1937 – Greta Garbo
Camille
Here, we have Garbo doing what she does best, playing a romantic yet tragic role. I think she was really known for her extraordinary beauty, her often serious and stoic expression, and her fine-tuned dramatic acting. But every time I see her in a film, I am always amazed at how brilliant her stunning smile was. I think she really understood that you can’t sell the serious moments in a performance, unless you have a firm grasp on the light-hearted ones. Here, she showed us both, and did a fantastic job in each.
It was a period piece, taking us back to the mid-1800s in Paris. But I think the elaborate costumes and hair styles really suited her. Then again, Garbo had a timeless beauty that would have made her stand out in any era. And yes, it was her beauty that made her memorable, but it was her wonderful performances that made her incredible. And many critics have called her role as Marguerite Gautier as one of the finest performances of her career.
I think her performance was summed up quite nicely by a conversation between the film’s producer, Irving Thalberg, and its director George Cukor, which I have lifted from Wikipedia. “On watching a scene in the film where Garbo is at a theater, Thalberg said: ‘George, she’s awfully good. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so good.’ ‘But Irving’, said Cukor, ‘she’s just sitting in an Opera Box.’ ‘She’s relaxed’, said Thalberg. ‘She’s open. She seems unguarded for once.’ Garbo’s new attitude prompted Thalberg to have the script reworked. ‘She is a fascinating artist, but she is limited’, Thalberg told the new writers. ‘She must never create situations. She must be thrust into them. The drama comes in how she rides them out.’”
And it was true. She seemed very relaxed in front of the camera, whether she was sitting in an Opera Box, lying with her lover’s head in her lap, or reclining on her death-bed. She seemed very at ease, and it showed. It was appropriate for the character, a professional prostitute who was dying of tuberculosis. But I have to agree with the Academy’s decision. Luise Rainer’s performance in The Good Earth was more dynamic. Still, beautifully done, Greta.