While I am a huge fan of the films of Hollywood's Golden Age, I not especially impressed by this classic film. Most of this, I think, is that the film hasn't aged well. The extreme melodrama and over-acting sat fine with early audiences, but today it just seems awfully silly and campy. While Greta Garbo's performance is at times way over-the-top, my biggest problem actually was the character played by her very ardent suitor, Robert Taylor. Despite very little apparent reason, he is totally smitten with a woman who is essentially a high-priced prostitute and chases her repeatedly even though she gave every indication through the first half of the movie that she was a heartless skank. As a result, Taylor just looked like a very pretty wimp--not the sort of man that anyone in the audience could respect. Only after being lied to and emotionally abused did he finally show some backbone--but by the end of the film, this had once again vanished and he was back to being a wimp. I sure would have liked to have Jimmy Cagney handle this role--he wouldn't have put up with it or chased after Garbo like a moon-eyed puppy! Now back to Garbo. While I have always felt that her performances have aged poorly (she was so often given scripts that were too formulaic and melodramatic), I must admit that the times in the movie when she needed to cry, she was incredible. This is especially true in the side shot of her as you see tears almost shooting from her eyes--that is great acting. But, then to have her droop around for so much of the film with what appeared to be TB detracted from the overall effort. It just seemed a bit overdone.
The same day I saw this film, I also saw the silent 1921 version starring Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino. For 1921, this style of film was perfect, but even by 1936, it must have caused a few groans among the patrons since the plot was definitely getting very old indeed. The only HUGE improvement in the 1936 film was the role played by Lionel Barrymore as Robert Taylor's dad--it was much more sensitive and compelling than the character in the earlier film and did a lot to give the story life.
The bottom line is that if you don't particularly care for old movies, this movie will probably be very dull and tough viewing. If you love old films, you might be able to look past its style and enjoy the picture--at times I could do this, but frankly there are just so many better romances out there.
The same day I saw this film, I also saw the silent 1921 version starring Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino. For 1921, this style of film was perfect, but even by 1936, it must have caused a few groans among the patrons since the plot was definitely getting very old indeed. The only HUGE improvement in the 1936 film was the role played by Lionel Barrymore as Robert Taylor's dad--it was much more sensitive and compelling than the character in the earlier film and did a lot to give the story life.
The bottom line is that if you don't particularly care for old movies, this movie will probably be very dull and tough viewing. If you love old films, you might be able to look past its style and enjoy the picture--at times I could do this, but frankly there are just so many better romances out there.