Greta Garbo

I love her. Find her endlessly fascinating. I think one of the great tragedies of Hollywood history is that the financing fell through for the movie she was supposed to make in the 1950s, from which we have that glorious screen test. She was still astonishingly beautiful. It would have been amazing to see her on screen again.

Truly extraordinary!!! Hollywood s most beautiful face

a great read, Walking with Garbo:

From Kirkus Reviews Superb collection of Garbo photos along with a running monologue by Garbo--taken down by Daum (curator of the Gloria Swanson Archives at the Univ. of Texas, Austin)--and with a text by Muse (a Life magazine editor) that covers her history. Muse's is by far the livelier of the two alternating texts, for Garbo couldn't talk her way out of a hatbox. Though a certain charm does shine through, she is completely vacuous and focused on her sensations. That's disappointing, but it doesn't matter--or shrink her glorious image on page after page or her accomplishments in film after film. What matters for Garbo lovers is that this is a marvelous sheaf of Garbolatry, eyes that smolder with nymphal adolescence (photographed by Arnold Benthe), eyes that suggest the great romance of your life. And then Garbo speaks: 'There are clothes in my closet that are fifty years old. I wear the same old things. Some days around here, you've never seen anything like it- -I'm in my long underwear. I go in and out of the kitchen and say to my girl, 'In case you're wondering, just pretend that I've joined the circus.' ' Or, 'I was thinking maybe I should get a new color scheme in here--I mean for the telephones. I only have black telephones. That'll keep me awake at night, trying to decide the color scheme. I do so little telephoning it really doesn't matter. Sometimes I don't call anyone for weeks...I don't answer the phone.' The historical text is delightful, a delicious review of the public Garbo, but hasn't one new fact. What does come through is a sensuality from Garbo's early years as a vamp that gives a hectic undertone to her later coolness. No pix of the goddess's last years--just pure beauty. A nice way to go. (Seventy-five b&w photographs.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

That book is very insightful

Who was her girl ?

Big swedish cow. Mystery turns out she was a raging dyke. Very Butch. She has something vulnerable and touching, and there is some beauty, but you would never understand the hype if you weren't around when she was still alive.

I wish I could find a source, but I seem to remember Quentin Crisp writing, "She famously said that she wanted to be left alone.......and then moved to New York City."

Her gorgeous apartment (in the link below).

J'adore Greta's grumpy gtandeur! She often had a down-turned mouth-lips. So, when you do see shots or footage or see of her more [italic]au naturel (private holiday boating and bathing ones especially ) and laughing smiling I react viscerally. It is pure joy to see her radiant gorgeousness in that kind of setting primarily as she was so often conveyed with haughty depressive default imagery

But!

Saw pictures of her before the eyeliner technique - early Swedish footage- was gob-smacked how dumpy young fraulein I suppose she looked (she was definitely pudgier)- still wholesome attractive of course but overall, I was genuinely thrown by just how a basic good face and unrenarkable figure became the iconic signifier of Beauty personified (Bit like Deneuve -as the face of La France - classic Aryan Caucasian looks, bone structure, symetry and big eyes.)

I read elsewhere, when I went through my first Garbo fascination, reading all I could find on her -fascinated by Cecil Beaton's foolish dottiness over her- that she freaked when her weight and dumpiness was commented on early on in HW and so she went on a steamed spinach and nothing else regime which worked fir her and was something she stuck to onward into her career.

Ditto, forgive me I can't recall the initial make-up artist reputed respinsible, the thick inky deep liner was a deliberate technique to establish her Swedish Goddess image -and Oh Boy! how it works!

So much so that as a more or less sans make-up baby femme myself from way back, all I ever developed from the 80s onwards myself was the 'Garbo' deep liner-mascara-pallor eyeshadow thing primarily as I saw how remarkably it transformed Greta's looks/eyes in my early fascination! (I'm no fantastic looker - but I've great eyes-brow space and changing to that simple and basic eye technique immediately worked - did dramatic wonders for my femme social appeal!)

^screwed up the 'italics' thing from 'au naturel' fwd - mea culpa!

That's because I was in the DL formatting thread and got cocky here - apologies the legibility.

I could easily pass for her child or close relative but I am so much better looking than her. When old people would compare me to her, I brushed it off when younger. Then I saw many images of her in later years and I was gutted. Insulted. She is all hype. Not a beauty. Not bad but not other worldly. Then again I grew up watching Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. Now that is pure beauty. Eventually watching Gone With The Wind with Vivien, so impressed. To Catch A Thief with Grace Kelly. Wow! Butterfield 8 with Liz Taylor. Impressive. Some Gene Tierney films. Can't look away.

So I never copped to the Garbo hype. Nice symmetrical face but like someone said above, movements like a cow. Dietrich was never all that either.

I believe it was much later that Hollywood raised the bar after Garbo and Dietrich's time.

I am not older than God (or even B.White) but having met both ladies, when they were older, I can only comment on personalities. Miss Dietrich won hands down. Loved both in films.

Ha-Ha, in some of the photos of Greta's former apartment, you can see the Long Island City Citicorp building. From my LIC co-op, I can see the gorgeous Manhattan skyline. I paid nowhere near 5 million plus for my place.

Greta's apartment looks amazing, but there's too much wood. The outside of the building is great. Many years ago, I'd see Greta walking near Bloomingdale's.

Greta Garbo, the Great Sphinx of Hollywood - mysterious and reclusive.

Beautiful in light and shadows.

I want that crown!

In later years.

From her last movie, Two Faced Woman.

One of the most beautiful creatures that have ever lived

I read a biography about her and she didn't come across as a nice person.. she led a life full of regrets

Remember when she got fat and Joan Rivers called her "Greater Gumbo"

Started watching this last night with Kristina Wayborn as Garbo. Seems as if a lot of facts were tampered with.

His appeal has always eluded us.

Only on Data Lounge would you read "Greta Garbo ain't all that". Ludicrous.

She does have a divinely beautiful face. But the only film of hers I'd ever want to rewatch is CAMILLE.

R7, I don't see that as contradictory. NYC could have offered someone like that a degree of anonymity in public that perhaps wouldn't have been possible elsewhere, plus highly secure residential living options.

As Peter Allen sang, "Leave Greta Garbo alone, and be a movie star of your own!"

" I am so much better looking than her."

Oh, Mary.