Ninotchka (1939)

A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Charles Brackett (screen play), Billy Wilder (screen play),

Stars:

Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 4 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Greta Garbo	...	Ninotchka
Melvyn Douglas	...	Leon
Ina Claire	...	Swana
Bela Lugosi	...	Razinin
Sig Ruman	...	Iranoff (as Sig Rumann)
Felix Bressart	...	Buljanoff
Alexander Granach	...	Kopalski
Gregory Gaye	...	Rakonin
Rolfe Sedan	...	Hotel Manager
Edwin Maxwell	...	Mercier
Richard Carle	...	Gaston

Storyline

Only the royal suite at the grandest hotel in Paris has a safe large enough for the jewels of the Grand Duchess Swana. So the three Russians who have come to sell the jewels settle into the suite until a higher ranking official is dispatched to find out what is delaying the sale. She is Ninotchka, a no nonsense woman who fascinates Count Leon who had been the faithful retainer of the Grand Duchess. The Grand Duchess will give up all claim to the jewels if Ninotchka will fly away from the count. But can one count on a count?

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Plot Keywords:

russian | hotel | playboy | jewelry | lawsuit | 

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Taglines:

Garbo laughs

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

1 February 1940 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Ninotschka

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$1,365,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,187,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was one of Ernst Lubitsch's personal favorite films. His other favorites were The Shop Around the Corner and Trouble in Paradise.

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Goofs

After arriving at the suite, and Ninotchka begins typing, the position of the trio and the manner in which they hold their hats change.

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Quotes

Leon: What kind of a girl are you, anyway?
Ninotchka: Just what you see. A tiny cog in the great wheel of evolution.
Leon: You're the most adorable cog I've ever seen.

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Connections

Featured in 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009)

User Reviews

Greta Garbo as Secret "Cold War" Weapon

Ninotchka has been making a hit with audiences since she hit the screen in 1939. A fascinating, yet little known, "second life" of the film was played out during the Italian Elections of 1947-48. The U.S. was most anxious that the Communists not be elected and pulled out all the stops to prevent it. One was to approach MGM and request prints of Ninotchka

• to be shown widely to working class audiences in Italy. Since no 16mm

prints of the film yet existed, MGM Labs did "print downs" from the original nitrate negative. The resulting prints are astonishingly beautiful (I have one) and they estimate five million Italians viewed it and other propaganda films each week before the elections - in spite of the efforts of the Communists to prevent its showing. One pro-Communist worker said afterward "What licked us was Ninotchka!" (See "Killing Hope" by William Blum). To paraphrase Carl Denham in King Kong, once again "Beauty Killed The Beast!"