Two-Faced Woman

Director: George Cukor George Cukor

Overview

This George Cukor romantic comedy casts Greta Garbo as ski instructor Karin Borg Blake. She gives lessons to wealthy American playboy Larry Blake (Melvyn Douglas), and the two fall in love and marry even though Larry has a girlfriend named Griselda Vaughn (Constance Bennett) waiting for him back in New York. Returning to New York, Karin fears that Griselda will win Larry back. In an effort to foil Larry's imagined dalliance, Karin poses as her own twin sister, Katherine, hoping to get Larry to fall in love with her instead of Griselda. Larry is onto the scheme and plays along with her, pretending to fall in love with Katherine. But this infuriates Karin, who can't believe that her husband would fall in love with her sister, and she storms back to her ski resort.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/11/2011
UPC:	0883316310663
Original Release:	1941
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00
Sales rank:	40,448

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Greta Garbo	Karin Blake
Melvyn Douglas	Larry Blake
Constance Bennett	Griselda Vaughn
Roland Young	O.O. Miller
Robert Sterling	Dick Williams
Ruth Gordon	Miss Ellis
Frances Carson	Miss Dunbar
Robert Alton	Cecil
G.P. Huntley	Mr. Wilson
Wally Merrill	Stage Manager
James Spencer	Carl

Technical Credits

George Cukor	Director
Gottfried Reinhardt	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Condemned through the years as the film that caused the legendary Greta Garbo to flee from the screen, Two-Faced Woman is actually not a bad film, and certainly not the disaster that legend would have it. Wrong-headed, yes, for it attempts to recast the inimitable Garbo as a standard-issue romantic comedy heroine, perhaps because she had revealed such an unexpected flair for humor in Ninotchka. But that earlier success had very wisely been tailored to highlight what was amusing in Garbo herself; Woman asks her to pretend she is a cross between Irene Dunne and Ginger Rogers. The film never recovers from this basic mistake, nor does Garbo's performance, although she's certainly game and gives it her all. Even with a more appropriate leading lady, however, Woman would still be nothing more than an average 1940s comedy. There's nothing original in the plot and even the witty S.N. Behrmann isn't able to give the dialogue the consistent sparkle and punch it needs. Woman does benefit from Melvyn Douglas' customarily smooth and engaging performance; the actor handles the material with just the right light touch and works well with Garbo. Even better is Constance Bennett, who grabs every scene she's in and runs away with it. George Cukor's direction is adequate, but it lacks the difficult combination of energy and restraint that this kind of film demands.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler