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Garbo laughs! In her first comedy, Greta Garbo’s Ninotchka is a diligent – if also rigid and prudent – Russian agent arriving in Paris for a secret mission. The city of capitalism and romance, however, along with its charming inhabitant, Count Leon d’Algout (Melvyn Douglas), disarms the stony agent and initiates her into the realm of luxury, laughter, and passion. Hats, wines, kisses… why resist? Lubitsch created a new legend with Garbo by portraying the radiant screen goddess under a whole new light. This charming comedy is also a cautious satire against the perils of communism, anticipating the more overtly political To Be or Not to Be.

“a gay and impertinent and malicious show… finds the screen’s austere first lady of drama playing a dead-pan comedy role with the assurance of a Buster Keaton.” – Frank S. Nugent, The New York Times