“Garbo Laughs,” the trailer for Ninotchka screamed, “And so will you!” Indeed audiences were overjoyed (if bewildered) by Greta Garbo’s first comedic role at the lead of this frothy, clever screwball romance. Controversy erupts in Paris over the sale of pre-Revolutionary Russian crown jewels by the Soviets, so Moscow sends their sternest envoy to close the deal, the dour, stone-faced Ninotchka (Garbo). But is her icy heart cold enough to resist the persistent charm of Count Leon (Melvyn Douglas), who’s working for the exiled Russian Grand Duchess to get the jewels back. This Ernst Lubitsch production of a Billy Wilder script is sentimental, sharp, melancholy and self-aware, a triumph for all players, and for audiences too. Also featuring a great cameo by Bela Lugosi as Ninotchka’s high-ranking Commissar.
