Ninotchka

"Garbo Laughs!"

1939 1h 50m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

🔥

95%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 454🍅95%Rotten Tomatoes★7.8IMDB · 23,776

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“Garbo Laughs!”

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Writers: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Walter Reisch
Languages: English, Russian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

87 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, shot by William H. Daniels. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Werner R. Heymann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gene Ruggiero shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas and Ina Claire carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Garbo Laughs!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ernst Lubitsch directs. William H. Daniels behind the camera. Werner R. Heymann scores. Gene Ruggiero cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
287 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.
4Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, shot by William H. Daniels. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Werner R. Heymann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Gene Ruggiero shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas and Ina Claire carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Garbo Laughs!".
9IMDB entry: tt0031725 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "capitalist", "paris, france", "capitalism", "white russian".

The technical file

Cinematography: William H. Daniels
Original score: Werner R. Heymann
Editing: Gene Ruggiero
Costume design: Adrian
Makeup / hair: Jack Dawn
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,365,000
Box office: $2,279,000
Return: 167% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Ninotchka (1939)
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.8/10 · 23,776 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Nominated for 4 Oscars. 5 wins & 6 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Ernst Lubitsch

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-06
★ 7/10
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.

Production companies