Lolita's Classics: Greta Garbo

Showing posts with label Greta Garbo. Show all posts

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Pre-glamour Greta Garbo

The picture above is obviously Greta Garbo after her Hollywood make over. But how did she look as a curvaceous Greta Gustafsson appearing in Swedish commercials, early 1920's? The answer to that is to be found in the archives of Swedish Television.

If you have trouble recognizing her among the other models, she is the one with eyebrows painted with a piece of charcoal. Hideous. Sometimes a physical make over half a world away, obviously, can bring out the inner beauty of the Scandinavian womanhood.

In this 2:45 long (or short) clip, we see Greta "Garbo" Gustafsson in three different milieus: As a fashion model for the brand PUB, at the terrace of the Strand Hotel and at a picnic in the sweet green grass of the North.

The clip is silent, so you can always hum "Yes, We Have No Bananas" to yourself to liven it up a bit.

And yes: the Swedish word for "The End" really is "Slut"... It has amused many an international audience since the beginning of time. Or the beginning of Swedish film, that is.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Guest post: Why flappers are amazing

This post was contributed by Sara Bimmel, who writes about Halloween costumes over at StarCostumes.com.

If I had to pick just one favorite idea or concept from the 1920s, it would be the flapper. Obvious, right? Flappers have always been fascinating to me—their jewelry, their wanton looks, those perfectly styled coifs . . . I’ve tried mixing “the flapper look” into my own style too many times to count, but it always turns out to be a spectacular failure. I’m convinced no modern woman can possibly look like an authentic flapper unless she’s being professionally styled in a period movie with a huge budget. Still, that’s no reason not to celebrate the real flappers of the ‘20s!

At the tender age of just over 20, the Swede Greta Garbo was starring in a number of blockbuster hits: Flesh and the Devil, Love, and The Mysterious Lady. She was scouted out by a director for her screen presence, and I think I have to agree with that—this flapper lady always seems to look cool, confident, and sexy, no matter how much lipstick she’s wearing or how big her hat is.

Clara Bow, star of the film It, was the same age as Greta but had a different look about her. Clara was a bit rougher around the edges, but to me, she exemplifies the flapper with that bob and a little bit of a mischievous look in her eye, as if she’s always going to one-up you. Like Greta, she always looked gorgeous and confident, no matter what she was wearing—a tough feat when some of those get-ups look like full-out costumes.

Despite her unsexy first name, Norma Shearer, star of Lady of the Night, had absolutely exquisite flapper hair and managed to become a screen icon of the ‘20s. She also looked hot in sequins and enormous hats—feats that few now-living ladies can pull off.

Louise Brooks debuted the classic bob style and had a Betty Page look about her. She starred in A Girl in Every Port and Beggars of Life, although her biggest accomplishment may have been making a typical haircut for a 12-year-old look smokin’ hot on a grown woman.

So there you have it. Those flappers of the 1920s are still awesome, 90 years later. Writing this post has even inspired me to give it another go . . . now where’s my pearl necklace?

[Lolita's note: Seriously folks - check out StarCostumes.com! Lovely site. Personally, I think I will go as a German beer maid next Halloween. Costumes in the category gangsters/flappers are here.]

Do the Charleston!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

My top 20 favorite actresses

It seems like some of my readers wanted more after my Top 20 Favorite Actors post - and what can I do but obey? As usual I had to leave out some favorites after all (why can't they all fit in??), like Grace Kelly and Mae West. Well well. Here they are: My top 20 favorite actresses (in alphabetical order, of course):

1. Lauren Bacall

Favorite role: Slim Browning in To Have and Have Not (1944)

2. Ingrid Bergman

Favorite role: Alicia Huberman in Notorious (1946)

3. Joan Blondell

Favorite role: B. Maloney in Night Nurse (1931)

4. Clara Bow

Favorite role: Betty Lou Spence in It (1927)

5. Louise Brooks

Favorite role: Lulu in Pandora's Box (1929)

6. Olivia de Havilland

Favorite role: Catherine Sloper in The Heiress (1949)

7. Marlene Dietrich

Favorite role: Shanghai Lily in Shanghai Express (1932)

8. Greta Garbo

Favorite role: Anna Christie in Anna Christie (1930)

9. Lillian Gish

Favorite role: Rachel Cooper in The Night of the Hunter (1955)

10. Audrey Hepburn

Favorite role: Nicole in How to Steal a Million (1966)

11. Katharine Hepburn

Favorite role: Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story (1940)

12. Vivien Leigh

Favorite role: Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Names Desire (1951)

13. Carole Lombard

Favorite role: Maria Tura in To Be or Not to Be (1942)

14. Myrna Loy

Favorite role: Milly Stephenson in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

15. Marilyn Monroe

Favorite role: Sugar Kane Kowalczyk in Some Like It Hot (1959)

16. Jeanne Moreau

Favorite role: Catherine in Jules and Jim (1962)

17. Mary Pickford

Favorite role: Mary Carlton / Mary Marlow in Secrets (1933)

18. Barbara Stanwyck

Favorite role: Lily Powers in Baby Face (1933)

19. Gloria Swanson

Favorite role: Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950)

20. Natalie Wood

Favorite role: Angie Rossini in Love with the Proper Stranger (1963)

Monday, November 30, 2009

The Men Behind the Cameras

December is obviously the month of directors and cinematographers. Take a peek at the "Birthdays of the week" list in the right column, and you will notice directors Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise), Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Manhattan), Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless, Band of Outsiders, Crazy Pete), Otto Preminger (Laura, Anatomy of a Murder), Walt Disney and Fritz Lang (Metropolis, M, Dr. Mabuse's Testament).
Quite a few birthday children! I will therefore close the month of November on Lolita's Classics with a little tribute to the men behind the cameras, and I plan to do it with some cool pictures that [metaphorically] gather dust on my hard drive. My favorite? A certain Austrian-Hungarian with a monocle and a cigarette holder.

Lo and behold! Feast yours eyes on these marvelous photographs!

Ridley Scott.

Woody Allen.

Fritz Lang.

Walt Disney.

Jean-Luc Godard and cinematographer Raoul Coutard on the set of Crazy Pete (Pierrot le fou, 1965).

Otto Preminger.

Jean-Luc Godard and his then-wife and muse Anna Karina.

Woody Allen and his then-lover and muse Mia Farrow.

There are also two other important behind-the-camera men named in the birthday list, the first of those being Swedish cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Considered by many to be the world's greatest at his work, he worked frequently with director Ingmar Bergman and also with previously mentioned Woody Allen.

Ingmar Bergman and Sven Nykvist.

Sven Nykvist and Ingmar Bergman.

Sven Nykvist and Woody Allen.

Among Sven Nykvist's (1922-2006) works we find Ingmar Bergman's most praised cinematic wonders, like The Virgin Spring (1960), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Winter Light (1962) Persona (1966), Cries and Whispers (1972), Scenes from a Marriage (1973) and Fanny and Alexander (1982).
Nykvist co-operated with Woody Allen in Another Woman (1988), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and the "Oedipus Wrecks" segment of New York Stories (1989), and with Swedish director Lasse Hallström in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and was also the cinematographer for Sleepless in Seattle from the same year.
With a repertoire like that, it's impossible not to be amazed. Sven Nykvist worked with interpreting directors visions into film for no less than 57 years.

Virgin Spring (Jungfrukällan, 1960).

Through a Glass Darkly (Såsom i en spegel, 1961).

Winter Light (Nattvardsgästerna, 1962).

Persona (1966).

Cries and Whispers (Viskningar och rop, 1972).

Scenes from a Marriage (Scener ur ett äktenskap, 1973).

Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander, 1982).

Another Woman (1988).

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993).

Sleepless in Seattle (1993).

The second cinematographer who celebrates his birthday this week is a man called William H. Daniels (1901-1970), a man who intimately captured Hollywood's most glamorous actresses (working several times with Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer) for an amazed audience to view on a big silver screen.

William H. Daniels.

William H. Daniels on the set of Love (1927), directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.

William H. Daniels on the set of Grand Hotel (1932), with director Edmund Goulding and actors Wallace Beery and Joan Crawford.

On the set (behind camera) of Queen Christina (1933) with director Rouben Mamoulian and actors Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.

Just like Sven Nykvist, Daniels worked for many, many years. His first project as a cinematographer was for a not totally insignificant Erich von Stroheim picture called Foolish Wives (1922), and then he continued his beloved work until the year of his death, 1970.