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 |
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. Written by Dale O'Connor <daleoc@interaccess.com>
I see that Billy Wilder collaborated on this. Was it a studio decision that Garbo wasn't cast as a comedienne? From the evidence in this film, she should have been. Her timing is excellent, her delivery very special. This is a gem I'd never seen that deserves its National Registry status. In 1939 the Soviet Union had sympathizers in the US, and during the coming World War it was an ally. This gentle spoof of Soviet seriousness and self-conscious worker ethics foreshadows the arguments that were later trotted out after the War to begin the Cold War, but here the humor and satire are soft, more Noel Coward than propaganda.
My lament is not seeing more comedy from Garbo. She made such serious and tragic films, when she could have been making us laugh. The film is dated, yes, but Garbo herself shines through along with her three Russian accomplices. I think that Billy Wilder and Garbo would have been a great team