Greta Garbo

John Gilbert

Ian Keith

Lewis Stone

Elizabeth Young

C. Aubrey Smith

Reginald Owen

David Torrence

Gustav von Seyffertitz

Georges Renavent

Ferdinand Munier

Richard Alexander

Hooper Atchley

Barbara Barondess

Wade Boteler

James Burke

Gladden James

Frank McGlynn Jr.

Cora Sue Collins

Carrie Daumery

Muriel Evans

Edward Gargan

Paul Hurst

Lawrence Grant

Sam Harris

Fred Kohler

Edward Norris

Bodil Rosing

Tiny Sandford

C. Montague Shaw

Akim Tamiroff

Rouben Mamoulian

H.M. Harwood

Salka Viertel

Margaret P. Levino

S. N. Behrman

Walter Wanger

Herbert Stothart

Blanche Sewell

Alexander Toluboff

Edwin B. Willis

Adrian

Douglas Shearer

William H. Daniels

Harvey Gates

Ben Hecht

Ernest Vajda

Claudine West

Edgar G. Ulmer

Charles Dorian

Audrey Scott

Maurice De Packh

Fred Cavens

Milton Brown

Romance

History

Drama

Queen Christina

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

United States of America

CinemaSerf

Greta Garbo is great in this speculative depiction of the life of the famed Queen of the Swedes, Goths and Vandals! Acceding to the throne after the death of her warrior king father, she spends much of her reign engaged in the Thirty Years War that ended with Sweden being a pre-eminent power in a battle-torn Europe. The arrival of her army commanding cousin, Prince Charles (Reginald Owen) gives rise to hope amongst the population the she will soon marry him. She, on the other hand, has no plans to be bounced into matrimony. Indeed, she has no plans to keep the war going either, so despatching her chancellor (Lewis Stone) to peace talks, she invites a new Spanish Ambassador (John Gilbert) to her court. Meantime, her domestic suitor "Magnus" (Ian Keith) is pressing his own suit, her confidant "Ebba" (Elizabeth Young) earns her enmity with a clumsily delivered conversation with her own lover and so she sets off into the snow with her aide "Aage" (C. Aubrey Smith) where a chance encounter changes the course of not just her own destiny, but that of her country too. If you know a bit about the history, then you will have an inkling as to what happens - an epitome of politicking, romance and tragedy, and Garbo plays the part boldly and engagingly. It helps that the script gives her the latitude to play the role of a strong and forceful woman in what is undoubtedly a man's world. There's a strong chemistry between Both Garbo and Gilbert and also between her and her stalwart Aubrey Smith, with the latter introducing a little humour to the snow-bound proceedings. Much has been made of the supposed sexual ambiguity of both the character and the actor, and I suppose if that's the case you want to make it can be, but for me this is a classic biopic of a clever and shrewd women playing a game built for men - either on screen or behind it, and I really did enjoy it.

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Queen Christina - Trailer