Two-Faced Woman
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Original film poster
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| Directed by | George Cukor |
| Produced by | Gottfried Reinhardt |
| Written by | S. N. Behrman Salka Viertel George Oppenheimer |
| Starring | Greta Garbo Melvyn Douglas Constance Bennett Roland Young Ruth Gordon |
| Music by | Bronislau Kaper |
| Cinematography | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Edited by | George Boemler |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release dates
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Running time
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90 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,247,000[1] |
| Box office | $1,800,000[1] |
Two-Faced Woman (1941) is a romantic comedy starring Greta Garbo and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Production
The film stars Greta Garbo, in her final film role, and Melvyn Douglas, with Constance Bennett, Roland Young, and Ruth Gordon. The film was directed by George Cukor and produced by Gottfried Reinhardt from a screenplay by S. N. Behrman, Salka Viertel, and George Oppenheimer, based on a play by Ludwig Fulda. The music score was by Bronislau Kaper, the cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg, the art direction by Cedric Gibbons, and the costume design by Adrian.
Plot
A fashion magazine editor (Douglas) marries a ski instructor (Garbo) on impulse, but she soon learns he expects her to be a dutiful wife, and not the independent woman he seemed to marry her for. They separate and he returns to New York City, where he takes up again with a playwright, (Bennett), with whom he was involved prior to marriage.
Garbo comes to New York to thwart the romance, playing her mythical twin sister, a wild, amoral "modern" woman, and fascinates Douglas until he realizes the truth. He plays along, almost seducing his wife's twin sister, but stopping short each time. They eventually reunite on the ski slopes and all is forgiven.
Reception
The film became controversial even before its release. The National Legion of Decency denounced the film, citing its alleged "immoral and un-Christian attitude toward marriage and its obligations: impudently suggestive scenes, dialogue, and situations: suggestive costumes." It was also banned in a few cities and the Archbishop of New York condemned it. The studio responded by refilming certain scenes, which Cukor refused to participate in, before its official release. Also, Pearl Harbor was attacked before its release, keeping many audiences home.[2]
Reviews from critics were negative. Theodore Strauss of The New York Times wrote: "It is hardly necessary to sit in judgment upon such delicate matters of public interest, inasmuch as the film decisively condemns itself by shoddy workmanship. Miss Garbo's current attempt to trip the light fantastic is one of the awkward exhibitions of the season, George Cukor's direction is static and labored, and the script is a stale joke, repeated at length. Considering the several talents that have combined to create this dismal jape, put down 'Two-Faced Woman' as one of the more costly disappointments of the year."[3] Variety wrote: "That the experiment of converting Miss Garbo into a comedienne is not entirely successful is no fault of hers. Had the script writers and the director, George Cukor, entered into the same spirit of the thing with as much enthusiasm, lack of self-consciousness and abandon as the star, the result would have been a smash hit ... Just how some of the lines of dialog escaped the scissors is as much of a mystery as how the screen writers ... so completely flopped in providing a reasonably satisfactory finale."[4]
Harrison's Reports called Garbo's performance "brilliant ... Yet if it were not for her charms and fine acting ability there would be little to recommend, for the story is weak and somewhat silly."[5] Film Daily declared Garbo "a delightful comedienne" but called it "unfortunate that the combined talents" of the scriptwriters "do not measure up to those of Miss Garbo's. George Cukor's direction is not as keen as it could be and tends to let the film ramble."[6] John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote of Garbo that "one can feel only that the archbishop who opposed the showing of the film was her one true friend. Of Garbo's folly there is little really to say. Just condolences might be enough."[7] A review in Time called the film "almost as shocking as seeing your mother drunk."[8]
Box Office
According to MGM records the film earned $875,000 in the US and Canada and $925,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $62,000.[1]
Taglines
- "Go Gay With Garbo! Her first film since Ninotchka".
References
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- ↑ [1]
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External links
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Two-Faced Woman at IMDb
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