Garbo and everyone laughs in Ernst Lubitsch's "Ninotchka"

Ninotchka (1939) was the movie that proclaimed, “Garbo laughs!” The great Great Garbo is Ninotchka is a sophisticated delight. The supporting cast includes, Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, Alexander Granach, and Bela (Dracular) Lugosi. Ninotchka, a special Russian envoy tasked with completing a deal to sell some jewelry that once belonged to an exiled member of Russian royalty (Ina Claire) now living in Paris. Ninotchka is all business and refuses to be taken in by the luxury and romance of the city of lights until she meets Count Leon d’ Algout (Melvin Douglas). Leon flirts with Ninotchka and shows her what a wonderful city Paris is and what it’s like living in a free society. Does Ninotchka hold fast to the tenets of Stalin and the Soviet Union or does she give in to the lure of democracy and capitalism? Directed by the legendary Ernst Lubitsch and written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch,

Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas

Ninotchka was a radical departure for Garbo. It was her first full-blown comedy film and it remains one of her most popular. Her performance garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (she lost out, of course, to Vivian Leigh in Gone with the Wind). The film was also Oscar-nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Story, and Best Screenplay.

Backstory: By 1939, Great Garbo’s popularity was beginning to wane. Under the direction of Ernst Lubitsch, Garbo gives a wonderfully shaded performance as a woman whose life changes under the spell and romance of Paris. Garbo’s next film, Two-Faced Woman, also costarring Melvyn Douglas, was supposed to capitalize on Ninotchka’s success, but turned out to be a critical and commercial failure. It was Garbo’s last film. After the film was completed, she retired from the movies and acting altogether. Attempts to bring her out of retirement—and there were many—were unsuccessful.

The movie which pokes fun at Stalin and the Soviet Union was banned in that country, but was enormously popular in Europe.

 

Ernst Lubitsch (1892 – 1947) was a German-born film director who became famous for his sophisticated comedies during the pre-code era. Silent film star Mary Pickford lured Lubitsch to Hollywood in 1922. He directed Pickford in Rosita, which was a huge, hit and cemented his reputation in Hollywood. Lubitsch’s films were so unique that they were described as having the “Lubitsch touch.” Some of Lubitsch’s classic films include Trouble in Paradise (1932), Design for Living (1933), Ninotchka (1939), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), Heaven Can Wait (1943), and Cluny Brown (1946). Lubitsch was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for his work in film.

Ernst Lubitsch directs Garbo

Greta Garbo (1905 – 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Greta Garbo was a major star during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood. She was famous for playing tragic figures in films like Mata Hari (1931), Grand Hotel (1932), Queen Christina (1933), and Anna Karenna (1935). With the beginning of World War II in Europe, Garbo’s career began to decline. Partly due to the fact that her films weren’t distributed in Europe during the war, where she was enormously popular. When she received terrible notices and poor box office with Two-Faced Woman, Garbo retired from acting and never looked back.

Melvyn Douglas (1901 – 1981) was an American actor. Douglas was a popular leading man during the 1930s working with some of Hollywood’s most famous leading ladies including Greta Garbo, Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, Claudette Colbert, Marlene Dietrich, Myrna Loy, and Merle Oberon. He won two Best Supporting Actor Academy Awards late in his career for Hud (1963) and Being There (1979). Douglas’s last film role was in Ghost Story (1981) co-starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Fred Astair.

Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube.

 

Click HERE to join the discussion online on May 27, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Discussion questions

1. What did you think of Greta Garbo in a comedic role?
2. Do you think there was some seriousness between the laughs?
3. Did Garbo and Melvyn Douglas have good chemistry?
4. A big part of the success of this movie is the character actors in the film. Did you have a favorite?
5. Garbo retired from acting in 1940 after the failure of Two-Faced Woman. Do you think she made a mistake in retiring so young?

 

 

Great Films of 1939: “Ninotchka” March 12 at Daystar Center

Great films of 1939: Ninotchka
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: March 12, 2016
Time: 6:45 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Ninotchka (1939) was the movie that proclaimed, “Garbo laughs!” The great Great Garbo is Ninotchka is a sophisticated delight. The supporting cast includes, Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, Alexander Granach, and Bela (Dracular) Lugosi. Ninotchka, a special Russian envoy tasked with completing a deal to sell some jewelry that once belonged to an exiled member of Russian royalty (Ina Claire) now living in Paris. Ninotchka is all business and refuses to be taken in by the luxury and romance of the city of lights until she meets Count Leon d’ Algout (Melvin Douglas). Leon flirts with Ninotchka and shows her what a wonderful city Paris is and what it’s like living in a free society. Does Ninotchka hold fast to the tenets of Stalin and the Soviet Union or does she give in to the lure of democracy and capitalism? Directed by the legendary Ernst Lubitsch and written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch,

Ninotchka was a radical departure for Garbo. It was her first full-blown comedy film and it remains one of her most popular. Her performance garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (she lost out, of course, to Vivian Leigh in Gone with the Wind). The film was also Oscar-nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Story, and Best Screenplay.

Backstory: By 1939, Great Garbo’s popularity was beginning to wane. Under the direction of Ernst Lubitsch, Garbo gives a wonderfully shaded performance as a woman whose life changes under the spell and romance of Paris. Garbo’s next film, Two-Faced Woman, also costarring Melvyn Douglas, was supposed to capitalize on Ninotchka’s success, but turned out to be a critical and commercial failure. It was Garbo’s last film. After the film was completed, she retired from the movies and acting altogether. Attempts to bring her out of retirement—and there were many—were  unsuccessful.

The movie which pokes fun at Stalin and the Soviet Union was banned in that country, but was enormously popular in Europe.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!

Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.

Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Lombard Comes Across

If 1935 was a good year for Carole Lombard, 1936 was the year she became a screen immortal. The three films she made in 1936 were critical and box offices successes, with My Man Godfrey (which will be the subject of a future post) becoming one of the most famous film comedies of all time.

Becoming a film icon
Lombard's first release of 1936 was Love Before Breakfast, a modern-day take on The Taming of the Shrew, costarring Preston Foster and Cesar Romero. On loan to Universal, Lombard's name is the only one appearing above the title. The poster art for the film features a painting of Lombard with a black eye. When the poster, plastered on a wall in an Atlanta, Georgia, town became the subject of a photograph by Walker Evans, it only helped burnish Lombard's emergence as a screen icon.  Love Before Breakfast is far from a classic, but it is an entertaining film and it showcases Lombard's ability to carry a picture.


The second Lombard release is an interesting comedy, The Princess Comes Across. It reunited her with Fred MacMurray, who she costarred with the year before in the much-heralded Hands Across the Table. The Princess Comes Across combined elements of screwball comedy with a murder mystery,  popularized by films like The Thin Man, starring Lombard's ex-husband William Powell and Myrna Loy.

I want to be alone
The Princess Comes Across is a romp for Lombard. She gets to imitate Greta Garbo in her characterization of princess Olga, the personality she creates to get a movie contract. The cast headlined by Lombard is ably supported by MacMurray, Alison Skipworth, Porter Hall, Sig Rumann, William Frawley, and Mischa Auer.

You can take that to the bank
Lombard was fast becoming one of Paramount Pictures's biggest and most bankable stars. During this period, she was a bigger box office draw than Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn, Jean Harlow, Janet Gaynor, and Marlene Dietrich. In 1935, Lombard was making $3000 a week, but her fortunes would change in 1937 when she would earn $150,000 per picture, making her one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood.