ManCave Movie Club - NINOTCHKA (1939)

Gentlemen:

The Mancave Movie Club is a men's group that meets face-to-face in Gregg's living room. We'll have food on hand, and if you want to bring a side dish or your favorite snack to share, we'd love that—and you'll definitely earn some gratitude points.

Last month the group saw a rarely seen but nonetheless excellent war movie. After that one everyone decided they wanted to see a romantic comedy. Who said guys can't have range?

1939 was an extraordinary year for Hollywood. Some even consider the best year for movies ever. And it is hard to argue with that statement in light of the Best Picture nominees that year: Bette Davis in DARK VICTORY (1939), Jimmy Stewart in MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939), Laurence Olivier in WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939), Judy Garland in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), John Wayne in John Ford's STAGECOACH (1939), Lon Chaney Jr and Burgess Meredith in the, at the time, scandalous OF MICE AND MEN (1939), and the heartwarming audience favorite (and Best Actor winning) GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (1939) starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson. And oh yeah. That other film that actually won Best Picture called GONE WITH THE WIND (1939).

Meanwhile, there were a couple of other movies nominated that didn't get quite as much press in what was probably the most hotly contested Oscar race in history. One was the hopelessly romantic LOVE AFFAIR (1939) with Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne co-starring as the prototype of the romantic couple for movies for decades to come (and later remade with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening (and co-starring Katherine Hepburn in her final screen role) in 1994).

And then there was this month's movie, which kind of got lost in all the stardust flying around. It was also one of the final films by one of the few Hollywood legends who managed to successfully navigate the transition from silent film to talkies.

Forget Bette Davis' eyes. There's was only one movie queen who could stop traffic with a ski mask hiding everything but her eyes.

That was Greta Garbo, and the Best Picture nominated NINOTCHKA (1939) would prove to be her next to final film and, according to many, her best work over a 21 year career, before retiring to an infamous life of mystery and seclusion for the remainder of her life. Although she had many friends (she wasn't a recluse) she distrusted the media intensely, never gave interviews, and continued to decline offers to return to film up until her death on Easter Sunday in 1990.

But if you were going to retire leaving audiences wanting more, Garbo could have hardly chosen a better vehicle than this film. A romantic comedy (her first) co-starring a young and dashing Melvyn Douglas, NINOTCHKA tells the story of a Soviet woman sent to Paris to supervise the sale of some jewels confiscated from a Russian duchess during the Soviet takeover. A believer in the cause, she tries as best she can to resist her growing feelings for Douglas, who plays the Duchess' lover tasked with getting the jewels back before they are sold.

NINOTCHKA has a 95% Critics rating and an 89% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it continues to stand as a stone cold classic of Hollywood's "Golden Age". It is included as one of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider, a much used reference book of mine. The film also later served as the inspiration for a Cole Porter musical called SILK STOCKINGS, which itself was later turned into a film starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It is also, interestingly enough, often cited as one of Akira Kurosawa's favorite movies.

There's a lot to unpack here, and many in our men's group chose it because of a challenge they made to view all of the 1939 nominees. But I think they'll be glad they did.