Name/TitleGarbo
MakerBainbridge, John
Maker RoleAuthor
About this objectHardback book with black covers titled 'Garbo' by John Bainbridge, with photographic illustrations. No preface or chapter headings. Chapter 1 begins: ""She was gifted with genius, and led by one of those exceptional existences which cannot be judged by ordinary standards." So wrote Balzac of George Sand, the French novelist. So, also, might one write of Greta Garbo, the Swedish-born actress, for these two remarkable women, though separated in time by a century, are alike in many ways. ... Her life has been frustrated, like Sand's and every other artist's, but hers perhaps more so than most, because she is Greta Garbo, a woman who has become a legend in her own lifetime."
Medium and MaterialsOrganic, board and paper
MeasurementsH: 222 x W: 135 x D: 32 mm
Date Made1955
Period20th century
Place MadeEngland, London
PublisherFrederick Muller Ltd
Publication Date1955
Publication PlaceEngland, London
Subject and Association Descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Garbo:
Greta Garbo[a] (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson;[b] 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's silent and early golden eras. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time, she was known for her melancholic and somber screen persona, her film portrayals of tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on its list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.
Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the 1924 Swedish film The Saga of Gösta Berling. Her performance caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), who brought her to Hollywood in 1925. She stirred interest with her first American silent film, Torrent (1926). Garbo's performance in Flesh and the Devil (1926), her third movie in the United States, made her an international star. In 1928, Garbo starred in A Woman of Affairs, which catapulted her to MGM's highest box-office star, surpassing the long-reigning Lillian Gish. Other well-known Garbo films from the silent era are The Mysterious Lady (1928), The Single Standard (1929), and The Kiss (1929). With Garbo's first sound film, Anna Christie (1930), MGM marketers enticed the public with the tagline "Garbo talks!" That same year she starred in Romance and for her performances in both films she received her first combined nomination out of three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. By 1932 her success allowed her to dictate the terms of her contracts and she became increasingly selective about her roles. She continued in films such as Mata Hari (1931), Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931), Grand Hotel (1932), Queen Christina (1933), and Anna Karenina (1935).
Many critics and film historians consider her performance as the doomed courtesan Marguerite Gautier in Camille (1936) to be her finest and the role gained her a third Academy Award nomination. However, Garbo's career soon declined and she became one of many stars labelled box office poison in 1938. Her career revived with a turn to comedy in Ninotchka (1939), which earned her a fourth Academy Award nomination. Two-Faced Woman (1941), a box-office flop, was the last of her 28 films. Following this commercial failure, she continued to be offered movie roles, though she declined most of them. Those she did accept failed to materialize, either due to lack of funds or because she dropped out during filming. In 1954, Garbo was awarded an Academy Honorary Award "for her luminous and unforgettable screen performances". Over time, Garbo would decline all opportunities to return to the screen. In her retirement, she shunned publicity, led a private life, and became an art collector whose paintings included works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pierre Bonnard and Kees van Dongen. Although she refused throughout her life to talk to friends about her reasons for retiring, four years before her death, she told Swedish biographer Sven Broman: "I was tired of Hollywood. I did not like my work. There were many days when I had to force myself to go to the studio ... I really wanted to live another life." [continues]
Subject and Association Keywordswomen's history
Subject and Association Keywords(auto) biography
Subject and Association KeywordsDrama, theatre
Subject and Association Keywordsfilm, acting
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypeBook
Object numberGWL-2025-87-2
Spine LabelGarbo ~ John Bainbridge ~ FREDERICK MULLER
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved