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Article: Greta Garbo, RIP. (obituary)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- May 14, 1990
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1990 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE SINGLE WORD "Garbo" defined a whole era in movie history, signifying an enchanment beyond mere glamor. Greta Garbo gave the screen some of its most affecting tragic moments in Anna Karenina and Camille, and some of its most deliciously funny in Ninotchka. Even in lesser roles she was incomparably watchable, like a cat, a flame, a waterfall: she had no human rivals.
It was a happy accident that her existence coincided in time with the movie camera, and at a time before Hollywood required young actresses to strip and swear and be raped and splattered; defilement was not yet part of the job description in those days. She was accorded the privacy she needed to ...