I have never been all that sold on Garbo. She's gorgeous, but in a very chilly way that doesn't include much sex appeal, and her acting goes in and out. She was an icon, no question, but her talents were a little overappreciated.

Garbo, as in Grand Hotel, strikes me as a contradiction; her style of acting is very dated, all gestures, glances, and flighty movements, yet she she had an exact idea of how far to, so nothing becomes corny or showy, and she pumps all the moves with an emotional genuiness that sustains her.

she always subjugates her leading men, grabbing them bodily and getting on top, taking the masculine position for kissing. This was just natural to Garbo, and it was a large part of her subversive quality. Garbo's sublime lesbian authoritativeness worked best, of course, with slightly nelly men.

I've heard it hinted that Garbo was probably a lesbian and her unusual screen sexuality was a byproduct thereof.

I find it interesting that as women became liberated in the '20's, they tended to have page-boy haircuts, and then two androgynous Euros, Marlene Dietrich and Great Garbo, became big stars.