Greta Garbo

[HARLOWNUMBER1]

I'm surprised the most enigmatic female star cinema ever produced doesn't have her own thread. Famed MGM Photographer Charles Sinclair Bull said that of all the female stars he ever shot, his two favorites were Greta Garbo & Jean Harlow - both who happen to be my two personal favorites as well. My favorite Garbo films are Queen Christina & Mata Hari. She was MGM's highest paid actress for most of the 1930's, and retired from cinema in 1941 - nearly 50 years before her death. Garbo was intensly private, though many family members have claimed that she was never as reclusive as she was often made out to be. Needless to say, the mystique of the "Swedish Sphinx" lives on.

[SinKittyVixen]

A beauty.
~SinKitty

[MorbidMolly]

A mystery wrapped up in an enigma....truly a classic

[Harry in Connecticut]

Loved her in "Grand Hotel"

[poppie]

Almost all of the members here are "young". We type many names such as Garbo, Patsy Kelly, Eiley Malyon, Dame May Whitty, Douglas Rumbatte, Phil Leeds, Regis Toomey, and Carole Landis. But, who knows or even heard of these actors? Too bad, too. All the older people who paved the way for the Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, etc. And, these actors were not making the giant bucks that Hollywood now pays.

[MorbidMolly]

Almost all of the members here are "young". We type many names such as Garbo, Patsy Kelly, Eiley Malyon, Dame May Whitty, Douglas Rumbatte, Phil Leeds, Regis Toomey, and Carole Landis. But, who knows or even heard of these actors? Too bad, too. All the older people who paved the way for the Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, etc. And, these actors were not making the giant bucks that Hollywood now pays.

Well, I didn`t know color TV existed until my teens.....I was weaned on Gene Kelly, Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis etc......and as for music, Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra etc......in my mom`s last years, her greatest joy was for me to come over on the weekend, pop the popcorn and sit down to a TCM night....sometimes I`d stay the weekend and we would just kick back and enjoy......my husband knows I have a problem with the " newer " movies and doesn`t understand why....I was raised right and I thank God everyday I had the mom I had....

[magblax]

"The story of my life is about back entrances, side doors, secret elevators and other ways of getting in and out of places so that people won't bother me."

[MorbidMolly]

Wow Mag....great pic...thanks

[magblax]

Wow Mag....great pic...thanks

Your welcome! I think her headstone reflects how she was..Classy and to the point.

[hrhdiesel]

I thought greta was cremated & her family had her ashes? Anyway Greta was a hollywood hype machine of her own...to finish your career while you are still on top was a clever move... her only "flop" as it could be called was her last film which was a comedy. Im sure i remember in David Nivens book that she was the first nude her sons ever saw as she use to swim naked in their pool!

[ST Moron]

Thanks for starting this thread.

I liked Garbo in Queen Christina, too, as well as Ninotchka.

She's certainly a welcome contrast to today's overexposed stars.

[Miss Swallow]

[Miss Swallow]

[magblax]

Miss Swallow...Awesome Pics!! Especially the one when she is older. Thanks for posting them!

[Miss Swallow]

You are welcome! I'm a bit of a Garbo fanatic. :-)

This is the last photo of her, taken a week or so before she died:

More:

[Serendipity09]

awesome!!!

[alexmack]

Your welcome! I think her headstone reflects how she was..Classy and to the point.

I agree. That is the most beautiful headstone I have ever seen!

[leevancleef]

[PiggyTx]

man, she was soo beautiful! thanks for pics!!

[malaki]

I'm sure there's something here somwhere but she's so georgeous!!!

http://www.goldensilents.com/stars/gretagarbo.html

[Armcast]

bump

[Armcast]

There's already a thread on her...she is gorgeous!

http://www.findadeath.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1836

[ByrdSar]

Greta Garbo...very beautiful. Haven't heard of or seen any or her movies but I've heard of her. Can't believe it's been almost twenty years since her death. Amazing pics, by the way!

[Glamrock Princess]

She was a very beautiful woman, a silver screen icon.

Did she ever say ''I want to be alone''

[Guest]

Now that's a headstone!

[fultondyke]

She was so stunningly beautiful...I have Mercedes D'Acosta's biography (Garbo stopped speaking to Mercedes after the book was published) and I particularly like the parts that deal with their relationship...It's a true and intimate portrait of Garbo as a person. There are also some good candid photos of Garbo inthe book. Oh, and my favorite Gargo film: Ninotchka!

[AnneBoleyn]

She was one of the greatest ever

[Schultz]

Oh, I love Greta Garbo. Incredible charisma and the beauty of a goddess. Who could forget her performances? Those divine eyes... no words were needed. She could express so many different emotions at the same time.

[RogerV]

The funny thing is that the "flop" that ended her career, Two-Faced Woman is in fact a pretty good movie. Perhaps audiences didn't like to see her playing an "unsophisticated" character.

[hell0kitty]

she vanted to beee alone....

[King Tut]

I wish those quasi "bag lady" pics never surfaced.

In bed trying to fall asleep I stumble backwards through this mists of time. Joe Gillis at his typewriter. George Bailey revisiting Mr. Potter's job offer in his mind as he goes to bed. etc etc etc

I know it was all fake then but it's even faker now, and it breaks my heart.

[fultondyke]

I just thought of an old joke about Greta:

A man looks at his wife on his wedding night and says "Darling, I love you and I will always be faithful...with one possible exception; If I ever meet Miss Greta Garbo, I am afraid I might have trouble resisting her charms!" His bride smiles demurely and replies "Me too!"

[Frank 'N' Howie]

They just don't make movie stars like they used to do they? They are all plastic models made from the same old mold...I would love to see the golden age of Hollywood rise again from the ashes of the pathetic excuses that we have today...Thank you Ms. Garbo for paving the way to true beauty...

[radiojane]

Barry Paris' Garbo bio is turning out to be really good. I enjoy a balanced look at a star.

I always indentified with Garbo and Bergman and the like because I'm soooo very Scandanavian. My grandparents were first immigrants from Norway and Sweden. I get the moods, and that special nordic version of melancholia that I think Garbo had. She was complicated, and that makes her all the more fascinating to me. Unlike Kate Hepburn, she never just played the recluse rebel for publicity, she genuinely "Vanted to be alone".


I Think I go home now.

[MoonRabbit]

What a great photo of Garbo!
She kind of looks a little like Vivien Leigh here.
The shape of her face.
Vivien was jealous of Garbo. She flipped
when her Larry was seen talking with her.
Vivien called her Greeeta.

[LemonPopsicle]

I love her! Grand Hotel makes me cry everytime.

[midnitelamp]

that drinking scene in Anna Karena reminds me of when we watch nancy grace and play the drinking game.

[In a Sea of Sorrow]

My favorite classic movie star, by far. She had it all!

[ChargerBill]

The cafe scene in Ninotchka, where Melvyn Douglas falls on his ass, no actress was or will ever be hotter when laughing!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4tJTDt7uGw

[John Connor]

I always indentified with Garbo and Bergman and the like because I'm soooo very Scandanavian.

They were both Virgos.

[radiojane]

They were both Virgos.

and so am I.... another piece of common ground.

[John Connor]

She was a very beautiful woman, a silver screen icon.

Did she ever say ''I want to be alone''

Wikipedia: Soon after her career took off, Garbo became known as a recluse; throughout her lifetime she conducted no interviews, signed no autographs, attended no social functions and answered no fan mail. Today she is often associated with her famous line from Grand Hotel: "I want to be alone", spoken in a heavy accent which substituted the w with a v sound. However, Garbo later commented, "I never said, 'I want to be alone.' I only said, 'I want to be let alone.' There is all the difference."




She was so beautiful but I think she was a terrible actress. So over the top. Certainly one of the biggest movie stars of all time. In his diaries the writer Christopher Isherwood describes her as vain and boring. I believe it, but her public persona was fascinating. The character of Karla in Once Is Not Enough (Jacqueline Susann) is based on Greta Garbo.

[radiojane]

Couple odd Garbo Facts:

She returned from a visit to Sweden in the early 40's, with her hair long, straight and un done. She happened to be in the same hotel as the "coiffure guild" convention (AKA hairdressers). They were so offended that they passed a motion condemning her hairstyle as "unpleasant" and "detrimental" to the style and beauty of the American woman.

She was actually left a large sum of money by an admirer at one point too.

[Northern Lights]

[HARLOWNUMBER1]

The Swedish Sphinx indeed!

Thanks for the photos Northern Lights

[Northern Lights]

The Swedish Sphinx indeed!

Thanks for the photos Northern Lights

You're welcome!

[MunstersBabe]

Even as a child, she was so beautiful...

[SomeChick]

Here's one I've never seen of her before on the Onassis yacht in St. Tropez during the 60's: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/ga...ture=354688469

She looks absolutely happy and carefree there.

[Reecy]

I became a fan of Greta when I read how much John Gilbert loved her and wanted to marry her.

I love her in her movies.

[philbert_wormly]

She did a screen test back in the later portion of the 1940's in order to prepare (I guess) for a comeback role.

Here is the you tube link for it. Warning...it is very sultry! Some folks might not want to view this at work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYk98gFvYjk

Here is the TCM web site discussing that a bit...

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/articl...eta-Garbo.html

Her plan was to resume her acting, at least on a limited basis, after the war ended. And the offers were always plentiful. There was talk she might do The Paradine Case for producer David O. Selznick and a biography of George Sand; the numerous other possibilities included Mourning Becomes Electra and I Remember Mama. But the closest she came to working again was doing The Duchess of Langeais for producer Walter Wanger, costarring James Mason and based on the novel by Balzac. That's the reason she did those awesome 1949 photographic tests. It was to prove that, even after nearly a decade, she was still highly photogenic and a commanding screen presence, something which Wanger hoped would help him secure backing for the Duchess project. Unfortunately the financing never materialized. That was such a crushing blow to Garbo she never seriously considered any further film offers. It was one thing for her to not want to work - it was another to not have people care if she did or didn't return.