Review of Ninotchka (1939) by Max M — 05 Oct 2009

Ninotchka is one of those absolutely glorious films from the golden age of Hollywood (it was released in 1939, the year that also saw the release of other enduring classic masterpieces such as Stagecoach, Gone With the Wind, Wuthering Heights, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Only Angels Have Wings, just to name a mere few) that has everything going for it - first-rate direction by the great Ernst Lubitsch, a wonderfully romantic (and, of course, a tad risque given the director and co-writers) and hilarious script by Walter Reisch and the brilliant writing team of Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder (the team would also go on to write such classics as Sunset Boulevard, The Lost Weekend, Five Graves to Cairo, and The Major and the Minor, all directed by Wilder), and most importantly, it's lead actress, the extraordinary Greta Garbo.

Garbo gives what is probably her best and most iconic performance (which, given her roster of films, such as Queen Christina, Anna Karenina, Camille, and Anna Christie, just to name a few, is saying quite a lot) as the stoic Nina Yakushova 'Ninotchka' Ivanoff, a Russian envoy sent to Paris to aid in the botched negotiation of a cache of jewels that are to be sold, only to find herself falling in love with Western ideals and the dashing Count Leon d'Algout (Melvyn Douglas).

Garbo is so good in this picture it can easily make one lament that this would be her second-to-last film (her last film was Two-Faced Woman which saw her sharing the screen again with Melvyn Douglas. She retired from Hollywood and spent the remainder of her life living in New York City). Her screen presence is always absolutely infectious. Just watch her in the scene where her character explodes with laughter for the first time after watching Count d'Algout fall over a table in a small cafe, or her priceless expression when sipping champagne for the first time. Garbo was truly a one-of-a-kind movie star; beautiful, mysterious, and an outstanding actress.