Ninotchka

A stern Russian woman (Greta Garbo) sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man (Melvyn Douglas) who represents everything she is supposed to detest. "Garbo Talks!" proclaimed ads when silent star Greta Garbo debuted in talkies. Nine years and 12 classic screen dramas later, the gifted movie legend was ready for another change. Garbo Laughs! cheered the publicity for her first comedy, a frothy tale of a dour Russian envoy sublimating her womanhood for Soviet brotherhood until she falls for a suave Parisian man-about-town (Melvyn Douglas). Working from a cleverly barbed script written in part by Billy Wilder, director Ernst Lubitsch knew better than anyone how to marry refinement with sublime wit. "At least twice a day the most dignified human being is ridiculous," he explained about his acclaimed Lubitsch Touch, That's how we see Garbo's love struck Ninotchka: serenely dignified yet endearingly ridiculous. Garbo laughs. So will you. Ninotchka received four 1939 Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Garbo), Best Writin Original Story (Melchior Lengyel), and Best Writin Screenplay (Charles Brackett Walter Reisch, Billy Wilder).