Queen Christina

Greta Garbo, a native of Sweden, is positively glorious as this most unusual of Queens, giving a performance that is intelligent, complex, and passionate, with a touch of whimsy interjected. John Gilbert, Garbo's real life, handsome ex-lover, is excellent in the part of Don Antonio, a man conflicted by his mission on behalf of his king and his passion for Christina.

Queen Christina, too, is conflicted, as she does not wish to enter into a political marriage of convenience with Swedish war hero, Prince Charles Gustavus (Reginald Owen). This is the marriage that the people of Sweden seem to want and one that is being fostered by both her Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna (Lewis Stone), and her former lover, Count Magnus (Ian Keith). Nor does she wish to marry the Spanish King. Instead, she wishes to marry for love. So, she does the unthinkable. She abdicates for love, creating shock waves that reverberate throughout the courts of Europe, and arranges to leave her native Sweden with Don Antonio and head for Spain.

The best-laid plans, however, often go awry. Jealousy rears its ugly head, when Count Magnus realizes that his affair with Christina is over and that Don Antonio now has her affection. It is he who throws the final monkey wrench into their plans to live happily ever after. Who, having seen this film, can forget Garbo's last scene as Christina, the Queen who lost everything in the final analysis: her throne, her lover, and her future. Her last close-up in this film is unforgettable and one that will long linger in the memory of the viewer. Never was Garbo more luminous or soulful.

This is a movie classic that will be enjoyed and appreciated by those who love vintage films, as well as historical dramas.


Glorious Garbo   November 10, 2002
The gloriously beautiful and gifted Greta Garbo gives an alternately commanding and comedic performance as Sweden's cross-dressing monarch, Queen Christina. Christina falls in love with a Spanish ambassador, played by Garbo's real-life ex-beau, John Gilbert, and in doing so, changes the course of history.

This film has a dated artificial look to it. The sets LOOK LIKE SETS, and the action often feels stagy and claustrophobic, as if it were conducted on one of MGM's cumbersome sound stages (which it was).

However, "Queen Christina" is worth seeing because of the sheer pleasure that the ever effervescent Garbo generates through her skillful portrayal of the eccentric monarch. Garbo on screen never fails to captivate. She is often better than the movies she appears in.

See "Queen Christina" for the joy and artistry of Garbo's performance. You won't be disappointed.


a masterpiece   November 13, 2001
After watching this classic once again last night after several years, I have to say that this is a masterpiece. Rouben Mamoulian was one of the most stylish directors of the classic Hollywood era, and he has imbued this film with many unforgettable moments. Of course, his efforts are greatly complemented by some screen goddess called Greta Garbo! I did not watch any of his famous silent films which actually developed her screen persona, but her famous '30s talkie performances in this film, together with those in Anna Karenina and Camille are more than enough for me to land her in my top 10 favourite performers of all time. Her screen allure is something which cannot be properly described in words. So sensual, touching and strangely contemporary and not a bit dated after all these years. Her famous scenes in this film, all classics in their own rights, shows us an actor in strict command of her art, mastered by effortlessly opening her inner self to the camera and letting her radiant charisma take over the audience. Whether scrolling the inn room she spent her happiest days with her lover to memorize its details, addressing an angry crowd of citizens with a firm stance or in that undescribably moving final shot, staring enigmatically at a future of loneliness and hard-earned freedom, she is pure movie magic destined to enchant many generations long after she has left these mortal shores. Immensely aided by Herbert Stothart's original score and William Daniels's lush photography, Queen Christina is a true delight. Enjoy.


QUEEN OF SWEDEN   August 23, 2001
Many film buffs agree that this film is the quintessential Garbo movie. The film was tailored especially for the star, and Garbo felt a certain spiritial affinity in playing a monarch of her homeland who lived from 1626-1689. To vintage-film TV watchers, this film is strangely obscure, yet this just might be Garbo's greatest performance (at least a close tie to CAMILLE) in her finest Hollywood film. Like the actress herself, her Christina inspires awe as much as adoration - it is a stunning performance, with her the closing shot being one of the most famed in the history of motion pictures. Salka Viertel, a friend of Garbo, tailored the part for her friend - (Garbo had spent 18 months vacationing in Sweden prior to filming this) - and her Christina is a fascinating, ambiguous, charismatic incarnation. The lustre of this production wasn't dimmed in the least by the equally romanticised albeit easily forgotton THE ABDICATION which starred Liv Ullmann in 1974. The movie owes a great deal of its taste and visual flair to its director, Rouben Mamoulian and the film isn't nearly as dated as one would suppose. The beautifully lit photography by William Daniels is excellent, the sets are eloquent and well-chosen supporting cast is first-rate. Twenty-six year-old Laurence Olivier was originally chosen to play Don Antonio, but he was replaced by John Gilbert, Garbo's former vis-a-vis, both on screen and off. This is his best-preserved sound performance; he would be dead at 38 three years later. QUEEN CHRISTINA met with widespread critical enthusiasm - as did Garbo's fine characterization of her countrywoman - but the film did not tickle the fancy of the hoi polloi during the depths of the depression, and it did badly and the box office, nor it win the awards it merited.