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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Sheer entertainment, 25 December 2004
10/10
Author: paul de boef from The Netherlands

"Inspiration" is Greta Garbo's third talking picture and less static than "Anna Christie" and "Romance". Now in 2005 this is an undeservedly obscure Garbo film and like her other early talkies it's fascinating and intriguing. The scenes are varied, glamorous and entertaining. It's melodrama but there's also some comedy included. (It's very unlike the gloomy "Anna Christie"). Garbo is amazing in this film, from the first scenes when she joins the party, relaxed and smiling - until she sees Montgomery and she realizes what she's missing, till the last scene when she writes the letter. I also like Robert Montgomery here, his acting is great. No matter what can be said of the story - and I like the story - Garbo makes it beautiful and heartbreaking.

Ignore the abysmal reviews by those who are cynical and desire more than fine old-fashioned entertainment. This is true inspiration.

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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Garbo's most underrated and overlooked film. A real gem!, 7 May 2008
8/10
Author: Bryce David

I've seen practically every Garbo film and I have to say that INSPIRATION is one of my favorite of hers. Certainly in the top five films. It's a beautiful and delicate film with one of Greta's best performances. Though the story is slightly underwritten and the direction could have used a bit more punch and Robert Montgomery is miscast, what weaknesses this film has are easily compensated by the amazing performance by GG, the sharp dialogue and the assured direction of Clarence Brown.

It's not easy to make a film about inspiration and in a way this film has. There are so many inspired moments in it, it would be difficult to list them. Here's a few: the opening sequence at the party; the staircase to Andre's room; what happens to Lewis Stone and his young girlfriend; when Garbo confronts Robert about infidelity; the ending, with the scenes in the snow.

Unlike a lot of other Garbo films or even other films made in those days, the melodrama is kept low. No screeching violins and such or major scenery chewing moments. I love the way Clarence Brown kept everything low key. Probably too low key for most people but I for one loved it. The pace is a tad slow but that's a minor complaint.

It's one of those Garbo films I like to watch and re-watch on a regular basis. Had the male lead been someone else than Robert, this little film would have been perfect.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Should not be dismissed, 18 June 2002
Author: jaykay-10

Many (perhaps too many) of Garbo's films are rated primarily on the basis of her performance, with everything else secondary. This is most unfortunate, since MGM - very much to their credit - did not arrange her pictures primarily as star vehicles: the leading men and supporting players are usually strong performers. Considering the fairly large number of pictures in which she starred, her performances do not encompass a wide variety of characterizations: she is typically a woman who has loved well but not wisely (and probably too often), a worldly and world-weary femme fatale preoccupied with the futility of searching for real happiness, yet finding no viable alternative in the life she knows.

This is once again her character in "Inspiration," a relatively obscure Garbo film which compares very favorably with the later and much better-known "Camille." The stories have much in common, as do her performances. While "Camille" obviously had a considerably larger budget, resulting in more impressive production values, the dramatic values in "Inspiration" are at least equal to those of the other.

Of particular note: Garbo, dismissed by her lover, huddles in a storefront, waiting for him to pass on a dark, rainy day - finally emerging when she spots him, only to be rejected once again - without a word - with nothing more than a curt shake of the head as he walks on.

And Lewis Stone, having ended the liason with his young, despairing mistress in an upper apartment, descends the staircase, pauses ever so briefly at the building entrance to note her lifeless body now crumpled on the sidewalk, and continues on his way.

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
A Great Classic Gem of a FILM for all Future Generations!!, 30 March 2004
10/10
Author: whpratt1 from United States

There is nothing sluggish or dated about this film or the great actors. Greta Garbo was a true Classic sex symbol and great actress of the Golden Era of Films! Her Classic films are studied in many drama departments of our finest Universities. Greta Garbo(Yvonne Valbert),"Conquest",'37, portrayed a woman who had many lovers over the years of her life and who fell deeply in love with a much younger man, whom you are led to believe took his virginity away from him. Robert Montgomery(Andre Mantell),"Lady in the Lake",'47, was a student and very inexperienced, however, he was charmed by the flirting of Yvonne. This is a very powerful love story which never grows old, the ending was well written and I am sure this ending was the same for many people in the same situation unfortunately!

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
No Garbo's Top Movie Due to..., 31 January 2010
5/10
Author: Marcin Kukuczka from Cieszyn, Poland

"Isn't life always full of romance?" (the personal quote by Greta Garbo)

The Garbo's words I entailed at the beginning of my review do not only refer to an individual life that they were meant to but, more importantly, appear to resemble most of Garbo's career in Hollywood. Aren't most of her films full of romance? And that is perfectly all right when we consider this movie made at the dawn of talkies, along with ANNA Christie and ROMANCE by Clarence Brown, Garbo's beloved director. Again, INSPIRATION appears to discuss the similar theme of self sacrifice, honest feelings changing people from within, significant decisions that require courage and that lead to love that inspires and illumines life. What a classical, timeless theme of old cinema!

And...who makes INSPIRATION worth seeing is, of course, Garbo whose gracious presence in movies will always live in the hearts of her fans and classic movie buffs worldwide. Again, as it is the case with most movies she made in MGM between 1925 and 1941, her exceptional acting and glamorous photography by William Daniels leave a lasting impact on the viewer's memory. Moreover, among the supporting cast, we can admire Lewis Stone, the wonderful actor whose memorable performances I have mentioned in many of my reviews on Garbo films. Here, he is equally convincing.

And everything would seem to make way for INSPIRATION to be successful, to be inspiring for both the viewers of the 1930s and for today's classic buffs. Yet, INSPIRATION is usually mentioned as one of Garbo's least significant films. Why?

The reason for that lies in the leading man, Robert Montgomery. His role of Andre, a 24 year-old man in love with delicious Yvonne is an interesting role that could be depicted with desirable passion and memorable chemistry. Surely, that would have been not so hard for Garbo's ultimate leading man, John Gilbert, as well as for Melvyn Douglas (who played at her side in NINOTCHKA, for instance), for John Barrymore (in GRAND HOTEL), Robert Taylor (in CAMILLE) and Ramon Novarro (in MATA HARI). But it was beyond Robert Montgomery's skills and attempts. It is worse than ever with absolutely no chemistry between Garbo and Montgomery. One can say while looking at them that he is the worst leading man for Garbo, which, above all, makes their love in the plot hardly convincing. There are moments when Garbo intuitively tries to create a natural, authentic situation (because she was known to create things in acting situations galore) and Montgomery maintains fake and pathetic. Consider, for instance, their scenes on stairs that could have been so well executed.

Therefore, I think that INSPIRATION is, in no way, one of Garbo's first films that you should plan to see. It's worth for Garbo fans who know her great top movies of the 1920s and 1930s and want to see the queen of MGM in yet another role. No top movie whatsoever! 5/10

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
I liked this film better than ROMANCE., 22 January 2003
Author: (r_wojo@hotmail.com)

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

INSPIRATION may not be one of Garbo's better films, but like most of her films, it's basically a "women's picture".

I will agree that Robert Montgomery (not a favorite of mine) should not have been cast in this picture but is OK. A more likely actor would have been somebody like Conrad Nagel. If one really wants to re-cast the picture, how about Baclanova in the Garbo role? The look of the film is very good. Films of this period with European backgrounds always interest me, and Garbo's persona fits very well in it.

Even though this was 1931, there was still some silent film techniques in many of the movies made at this relatively late date: the way Karen Morley's suicide was filmed, for instance.

Liked this one better than ROMANCE and liked it a lot better than any of her films made after the PAINTED VEIL. But I don't think any of her sound films quite stack up to her silent films (she always looked ter- rific and that William Daniels photography!).

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Not Inspired For Today's Audience, 26 October 2007
6/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

In a plot with some similarities to the much better Camille, Greta Garbo is an artist's model who like the rest of her peers lives on the financial favors of those in the artist's colony. I wouldn't doubt she does those things professionally as well. It costs a lot to be an artist's Inspiration.

However she gets inspired by a young callow youth played by Robert Montgomery and she's willing to shake off all her patrons, chief among them being Lewis Stone for life with a young man entering France's diplomatic service. No matter because Lewis Stone seems rather enthralled with Karen Morley at the moment.

Probably Inspiration would not sit well with today's audiences. It's not one of Garbo's better vehicles.

One thing I did like about Inspiration was its torch song theme. Though it's not sung in Inspiration, the theme has lyrics and it's entitled How Long Will It Last. It was recorded by Bing Crosby the following year and was one of his early successes. It's the best thing about Inspiration.

I'd really recommend that you see this side by side Camille and judge for yourself how much better Camille is. Still Garbo and Montgomery do their best by this dated melodrama.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Two Lesser Garbo's, 12 March 2008
Author: Michael_Elliott from Louisville, KY

Inspiration (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A beautiful model (Greta Garbo) begins dating a good, shy guy (Robert Montgomery) but things hit hard times when he learns of her rather sluttish past. Once again Garbo is quite good and Montgomery is strong but the story lets both of them down. Things start off quite nice and move well but at the 45-minute mark things just fall apart because the story keeps repeating itself. He forgives her, learns something else, hates her, forgives her, learns something else and hates her again. A nice ending almost saves the film but not quite.

Romance (1930)

** (out of 4)

An Italian opera diva (Greta Garbo) with a troubled past falls in love with a priest (Gavin Gordon). Like many early sound films this one here talks and talks and talks but sadly most of the talk isn't very interesting. Garbo is very good in her role, although it's a bit hard to believe her as an opera star. Gordon on the other hand is fairly weak and it's a shame Garbo couldn't get Gary Cooper like she wanted. The ending is so incredibly bad you can't help but laughs but hey, there's Garbo.

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4 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
UNINSPIRED!!! One of Garbo's poorest vehicles., 20 August 2001
3/10
Author: Arne Andersen (aandersen@landmarkcollege.org) from Putney, VT

MGM tried pairing up and coming young men with the Divine One to give them exposure and try them out as leading men. Gable and Garbo had chemistry in SUSAN LENOX but it was a lousy film. Here in INSPIRATION there is no chemistry whatsoever between Garbo and Robert Montgomery and the script is poor as well. What were they thinking? The modern, fast-talking, wise-crack-snapping Montgomery and the long-suffering Garbo? It is a tale like CAMILLE. Young student falls for woman of the world and is repelled by learning of her past, rejects her, takes her back, rejects her.... you get the picture. Garbo is completely believable as a top Parisian artist's model and completely at home, although bored, with her life at the top of society amidst her artistic friends and their loose morals. Suddenly she is fascinated by this innocent. She finally gives up her life for him and sinks into poverty, only to be rescued by him and set up in a house of her own. Ironically, he intends to marry and keep her on the side - so much for his pure moral ethic of earlier.

The scenes are incredibly dull and boring and nothing much happens. Only Marjorie Rambeau as Lulu is able to inject life into the proceedings with such lines as "Unfortunately weak women have strong appetites" and "Odette, Where is thy sting?"

Only for Garbo fans.

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2 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
2 excellent actors in 1 lousy film, 17 June 2002
6/10
Author: Night Must Fall from The executive kitchen, stealing food

Don't get me wrong. I love both Garbo and Montgomery. They are both very talented and extremely sexy. This film, however, was not. As the previous poster has said, there is NO chemistry between the 2 stars. It was as if they were not even in the same movie.

Montgomery looked very bored with it all, and, although very dapper in his tuxedo, looked as though he were going to fall asleep throughout the film. I had to laugh when he WAS asleep in the last scene and never woke up, credits rolling. Looks like the poor thing finally got his nap after all. Still, he's always wonderful to look at!

The same goes for Garbo, only this time, her slow talking got on my nerves not just a little bit. I loved her outfits, and she could definitely be a model, but her speech was simply too languid for the film. Even Bob spoke slowly. What the hell?

The supporting players were given awful dialog, stock characterization, and no substance whatsoever, thus making no impact. All this accomplished was to get screen time away from the 2 stars, thankfully, I suppose. (The little doggie was cute, though.)

Nobody looked as though they had any enjoyment making this film, and the same can be said for the unfortunate viewer.

Bottom line: lovely to look at, painful to follow through.

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