The Silent Treatment – Flesh and the Devil : Starring Greta Garbo

“Garbo’s acting, across near a century of time, can still put a tingle in your gut. Garbo makes you suspend disbelief.” — Chris Edwards, Silent Volume

Ahhhh, that kiss! That legendary first kiss between Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, the one that’s reverberated across the decades as a landmark in cinematic sensuality, is contained within the smoldering Flesh and the Devil. The film marked the first time of many that these lovebirds (both onscreen and off) would star together — and the result was important enough that, in 2006, the Library of Congress placed Flesh and the Devil in the National Film Registry. This afternoon’s picture, helmed by frequent Garbo director Clarence Brown (Anna Christie, A Woman of Affairs), finds the Swedish Sphinx caught between the affections of two childhood friends (Gilbert, and Lars Hanson.) Romantic fireworks galore, and a major turning point in the careers of almost every major player involved.
Dir. Clarence Brown, 1926, 35mm, 113 min.

Here’s a Sneak Peak