My favorite Actress is Greta Garbo. She brought a technique that even actresses now a days still incorporate. She was ahead of her times and an enchanting woman.
A film that one can watch again and again and again is a work of art. That we appreciate and understand what we're viewing is due to the fact that this is how our tastes were developed back in the 1960's, 70's and 80's. I'm glad that I and many of my peers love these films but I fear that younger generations will not see them the way we do. They may wax nostalgic for films that I didn't set foot in the theatre for!
Best actress ever. I love watching her, trying to figure out how she pulled it off. The way she moved alone was onscreen magic. She internalized the character and so it seem to come forth naturally which means she didn't over act the part. Add that to her unique physicality and beautiful face and she becomes mesmerizing to watch. Her performance in Camille is yet to be matched.
@@PeterFitzgerald Can't argue with you there! The best original story/script she ever had was Ninotchka. Too bad she didn't have more like them in her fairly short career.
Garbo started out (not with MGM) but because the Swedish Director Mauritz Stiller recognized her talent. Then in Germany G. W. Pabst recognized her talents. Then finally Louis B. Mayer recognized her talent and we all know what happened after that recognization. We forget these people. We don't have women today with the feminine traits (and talent) of Garbo, Crawford, Davis or Barbara Stanwyck today, especially Greta Garbo. I doubt we will ever see such talent ever again on the Silver Screen, and this was a time period when women were supposedly held back. I also doubt if any of these great Actresses would in anyway admit their sex had anything to do with their success which doesn't fit the WOKE agenda of today. Comparing any of these Actresses to Meghan Markle (as is done on this video) is a travesty and part of the reason such Golden Era Actresses are a rarity of today.
The films starring Actresses such as Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and so many others from the Golden Age of Hollywood will never happen again, because such talent doesn't exist any longer, neither does the Studio System exist which produced such great talents with stories, sets, directors and all the rest that was part of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Such talent depended upon the scene at the time and we are all fortunate for it. MGM stated there were more Stars at MGM than there are in the Heavens and that was true at the time, but certainly not today. Thank goodness we have these wonderful films from the past when the Studio System existed but such is no longer the case. For some reason censorship and even the Hayes Act helped to create better films because they worked harder at getting around the restrictions.
I adore an actress who is all but forgotten today. Kay Fancis. Extremely successful for a few years, but her style of films did not appeal for long. She certainly has a niche in film history. Similar to Ruth Chatterton and during the same period.
In 2021, with all the changes in technology, cinematography, acting styles, and modern tastes, perspectives and understandings, the reaction is the same. Then, as now, with fresh wonder...that face....
Love your show but given the topic, I think that you should mention that many of Greta films, although successful financially, they are very difficult to view to modern audiences. For example, Mata Hari. It looks fabulous, but the storyline is muddled and unengaging. The same is doubly true for As You Desire Me. The plot is preposterous. With these films, I believe, people went because the chance to Garbo was too hard to forego.
@@PeterFitzgerald Knowing HOW to watch films from the past is as much an art form as the film itself. There is no point watching a film like Ninotchka now and expecting it to be like Lara Croft or something starring Angelina Jolie: all action-packed and ironic one-liners and heavy on editing. GG’s films require us to slow down and are meditative in quality. One gets lost in the mannerism rather than the plot or the pace. This is what mesmerism - the true nature of cinema - is! Mesmerism was never about “pace”. But most postmodern plebs don’t know that, and so they present to the small screen in their “media rooms” with their postmodern & immodest expectations and set themselves up for disappointment!! Each era of artistry requires its own way of SEEING. I don’t see lack of pace in these films because I am too busy being transcended. We as audiences are called upon to “settle into” a GG film. It’s a luxurious, sublime and very intimate act. Expecting “pace” or clever rational plot lines isn’t what the genre was about. 2022 audiences need to UNLEARN how they normally watch “movies” when watching a moving picture starring Miss Garbo.
Great Video, Peter. I have to confess I have a soft spot for her last film, Two-faced woman. The film is so ridiculous and so campy that you are bound to have a wonderful and gay time wacthing it. Cukor and Ruth Gordon are in the film as well but George didn't have his best day with it. I highly recommend it if you are into campy and ridiculous films. Greetings from Spain.
Were these "women's films" really the top grossers of their years? Not always. According to wikipedia a lot of the highest grossing movies of the 1930s were escapist fare. City Lights, King Kong, Snow White, Mutiny on the Bounty. The 1940s were more the decade that women's films were the top grossers, only because the men were away waging war against the Nazis, by contrast after the war the biggest film of 1949 was Samson & Delilah. The 1950s moved towards large scale epics (usually musicals or historical dramas) to compete with TV. This continued until the late 1960s when the "Roadshow release" more or less died. The auteur movement briefly dominated the 1970s until Jaws and Star Wars defined the modern blockbuster. Here's the example of this contrast, When All About Eve, a traditional woman's film won best picture, one of the other nominees was King Solomon's Mines, an adventure film that along with Samson & Delilah, heralded the arrival, and future reliance of these technicolor extravaganzas that would dominate the next few decades. King Solomon's Mines' influence can be seen in more modern movies (Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, Crocodile Dundee, Tomb Raider, The Mummy, Pirates of the Caribbean). All About Eve, classic as it is, does feel stagy at times (probably deliberate as its about Broadway), as opposed to feeling cinematic at a time when the movie industry invested big time in movies with lush exotic scenery, (landscapes, sets, costumes, vistas).
"Give me a whiskey...Ginger ale on the side...and don't be stingy, baby."
Immortal words.
My favorite Actress is Greta Garbo. She brought a technique that even actresses now a days still incorporate. She was ahead of her times and an enchanting woman.
Totes agree. Bette Davis famously called her acting "pure witchcraft."
@@PeterFitzgerald yes… from one witch to another!!
A film that one can watch again and again and again is a work of art. That we appreciate and understand what we're viewing is due to the fact that this is how our tastes were developed back in the 1960's, 70's and 80's. I'm glad that I and many of my peers love these films but I fear that younger generations will not see them the way we do. They may wax nostalgic for films that I didn't set foot in the theatre for!
It's all good re: younger gen. They'll discover the greats in time, and create their own too. But, it won't be quite the same - agreed.
Best actress ever. I love watching her, trying to figure out how she pulled it off. The way she moved alone was onscreen magic. She internalized the character and so it seem to come forth naturally which means she didn't over act the part. Add that to her unique physicality and beautiful face and she becomes mesmerizing to watch. Her performance in Camille is yet to be matched.
Garbo should've won the Oscar for "Camille".
Agreed about Camille. I'm a bigger Ninotchka fan though.
@@PeterFitzgerald Can't argue with you there! The best original story/script she ever had was Ninotchka. Too bad she didn't have more like them in her fairly short career.
This was fabulous! Subscribed!
Garbo started out (not with MGM) but because the Swedish Director Mauritz Stiller recognized her talent. Then in Germany G. W. Pabst recognized her talents.
Then finally Louis B. Mayer recognized her talent and we all know what happened after that recognization. We forget these people.
We don't have women today with the feminine traits (and talent) of Garbo, Crawford, Davis or Barbara Stanwyck today, especially Greta Garbo.
I doubt we will ever see such talent ever again on the Silver Screen, and this was a time period when women were supposedly held back.
I also doubt if any of these great Actresses would in anyway admit their sex had anything to do with their success which doesn't fit the WOKE agenda of today.
Comparing any of these Actresses to Meghan Markle (as is done on this video) is a travesty and part of the reason such Golden Era Actresses are a rarity of today.
Loved this. Hope to get more of this series! Your content is great!!!
Thanks for watching my Garbo video. Please share with your pals on social media!
Peter, I really love your refreshing take on film and your smooth delivery.
Bette Davis next please :) Enjoyed your insights and perspective on Garbo's career vis-a-vis the Women's Pictures genre.
Working on it!
The films starring Actresses such as Greta Garbo, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and so many others from the Golden Age of Hollywood will never happen again, because such talent doesn't exist any longer, neither does the Studio System exist which produced such great talents with stories, sets, directors and all the rest that was part of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Such talent depended upon the scene at the time and we are all fortunate for it. MGM stated there were more Stars at MGM than there are in the Heavens and that was true at the time, but certainly not today. Thank goodness we have these wonderful films from the past when the Studio System existed but such is no longer the case.
For some reason censorship and even the Hayes Act helped to create better films because they worked harder at getting around the restrictions.
Just who I mean when I think "Movie Star", the mystique is necessary to pique my interest.
I adore an actress who is all but forgotten today. Kay Fancis. Extremely successful for a few years, but her style of films did not appeal for long. She certainly has a niche in film history. Similar to Ruth Chatterton and during the same period.
Love this!!!! I can't wait to see more!!!!
Thanks Kenton! Which leading lady should I do next?
Peter Fitzgerald what about Kay Francis or PreCode Divas like Shearer and Chatterton?
In 2021, with all the changes in technology, cinematography, acting styles, and modern tastes, perspectives and understandings, the reaction is the same. Then, as now, with fresh wonder...that face....
This is an amazing video thank you
Thank you for this. I always adored Garbo xx.
Love your show but given the topic, I think that you should mention that many of Greta films, although successful financially, they are very difficult to view to modern audiences. For example, Mata Hari. It looks fabulous, but the storyline is muddled and unengaging. The same is doubly true for As You Desire Me. The plot is preposterous. With these films, I believe, people went because the chance to Garbo was too hard to forego.
Agreed. The films haven't held up due to pacing etc. I showed some friends Ninotchka and they were unimpressed. I was shocked, but there we are.
@@PeterFitzgerald Knowing HOW to watch films from the past is as much an art form as the film itself. There is no point watching a film like Ninotchka now and expecting it to be like Lara Croft or something starring Angelina Jolie: all action-packed and ironic one-liners and heavy on editing. GG’s films require us to slow down and are meditative in quality. One gets lost in the mannerism rather than the plot or the pace. This is what mesmerism - the true nature of cinema - is! Mesmerism was never about “pace”. But most postmodern plebs don’t know that, and so they present to the small screen in their “media rooms” with their postmodern & immodest expectations and set themselves up for disappointment!! Each era of artistry requires its own way of SEEING. I don’t see lack of pace in these films because I am too busy being transcended. We as audiences are called upon to “settle into” a GG film. It’s a luxurious, sublime and very intimate act. Expecting “pace” or clever rational plot lines isn’t what the genre was about. 2022 audiences need to UNLEARN how they normally watch “movies” when watching a moving picture starring Miss Garbo.
Old, HANDSOME, film queen....
Great Video, Peter. I have to confess I have a soft spot for her last film, Two-faced woman. The film is so ridiculous and so campy that you are bound to have a wonderful and gay time wacthing it. Cukor and Ruth Gordon are in the film as well but George didn't have his best day with it. I highly recommend it if you are into campy and ridiculous films. Greetings from Spain.
Hola Jose. Thank you so much.
@@PeterFitzgerald You welcome, Peter. Stay Safe. Greetings from Spain
Love the old movies with Greta Garbo. Next do Bette Davis, please.
Garbo--a face that could launch 10,000,000 ships. She is peerless. There will never be another like her.
Give me a whisky…ginger ale on the side… and don’t be stingy… baby! 🥰
Were these "women's films" really the top grossers of their years? Not always. According to wikipedia a lot of the highest grossing movies of the 1930s were escapist fare. City Lights, King Kong, Snow White, Mutiny on the Bounty.
The 1940s were more the decade that women's films were the top grossers, only because the men were away waging war against the Nazis, by contrast after the war the biggest film of 1949 was Samson & Delilah.
The 1950s moved towards large scale epics (usually musicals or historical dramas) to compete with TV. This continued until the late 1960s when the "Roadshow release" more or less died. The auteur movement briefly dominated the 1970s until Jaws and Star Wars defined the modern blockbuster.
Here's the example of this contrast, When All About Eve, a traditional woman's film won best picture, one of the other nominees was King Solomon's Mines, an adventure film that along with Samson & Delilah, heralded the arrival, and future reliance of these technicolor extravaganzas that would dominate the next few decades. King Solomon's Mines' influence can be seen in more modern movies (Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, Crocodile Dundee, Tomb Raider, The Mummy, Pirates of the Caribbean).
All About Eve, classic as it is, does feel stagy at times (probably deliberate as its about Broadway), as opposed to feeling cinematic at a time when the movie industry invested big time in movies with lush exotic scenery, (landscapes, sets, costumes, vistas).