Star of the month... Greta Garbo

"I want to be left alone..." - Greta Garbo

Throughout September 2012, we pay tribute to one of the most beautiful women in the world... Greta Garbo...

Greta Garbo was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson on 18 September 1905 in Stockholm, Sweden. 
She was forced to leave school and work following her father's death when she was 14 years old. She found work in a department store, who used her as a model in newspaper advertisements. She also appeared in a short film advertising the department store she worked at. This led her to appear in some other films in Sweden. 

At age 19, she was given her first starring role in 'Gösta Berlin's Saga' in 1924. After her performance in 'Joyless Street' was offered a contract in Hollywood with MGM, although she could barely speak English. MGM studio boss Louis B. Mayer told her, "American's don't like their women fat and get your teeth fixed".

In 1927, she fell in love with fellow MGM star, John Gilbert, whom she eventually left at the alter.

After making a number of silent films with MGM, she became one of very few silent stars to successfully make the transition to sound films with her first, 'Anna Christie' (1930).

After appearing in a number of successful films throughout the 1930's, Garbo shocked Hollywood and the world when she went into early retirement in 1941, never to make a film again.

Garbo spent her later years living in hiding and solitude in Manhattan, New York City.  In 1954, Garbo received a special Oscar for her past unforgettable performances.

On 15 April 1990, Garbo died of natural causes at age 84.

Throughout the course of the month, I will attempt to watch the following films:

Garbo Silents

• "Joyless Street" (1925)
• "The Temptress" (1926)
• "Flesh and the Devil" (192
• "The Mysterious Lady" (1928)

Early Talkies

• "Anna Christie" (1930)
• "Anna Christie" (1931)
• "Susan Lenox <Her Fall and Rise>" (1931)
• "Mata Hari" (1931)
• "As You Desire Me" (1932)
• "The Painted Veil" (1934)

Garbo - The Essentials

• "Grand Hotel" (1932)
• "Queen Christina" (1933)
• "Anna Karenina" (1935)
• "Camille" (1936)
• "Conquest" (1937)
• "Ninotchka" (1939)
• "Two Faced Woman" (1941)

Documentaries

• "MGM's The Big Parade of Comedy" (1964)
• "That's Entertainment Part 2" (1976)
• "Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown" (1986)
• "The Divine Garbo" (1990)
• "That's Entertainment III" (1994)
• "Garbo" (2005)