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Greta Garbo

Born 18 September 1905 in Stockholm, Sweden, as Greta Lovisa Gustafson.
Died 15 April 1990 in New York, New York, USA, of pneumonia.

Sister of actor Sven Garbo and actress Alva Garbo.

Greta Garbo began working in motion pictures as a model circa 1921, appearing in advertising films. Her acting career began in earnest in Luffar-Petter (1922). Her appearance in Gösta Berlings saga (1924) began her artistic dependence on director Mauritz Stiller and led to her international recognition. Her last European film was Die Freudlose Gasse (1925) for German director G.W. Pabst, appearing with Asta Nielsen and Werner Krauss. In the summer of 1925, Garbo accepted an invitation from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to come to Hollywood to appear in American films.

Her first MGM film was The Torrent (1926) with Ricardo Cortez. As MGM explored what kind of roles were to be assigned to her, Garbo starred in The Temtpress (1926) with Antonio Moreno, Flesh and the Devil (1927) with John Gilbert (which ignited their love affair), and Love (1927) with John Gilbert. Then, in rapid succession, Garbo starred in The Divine Woman (1928) with fellow Swede Lars Hanson and directed by Swedish director Victor Sjöström, The Mysterious Lady (1928) with Conrad Nagel, A Woman of Affairs (1928) with John Gilbert, Wild Orchids (1929) with Nils Asther, The Single Standard (1929) with Nils Asther, and The Kiss (1929) with Conrad Nagel.

With Greta Garbo being one of the studio’s hottest stars, her transition into sound films was delayed and carefully managed by MGM as Garbo worked on her English speaking skills. Her first talkie was Anna Christie (1930) after which she continued in 13 more MGM features from 1930 through 1941, including her best-remembered films Mata Hari (1931), Grand Hotel (1932), Queen Christina (1933), Anna Karenina (1935), Camille (1936) for which she earned an Academy Award nomination, and Ninotchka (1939) with director Ernst Lubitsch.

References: Website-IMDb.

 
Silent era Greta Garbo films available on home video
 
Book : Garbo by Barry Paris

Book : Garbo: A Portrait by Alexander Walker

Book : Greta Garbo by David Robinson

Book : Greta Garbo by Raymond Durgnat

Book : Greta Garbo by Richard Corliss

Book : Garbo by John Bainbridge

Book : Greta Garbo by Karen Swenson

Book : Garbo by Robert Gottlieb

Book : Greta Garbo by Judit Csengery

Book : The Great Garbo by Robert Payne

Book : Ideal Beauty: The Life and Times of Greta Garbo by Lois W. Banner

Book : Greta Garbo: Divine Star by David Bret

Book : Greta Garbo edited by Klaus-Jurgen Sembach

Book : Conversations with Greta Garbo by Sven Broman

Book : Garbo on Garbo by Sven Broman

Book : Walking with Garbo: Conversations and Recollections by Raymond Daum

Book : Greta Garbo: The Mystery of Style edited by Stefania Ricci

Book : Greta Garbo: The Swedish Sphinx of Silent Films by In60 Learning

Book : Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy by Mark A. Vieira

Book : The Complete Films of Greta Garbo by Ricci Conway

Book : The Films of Greta Garbo by Michael Conway

Book : Loving Garbo by Hugo Vickers

Book : Greta Garbo: The Woman I Loved the Most by Armando G. Munoz

Book : The Savvy Sphinx: How Garbo Conquered Hollywood by Robert Dance

Book : Looking for Garbo by Jon James Miller

Book : Greta Garbo: A Hollywood Portrait by Marie Cahill

Documentary : Garbo by Kevin Brownlow and Christopher Bird (2005)
 
[Film Daily, 8 July 1925, page 1] Foreigners Arrive / Greta Garbo, prominent player of Sweden, and Mauritz Stiller, director, of the same country, have arrived in New York to join Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. They will remain at the Commodore for two weeks and then go to the Coast.
 
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