Garbo Laughs
Ninotchka (1939) is a romantic comedy where a tough Soviet Union communist (Greta Garbo) falls in love with a rich playboy capitalist (Melvyn Douglas). It’s a witty funny sassy movie (written by Billy Wilder, amongst others) and the politics at the heart of it are really fascinating to watch play out.
Also interesting is its production history during a time when many Hollywoodians identified openly as communists and where one of the writers, Ernst Lubitsch, travelled to Russia for research and was changed by what he saw there. Check out GoodReads for more. Also check out The Nation for Franz Hoellering’s criticisms of the film.
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