Floods of passion
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Floods of passion |
| Original title | Torrent |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1926 |
| length | 88 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Monta Bell |
| script | Dorothy Farnum |
| production | Irving Thalberg |
| camera | William Daniels |
| cut | Frank Sullivan |
| occupation | |
| |
Floods of Passion (OT: Torrent ) is an American film directed by Monta Bell from 1926. With the film, Greta Garbo made her screen debut as an MGM star.
action
The young and talented singer Leonora and the budding politician Rafael have known each other from childhood. Their youth is shaped by class differences and strict moral standards. Time and again, Leonora has to learn that Rafael's family does not consider them good enough to marry their son. In the end, the dominant mother forces Rafael to marry a woman from his social class. With a heavy heart Leonora says goodbye and goes to Paris, where she becomes a famous opera singer under the stage name La Brunna .
A few years later, the two lovers meet by chance in South America. During a spectacular dam break, the meanwhile widowed Rafael Leonora saves the life and both manage to lead a life together.
background
The first few months in Hollywood were anything but pleasant for Greta Garbo. The studio initially saw her as just another talented actress from Europe and initially cared very little about her. After a few promising test recordings, Irving Thalberg , the studio's head of production, finally arranged that Garbo not only had to go on a diet, but also to take on the lead role in the film adaptation of Floods of Passion , based on the novel Entre Naranjos by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez . Originally, Aileen Pringle , another contract actress, was slated for the role. The shooting itself was complicated, as Greta Garbo spoke little English and neither the director Monta Bell nor the actual star of the film, Ricardo Cortez, really cared about her. In addition, there was endless interference from Mauritz Stiller , who was always present on the set and gave tips to his protégé.
Theatrical release
The world premiere was on February 21, 1926.
Production costs averaged $ 250,000 for an MGM production of the time. The grossing results of $ 460,000 in the US and $ 206,000 worldwide meant a cumulative total of $ 668,000 and a profit of $ 126,000.
criticism
Most of the critics praised Greta Garbo. Mordaunt Hall wrote in his February 22, 1926 review in the New York Times :
“Greta Garbo, a Swedish actress who is relatively well known in Germany, is making her debut in America. Your skills will help her get all of the attention. [...] Miss Garbo is a dark figure, with beautiful eyes and fine features. "
Web links
- The Torrent at Turner Classic Movies (English)
- The Torrent in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- detailed discussion - English
- Table of contents - richly illustrated
Footnotes
- ^ Mordaunt Hall : THE SCREEN; A New Swedish Actress . In: The New York Times . February 22, 1926 (English, online on the New York Times website [accessed December 8, 2019]): “Greta Garbo, a Swedish actress, who is fairly well known in Germany, makes her screen bow to American audiences. As a result of her ability [...], she steals most of the thunder in this vehicle [...] Miss Garbo is dark, with good eyes and fine features. "