knell of many studio greats. Mayer hated the Marx Brothers and stuck them in bloodless, run-of-the-mill slapsticks like "At the Circus", "Go West" and "The Big Store" without great writers. The Little Rascals died when Roach sold them to MGM in 1938 and they became the bland, well behaved "Our Gang" and Laurel & Hardy tanked with the dismal "Blockheads". Yes, Garbo did have a hand in the failure but think you're right it's folded into the bigger problem of post-Thalberg reduction of Metro into a family-friendly factory. Only Lubitsch was able to dodge the bullet with "Ninotchka", praise be.

[@philipfreeman281]

Your Videos are always Top Notch, entertaining and informative. Thank You for sharing your talent.

[@zerothehero4381]

Love love LOVE this channel!

[@FrederickGautier]

Your music choices are always on point.

[@AliZebu1]

I've been waiting for a Garbo video since discovering your channel. I wish MGM could have given her more interesting roles, and she had several interesting ideas herself that often involved playing men. Oh to be in the universe where she played Dorian Gray....

[@myettechase]

BKR GARBO VIDEO OH ITS CHRISTMAS

[@paulsavitz]

Great video! I’m learning a lot from this channel. But the volume of the voiceover seems to fluctuate from moment to moment, like you’re leaning toward and away from the microphone. E.g. at 31:06, the volume drops during “36 years old” and is louder just before and after. And at 33:42 the volume jumps during “Garbo alone.” I found this a bit distracting. But the content is great as always!

[@pdzombie1906]

Great as usual!!! Thanx!!!

[@RobertBurns71405]

Yay, I love when you post!!!!

[@jennaolbermann7663]

This was a wonderful and informative video. Thank you for a fantastic presentation.

[@MrKonnoasami]

She's always been an enigma in the hollywood entertainment history world lol. Clearly despised being a celebrity, yet, really enjoyed the art of acting; and was good at it too! Sadly this just doesn't really work I think longterm. Like no way could u have a "Garbo" exist now with every celeb having to promote on their socials and being sponsors for [insert product here] and so forth. She also is a rare example of "letting go" when the time was right. Unlike Joan Crawford and Bette Davis who acted practically their whole lives, Garbo, called it quits when the time came and never looked back. It was a solid career and she is very much remembered. I know lots can argue Garbo knew what she was signing up for when becoming an actress, but I truly don't think many can understand the pressure of stardom unless it happens to them.

[@beth12svist]

We do, though, have Cillian Murphy today, who seems to manage to do both largely to the extent he wants to...

[@Jack-ke5uv]

There is no record of Garbo calling it "quits" as you say. As the video points out, Garbo made her last film in 1941. Garbo still had years left on her MGM movie contract. Garbo would not and could not walk out on a contract. Garbo expected to still get movie roles as per her contract and MGM still expected Garbo to fulfill her contract with future film roles. However, after 1941 the world made a dramatic shift and the possibility of a new Garbo film became quite remote as social mores changed drastically. Garbo did consent to a screen test in 1949 which shows that she was still interested in working but nothing came of the test.

[@paulsuchy6210]

I read somewhere that Ida Lupino attempted to lure Garbo out of retirement to play the Mother Superior in The Trouble With Angels; I can only imagine her line reading of, "Vhere's the fire?".

[@abandonedfragmentofhope5415]

It wasn’t Lupino. Her friend wrote the film and got Lupino to direct. It was he who tried to get Garbo to star cause he wrote the part for her

[@charlesvanness1021]

You know your audience and art so well…you never disappoint and thank you 🥰😻🌹👏👏👏

[@PokhrajRoy.]

34:42 I HAVE SEEN ‘HOWARDS END’. Also, 3 Merchant-Ivory masterpieces? Love it!

[@Camelolivegreen]

YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! Another great vid sister girl… so funny, I was scouring earth for Hester Street a while ago and never had any luck … this new collection of classic Hollywood oscar nominees did the trick for me, joining mubi today!

[@blofeld39]

Watched the full video, and I wanted to mention something: "Ninotchka" was one of the favourite films of director Peter R. Hunt. If you don't know who that is, I don't blame you, but knowing you're THAT sort of cinema buff, I suspect you do -- but, if you the general reader don't, he was an editor, second-unit director, and film director on the first six Janes Bond films; he directed "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", widely regarded as being one of the best films in the ENTIRE series, and his creative stamp, and the films and filmmakers he loved and which influenced him, lie heavy on that film. He adored Terrence Young, Hitchcock, Ross Hunter -- and "Ninotchka". He sneaked several moments into "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" that you'd immediately recognise after you'd seen "Ninotchka" as calling back to that film -- not just moments, but full-on line quotes! And I can't let it go unsaid that he was a queer artist -- a heck of a thing, to work oneself up the ladder from a lower-class background to become a film editor, to second-unit director, to full-on director of epic films, all while being gay and not having it affect his career at ALL. And he's been gone 22 years now, and, while I never met him, he's a big damned hero of mine, and it is a criminal SHAME that he didn't get to live to see people reappraise his work for the beauty it holds and the mastery that it is. I feel as though bekindrewind could take a good look at it. :-)

[@julieporter7805]

My favorite actresses are Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis for persona and personality, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn for style and glamor, Judy Garland and Julie Andrews for multitalent, Mary Tyler Moore and Rosalind Russell for their comedic gifts, and Greta Garbo for lifestyle. I definitely relate to being introverted and wanting to live a solitary, reflective, introspective, and independent life.

[@cherylcampbell9369]

New subscriber here. Clara Bow video showed up as a suggestion, and this is the second one I chose to watch. Great writing, and excellent narration! I'll probably be bingeing for awhile. ❤

[@stardresser1]

New fan of yours here! One of the most fascinating and entertaining parts of your work is the writing you choose to highlight and quote...my God, people could really use words so beautifully then! Incredible vocabularies, layered meanings, beautiful and clever syntax. As a lover of all those things, i am excited to dive into this channel!🎉😂❤

[@lexizurovec8957]

0:54 I had never seen these pictures before and I have to say it’s so weird seeing her in normal modern clothes

[@blortmeister]

Great stuff, as usual.

[@bayarTV]

You should include Garbo in your "Second Best Actress" series

[@ashlybuck5706]

I agree with that idea. Good suggestion @bayarTV

[@1977TA]

Greta Garbo was certainly a visionary. She basically sensed a disturbance in the force that indicated she was heading toward the end of her dominance in Hollywood. Had she stuck around longer she would have found herself competing against younger actresses who could fully embrace the changing times. There was no place for her in the version of Hollywood that was coming so she did the right thing and gracefully bowed out. The best way to end any career is on your own terms, while you are still at the height of your powers. It is better to leave that way than being forced out in disgrace. The sad thing is Greta spent the rest of her life as if she was in exile. Becoming sort of like Obi Wan Kenobi, an old hermit with a legendary past.

[@lynntownsend4457]

She had millions of dollars as she was a great investor and art collector ...she had friends, traveled extensively and could afford to do as she wanted. She left millions to her niece, I believe.

[@MarcelaBellyDance]

Great video! Thank you

[@lray1948]

Ninotchka was made into a musical in 1957 called "Silk Stockings. " It was directed by Rouben Mamoulian (who had directed a few of Garbo's movies) and starred Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse and Peter Lorre.

[@rosemaryfranzese317]

You touched on the fact that the early 1940s were very different to the 1930s and l believe that was the main reason Garbo didn’t return to the screen. MGM signed Hedy Lamarr who was born a little too late and they simply didn’t know what to do with her, she would have fitted more easily into the 1930s woman of mystery category and her Hollywood career was a great disappointment to her. Garbo didn’t fit into the 1940s zeitgeist. To a lesser extent the same was true of Norma Shearer who didn’t want to accept roles that suited her age and understandably was unwilling to see her name slip down the cast list. Garbo may not have intended to end her career but it proved to be a wise move, she didn’t need the money having invested well and her overall body of work is still well regarded today. Garbo has been able to retain her unique place in cinema by getting out of it before MGM was able to dismantle her reputation

[@fitnessfreak7851]

I love this one!!! I always found it intriguing about her last film and in what her motivations were to leave Hollywood. Thank you for giving me answers. Keep up the good work as always!!!

[@specteramber]

You posted this on my birthday, and I am choosing to believe it was intended for me

[@guybabineau]

The clip with Dick Cavett is Raquel Welch, not Greta Garbo, who was thirty years Garbo's junior at the time. Garbo never did any TV talk shows.

[@denisefreitas6727]

Wow! Awesome video! Loved it! ❤

[@pattimaeda6097]

“I want to be alone” is kinda my mantra- maybe I shouldn’t be working in retail😂😂

[@amandaruiz2319]

Ninotchka’s one of my favorite movies, but it’s the only Garbo movie I’ve seen. Really interesting to learn about her and the context of the movie!

[@Fawn91193]

You have to watch "Camille"--superb.

[@Slm99]

Greta Garbo was a celebrities’s celebrity and it's so interesting.

[@charlesgwinter]

at around 21:58 theres an ad for trade winds club (restricted clientele)