3/6/2024

Although Greta Garbo takes top billing here - and she's great - I think this film really belongs to the on-form Melvyn Douglas as the scheming "Leon". He is the boyfriend of the Imperial Grand Duchess "Swana" (Ina Claire) who is living in exile in Paris. The newly formed Soviet Union is a bit broke, so three of it's finest representatives have arrived with what was her priceless jewellery so they can sell it on. "Leon" sees a chance for them to cash in so gets an injunction stalling the sale and that results in Moscow sending their best agent (Garbo) to get the job done. She's a no-nonsense communist in the best tradition, but she hadn't quite factored in the charismatic Frenchman who aims to firmly insert a spanner in the works. What now ensues is a delightfully funny drama that takes a swipe at the establishments of both nations, at the all too frequent ridiculousness of dogma and at flawed and quirky human nature. There's loads of chemistry here - all centring nicely around Douglas, and the triptych of her cohorts "Buljanoff" (Felix Bressart), "Kopalski" (Alexander Granach) and "Iranoff" (Sig Rumann) - who really just want to open a nice restaurant somewhere - add a nice touch of stooge-ness to the proceedings. As with Bergman and Dietrich, the camera simply loves Garbo and her slightest frown or smile speaks a hundred words. Seen here with a leading man who is charming and confident and with an entertaining story underpinning everything, this really is a jolly good watch.