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GARBO'S
Her pale exoticism enhanced Garbo's glamor as the spy in "Mata Hari." Below: Greta with John Gilbert and director Rouben Mamoulian on the set of "Queen Christina.'' She was forced to take a rest before she could finish the picture
A D A M E
SYLVIA
AW, it's a ever sine reporter.
a publicity stunt." So the wise-acres have said ince Garbo went scampering away from her first reporter. That was their analysis of her mystery, her silence, her camera-dodging and crowd-avoiding. Now the more gullible minded, too, are saying: "Aw, it's a publicity stunt." But is it? Wait. There's more in this than meets the eye or ear.
It's true, Garbo's natural shyness and self-consciousness about meeting the boys and girls of the press — to go anywhere or see anybod\ — to do anything, in fact, which she doesn't have to do lias been made into a very good thing by the smartest bunch of press agents that could be gathered around one water-cooler by our shrewdest movie studio. ('Jake a bow, MGM). As a publicity-getting campaign, it worked
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just dandy. She got more space in the newspapers and magazines than anybody on the lot.
Once upon a time she was in love with the late John Gilbert. That was on the level. Since Gilbert, Garbo's romances have been publicity affairs, kicked around by means of a well-planned whispering campaign to stir up interest in forthcoming pictures. That's an old Hollywood custom. It was Ramon Xovarro — prior to the release of "Mata Hari." It was Rouben Mamoulian prior to the release of "Queen Christina," which he directed. It was George Brent prior to the release of "The Painted Veil." Fredric March, who played opposite her in "Anna Karenina" has a wife, so the publicity boys couldn't very well do anything about that.
Now it's "Camille," which teardrenched classic is right down Garbo's alley. And the cast is fortified with that mighty man of the moment, Robert Taylor, over whom there is much swooning in the land. Publicity is kind of stymied here, too, as far as cooking up a romance with the leading man is concerned, on account of Mr. Taylor being Barbara Stanwyck's Boy Friend. But anyway the studio figures, "By golly, folks will go to see Garbo in "Camille" or else . . . ." Or else they'll go to see Robert Taylor in it, let me add.
But regardless of all this, Garbo still hates to meet people. Yes, she's scared of people, and three is truly a crowd to her. As long as her silence did her more good than all the other stars' interviews laid end to end, she kept silent. And why shouldn't she? She would have anyway. And it just happened to fit into her scheme of things. But Greta Garbo is no fool. When thing began to look just a little less hunky dory, much as she hates to be stared at, questioned and pawed, as on her recent return from Sweden, she set her teeth and took it. And I mean took it.
I've seen Garbo's forehead actually ooze with perspiration on one of the rare occasions when she was forced to meet a few people. Her hand, as it touched mine, was clammy and cold. This couldn't be a publicity stunt, youHl agree. For one thing, it was poor circulation. And for another it was self