“Garbo laughs”

Greta Garbo’s persona of being a humorous ice queen was so thoroughly ingrained in the public consciousness of 1939 that all it took to sell a ton of movie tickets was this simple tagline.

Fortunately, there is much, much more to Ninotchka than just Garbo’s advertised joviality.  This is a one of the best screwball comedies from an era at its peak.

Ernst Lubitsch helmed this picture, so you know your in good hands.  After all, this was the man who directed To Be or Not to Be, Cluny Brown and The Shop Around the Corner.

The film begins with three Russians attempting to sell some jewels in Paris.  These jewels were confiscated at one time by a former duchess who just happens to be staying in the same hotel.  Melvyn Douglas, in the type of role he excels at, decides to assist the former duchess by disrupting the sale.

Irritated by the shenanigans, the Soviet government sends in a tough character to get the matter straightened out.  And this is where Garbo enters.  The three Russian men who failed to sell the jewels initially are in fear of being sent to Siberia for this, and there’s no doubt Garbo can and will make that a reality.

Garbo is amazing in this.  She is hilarious even when she starts out as preposterously rigid.  She asks for a map because “I want to spend my spare time to inspect public utilities and to make study of all outstanding technical achievements in the city”.  Exactly the tourist destinations Paris emphasizes in their advertising!

Garbo and Douglas first meet on the street when she asks for directions.  There is a rapid-fire exchange of smart lines: “I’m looking for the Eiffel Tower”  “Good heavens!  Is it lost again?”.  I especially like when Douglas informs he has been fascinated by the Soviet five-year plan for the past 15 years.

The famous scene where Garbo starts laughing is beautiful and justifiably famous.  The way it happens is both unexpected and completely natural.  It feels so real, in fact, it is amazing it was doubtlessly scripted instead of being improvised.

There’s all kinds of wonderful minor performances here as well. Many of the actors are staples of this type of movie. Many are veterans of Lubitsch pictures.  Especially good are the three bumbling Russian men, played by Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart and Alexander Granach.  The icing on the cake is Bela Lugosi as Garbo’s superior.

Ninotchka is a great culture-clash comedy, and a good introduction to either the work of Lubitsch or Garbo.

Dir: Ernst Lubitsch

Starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas

Watched on blu-ray