QUEEN CHRISTINA – Greta Garbo, John Gilbert
Queen Christina (1933)
Direction: Rouben Mamoulian
Screenplay: H. M. Harwood and S. N. Behrman
Cast: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith, Lewis Stone, Elizabeth Young, C. Aubrey Smith, Reginald Owen, David Torrence
One of the most ambitious productions of the early 1930s, Queen Christina remains surprisingly modern in its execution thanks in large part to Rouben Mamoulian’s assured hand. Those looking for historical accuracy in the film, however, will be greatly disappointed, for credited screenwriters H. M. Harwood and S. N. Behrman kept themselves busy concocting a highly fictionalized version of the Swedish queen; one who experiences an all-consuming and ultimately tragic love affair with a Spanish envoy. (Garbo biographer Mark Vieira explains [see below] that credited screenwriter — and close Garbo friend [...]
by Andre Soares | April 14, 2009
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Tags: C. Aubrey Smith, Classic Movies, Crossdressing, David Torrence, Elizabeth Young, Film Reviews, Five-Star Movies, Gay Interest, Greta Garbo, H. M. Harwood, Historical Movies, Ian Keith, John Gilbert, Laurence Olivier, Lewis Stone, Mark Vieira, Queen Christina, Reginald Owen, Romantic Movies, Rouben Mamoulian, S. N. Behrman, Salka Viertel
Best Films – 1923
I must admit that I’m not a fan of Charles Chaplin’s comedies. Heresies aside, I did very much enjoy Chaplin’s dramatic A Woman of Paris, an attempt to turn his frequent leading lady Edna Purviance into a star. The film was a box-office success (despite rumors to the contrary), but Purviance’s career never took off. That is unfortunate, as she gives a moving performance in this tale of lost love and single motherhood. She is with Carl Miller in the photo. Things are obviously not going very well for the couple, but Purviance is surely suffering in style.
FILM
Cameo Kirby
d: John Ford; scr: Robert N. Lee
Scaramouche
d: Rex Ingram; scr: Willis Goldbeck
The White Rose
d, scr: D. W. Griffith
A Woman of Paris
d, scr: [...]
by Andre Soares | April 2, 2009
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Tags: A Woman of Paris, Alice Terry, Best Films, Cameo Kirby, Charles Chaplin, Classic Movies, D. W. Griffith, Edna Purviance, Eleanor Boardman, G. W. Bitzer, John F. Seitz, John Ford, John Gilbert, Karl Brown, Lewis Stone, Mae Marsh, Nita Naldi, Ramon Novarro, Rex Ingram, Scaramouche, Silent Films, Souls for Sale, The Covered Wagon, The Ten Commandments, The White Rose, Willis Goldbeck
