Film Snail

7.5

Ninotchka

NR·1939·110m

Comedy

Romance

Comedy

Romance

Summary

A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.

Cast

Greta Garbo

Nina "Ninotchka" Ivanovna Yakushova

Melvyn Douglas

Count Leon d'Algout

Ina Claire

Grand Duchess Swana

Bela Lugosi

Commissar Razinin

Sig Ruman

Comrade Iranoff

Felix Bressart

Comrade Buljanoff

Alexander Granach

Comrade Kopalski

Gregory Gaye

Count Alexis Rakonin

Rolfe Sedan

Hotel Manager

Edwin Maxwell

Mercier

Richard Carle

Gaston

George Davis

Porter at Railroad Station (uncredited)

Dorothy Adams

Swana's Maid Jacqueline (uncredited)

Monya Andre

Gossip (uncredited)

Nino Bellini

Swana's Restaurant Guest (uncredited)

Wilda Bennett

Swana's Restaurant Guest (uncredited)

Symona Boniface

Gossip (uncredited)

Frederika Brown

Swana's Restaurant Patron (uncredited)

Emilie Cabanne

Gossip (uncredited)

Paul Ellis

Minor Role (uncredited)

Fred Farrell

Attendant (uncredited)

Frank Fletcher

Minor Role (uncredited)

Bess Flowers

Gossip (uncredited)

Mary Forbes

Lady Lavenham (uncredited)

Jody Gilbert

Streetcar Conductress - Moscow Roommate (uncredited)

Lawrence Grant

General Savitsky (uncredited)

Jennifer Gray

Cigarette Girl (uncredited)

Winifred Harris

English Lady Getting Visa (uncredited)

Ray Hendricks

Waiter (uncredited)

William Irving

Bartender (uncredited)

Hans Joby

Man at Railroad Station (uncredited)

Charles Judels

Cafe Owner Pere Mathieu (uncredited)

Armand Kaliz

Louis the Headwaiter (uncredited)

Ernst Lubitsch

Himself - Director in Trailer (uncredited)

Peggy Moran

First Cigarette Girl (uncredited)

Sandra Morgan

Gossip (uncredited)

Lucille Pinson

German Woman at Railroad Station (uncredited)

Albert Pollet

Waiter (uncredited)

Frank Reicher

Soviet Lawyer (uncredited)

Constantine Romanoff

Man in Restaurant (uncredited)

Alexander Schoenberg

Bearded Eiffel Tower Tourist (uncredited)

Harry Semels

Gurganov (uncredited)

Tamara Shayne

Moscow Roommate Anna (uncredited)

Florence Shirley

Swana's Phone Friend Marianne (uncredited)

George Sorel

Swana's Restaurant Guest (uncredited)

Edwin Stanley

Soviet Lawyer (uncredited)

Kay Stewart

Cigarette Girl (uncredited)

George Tobias

Russian Visa Official (uncredited)

Jacques Vanaire

Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)

Ellinor Vanderveer

Gossip (uncredited)

Paul Weigel

Vladimir, with Letter from Leon (uncredited)

Elizabeth Williams

Indignant Woman (uncredited)

Marek Windheim

Manager (uncredited)

Wolfgang Zilzer

Taxi Driver (uncredited)

Charles Fogel

Club Patron (uncredited)

Dick Gordon

Club Patron (uncredited)

Herschel Graham

Club Patron (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Ernst Lubitsch

Screenplay

Billy Wilder

Screenplay

Charles Brackett

Screenplay

Walter Reisch

Story

Melchior Lengyel

Reviews

Geronimo1967

March 6, 2024

Although Greta Garbo takes top billing here - and she's great - I think this film really belongs to the on-form Melvyn Douglas as the scheming "Leon". He is the boyfriend of the Imperial Grand Duchess "Swana" (Ina Claire) who is living in exile in Paris. The newly formed Soviet Union is a bit broke, so three of it's finest representatives have arrived with what was her priceless jewellery so they can sell it on. "Leon" sees a chance for them to cash in so gets an injunction stalling the sale and that results in Moscow sending their best agent (Garbo) to get the job done. She's a no-nonsense communist in the best tradition, but she hadn't quite factored in the charismatic Frenchman who aims to firmly insert a spanner in the works. What now ensues is a delightfully funny drama that takes a swipe at the establishments of both nations, at the all too frequent ridiculousness of dogma and at flawed and quirky human nature. There's loads of chemistry here - all centring nicely around Douglas, and the triptych of her cohorts "Buljanoff" (Felix Bressart), "Kopalski" (Alexander Granach) and "Iranoff" (Sig Rumann) - who really just want to open a nice restaurant somewhere - add a nice touch of stooge-ness to the proceedings. As with Bergman and Dietrich, the camera simply loves Garbo and her slightest frown or smile speaks a hundred words. Seen here with a leading man who is charming and confident and with an entertaining story underpinning everything, this really is a jolly good watch.