Summary
Long before the hype over Angelina Jolie and the ballyhoo of George Clooney, there was the lasting allure of [Greta Garbo]. Sphinx-like and elegant, Garbo was described as "the most beautiful woman in the world," and somehow, that epithet never failed her. Even in her later years, when she was photographed taking walks in New York wearing sunglasses and a trench coat, the beauty was still there. Looking at photographs of her, one is struck by the timelessness of her features. It is a remarkable face - but not necessarily the face you'd like to see on the other side over a cup of coffee. The cheerful ease of, say Doris Day, was never Garbo's. Her's was a beauty of aristocratic class.
In September 2005, which marked Garbo's iooth birthday, celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic took place, and Garbo's niece and closest relative, Gray Reisfield, and Reisfield's children stepped out of their long hibernation. Many of us weren't even aware of the fact that Garbo had a family. But there they were, and moreover, they were talking! Suddenly tidbits like, "She could never have enough saffransbullar for Lucia," "She was a lot of fun to hang around," and "She loved Swedish food" were revealed to the world. Somehow the thought of Greta ("I want to be alone") Garbo kicking up her heels or stuffing her face with herring seems slightly... profane. While also, of course, a bit comforting: She was like the rest of us, after all."Well, she didn't really think Two-faced Woman was going to be her last film," is the explanation Reisfield offers. "As a matter of fact, until the 1960's there were serious talks of her making a comeback. The part of the Duchesse of Langeais kept coming up -I think she really wanted to do that one. For different reasons it never happened. Of course financially she didn't have to make movies. And I guess the right vehicle was never found."See the full content of this document
Extract
Looking at Greta Garbo
"The cinema has given precisely one great artist to the world: Greta Garbo... unless you also count that damn mouse." - LOUIS B. MAYER
Long before the hype over Angelina Jolie and the ballyhoo of George Clooney, there was the lasting allure of Greta Garbo. Sphinx-like and elegant, Garbo was described as "the most beautiful woman in the world," and somehow, ...See the full content of this document
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