Romance (1930)

Young Harry is in love and wants to marry an actress, much to the displeasure of his family. Harry thinks that Bishop Armstrong knows nothing about love so Armstrong tells him the story of ... See full summary »

Writers:

Edward Sheldon (from the play by), Bess Meredyth (dialogue continuity),

Stars:

Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone, Gavin Gordon

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Greta Garbo	...	Rita Cavallini
Lewis Stone	...	Cornelius Van Tuyl
Gavin Gordon	...	Tom Armstrong
Elliott Nugent	...	Harry
Florence Lake	...	Susan Van Tuyl
Clara Blandick	...	Miss Armstrong
Henry Armetta	...	Beppo
Mathilde Comont	...	Vannucci
Rina De Liguoro	...	Nina (as Countess De Rina)

Storyline

Young Harry is in love and wants to marry an actress, much to the displeasure of his family. Harry thinks that Bishop Armstrong knows nothing about love so Armstrong tells him the story of Rita and himself. Rita was an Opera Star singing in New York who was at a party given by Cornelius. Armstrong was a 28 year old rector. He fell for Rita when he saw her and after six weeks he wanted to marry her. Naive as he was, he thought that all of Rita's "relationships" were in the distant past, but Rita lives for the moment and knows that she can never marry Armstrong.

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Plot Keywords:

opera | social class | singer | new year's eve | reputation | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 August 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Romantik

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$496,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Greta Garbo originally wanted Gary Cooper as her leading man in "Romance". In the end, however, MGM could not borrow Cooper from Paramount, so Garbo settled for the unknown Gavin Gordon. Cooper would come to MGM two years later for the Joan Crawford vehicle Today We Live.

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Quotes

Madame Rita Cavallini: Love is just a beast that you feed all through the night, and when the morning comes, love dies.

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Connections

Featured in MGM Parade: Episode #1.30 (1956)

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Soundtracks

"Annie Laurie"
(1834-5) (uncredited)
Written by Lady Scott
Played on piano by Greta Garbo
Sung by Gavin Gordon
Reprised in score at the end

User Reviews

A Romance for all time

Romance is a very simple movie with nearly no plot twists, yet it is the basic romance from which we derive all our contemporary romances with. Forbidden love tries to take a role in this film, but does not exactly succeed. The cinematography is simply "mahvelous" for 1930, and Greta Garbo is stunning! She is the lady of the 1930s. The male leads are not as strong as Garbo, but what male lead ever will? The dialogue at times is weak, but for the most part fairly enjoyable. A great example of early romances! A must-see!