Garbo, on the other hand, seemed to take the news as further motivation to walk away from Hollywood and those trappings of stardom with which she had never been even a little comfortable. Still, here, in Lubitsch’s hands, she is luminous, and received another Oscar nomination for her work. Ironically, Ninotchka, a sparkling romantic comedy in which audiences were promised, “Garbo laughs!”, was a critical and commercial success that marked something of a comeback. However, the negative reviews she received for her subsequent film (Two-Faced Woman, George Cukor, 1941) seems to have hardened her resolve: it was her final role.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of the Dietrich X Garbo Season.