Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo's first talking picture, marketed with the slogan "Garbo Talks!" This is the German-language version MGM filmed alongside the English release, directed by Jacques Feyder using the same sets, with Garbo reprising her role opposite a German-speaking cast. Based on Eugene O'Neill's play, it follows a young woman, raised by relatives after her father abandoned her, who comes to live on his coal barge and falls for a sailor she cannot be honest with about her past. Garbo's famous first line, "Gimme a whisky, ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby," revealed a husky voice that only added to her mystique. Published in 1930, the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2026.

Drama · Romance

Two childhood friends, Leo and Ulrich, return from military service and fall for the same alluring woman, Felicitas, with destructive consequences. Greta Garbo and John Gilbert's on-screen chemistry was matched by a real-life romance that began during filming, and the picture made them one of Hollywood's first great celebrity couples. Clarence Brown directs with a fluid, intimate camera that was advanced for its time, and the film's sensual love scenes pushed the boundaries of what censorship would allow. Based on Hermann Sudermann's novel The Undying Past, the film was a sensation at New York's Capitol Theatre, where it ran longer than any picture before it. It was selected for the National Film Registry in 2006. The film entered the public domain in the United States in 2022.

Romance · Drama · Silent

MGM's second teaming of Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, this time in a loose silent adaptation of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. The studio changed the title from Heat to Love so the marquee could read "Garbo and Gilbert in Love," one of the great publicity stunts of the silent era. The plot follows a married woman who ruins her social standing for a young officer, and the film leans hard into the erotic chemistry that made the pair famous after Flesh and the Devil. Edmund Goulding directed, and William Daniels photographed Garbo in the soft light that became her signature. The film is in the public domain in the United States.

Romance · Drama · Silent

A 1929 American synchronized sound romantic drama from MGM directed by John S. Robertson, starring Greta Garbo, Nils Asther, and Johnny Mack Brown. Based on the 1928 novel by Adela Rogers St. Johns, the film follows Arden Stuart (Garbo), a socialite who believes in a "single standard" of conduct applying equally to men and women. She rejects a marriage proposal from Tommy Hewlett and embarks on a romance with Packy Cannon, an ex-prizefighter turned artist, sailing with him to the South Seas. When Packy leaves her, she returns to marry Tommy — but Packy's return tests her resolve. The film features a synchronized musical score with sound effects but no audible dialogue. Early uncredited appearances include Robert Montgomery and Joel McCrea.

Drama · Romance

A 1926 American silent romantic drama directed by Monta Bell, and the first American film starring Swedish actress Greta Garbo. Based on the novel Entre Naranjos by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, the film follows Leonora (Garbo), a peasant girl who falls in love with Don Rafael Brull (Ricardo Cortez), the son of landed Spanish aristocrats. His mother disapproves and dispossesses Leonora's family. Leonora goes to Paris and becomes a famous opera singer, while Rafael stays home and becomes engaged to another woman. When Leonora returns, Rafael saves her life during a flash flood and their passion reawakens — but duty and family intervene. Produced by Irving Thalberg for Cosmopolitan Pictures, the film launched Garbo's legendary Hollywood career.

Drama · Romance