“The cinema has given precisely one great artist to the world: Greta Garbo…unless you also count that damn mouse.”

– Louis B. Mayer

Garbo was the most important woman of the first half of the twentieth century, and her impact remains important to this day. Greta Garbo should properly be remembered as a woman who broke down barriers and through her art helped to create the Modern Woman. What she achieved guided two generations of women. While some authors have written on her art and her impact, the focus has been more on her celebrity and her quest for privacy.

 What the book is about:

The Acting: Garbo transformed acting in Hollywood. Fellow actors were in awe of what she could do on the screen. The audience thought she communicated the character’s thoughts to them. While the shift to more naturalistic acting was tentatively underway when Garbo arrived, she made naturalistic acting the new standard.

Photography: From a pivotal session with Arnold Genthe in 1925 Garbo transformed portrait photography. She brought acting for the still camera into the portrait studio and added emotion.

The Audience: Garbo appealed to female clerks, a new and valuable audience. They were also on the cutting edge of transforming society around the world. These independent women flocked to Garbo films, making her the most popular actor for a decade.

How Loew’s made money: These clerks, and other women, flocked to Loew’s owned first-run theaters, which were located to serve the this very audience. Loew’s made even more money from Garbo at its theaters than MGM (which it owned) did.

How MGM prepared the market for Garbo to succeed: MGM brought Garbo over to be a star. They worked hard to make sure that her first film was successful, pairing it with strong vaudeville and music acts. The strategy worked beyond their wildest dreams.

The real story of Garbo’s early life: Garbo decided to act at a young age and once historical misinformation about her is stripped out her journey is fascinating. With strong support from her family and a will to succeed, Garbo was recognized as a talent on the rise from the start.

Who named her Garbo?: Garbo created the name herself, and I show it’s the name she used at Dramaten.

Mauritz Stiller: Lover, friend and advisor, Stiller has always been viewed a central to Garbo’s success in film. Their relationship turns out to be deeper than previously realized and they almost married.

Censorship: Garbo was central to the censorship battles from 1933 to 1941. Censorship derailed her two final film projects after the war.

There is so much more. That’s why there had to be one more Garbo book.

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