As You Desire Me (released in 1932) - Starring Greta Garbo, Erich von Stroheim and Melvyn Douglas

This is about a women who has no past and is claimed by many people as their own. “As you desire me” stars Greta Garbo in the title role along with Melvyn Douglas, Eric Von Stronheim and Hedda hopper. This movie was directed by George Fitzmaurice and is adopted from the play of the same name by Luigi Pirandello. This is the only movie where Greta Garbo plays a blonde character. The running time for the movie is 71 minutes and is one of the shortest of her Hollywood movies.
Garbo plays Zara, a sultry night club singer for whom men and booze are a weakness. She lives with Karl Saltzer, a novelist who loves her and tolerates her drinking binges and picking up strange men. Zara never can love Karl as he loves her, and this is evident from her offhand behavior with him. But everything changes when she encounters, Tony at one of her performances. He calls her “Maria” and tells her that she is in fact the wife of Count Bruno Varelli who had gone missing during world war I. He informs her that her husband and himself were looking for her for the past ten years.
Zara scoffs at his claims and orders him out. But his persistence pays off and she relents to meet Bruno Varelli at his estate, much to the dismay of Karl. Karl threatens and shoots her arm to prevent her from leaving him, but Zara moves to Bruno's estate with Tony. Bruno is ecstatic to receive his wife, but Zara arrives as a stranger, not recognizing her servants or Bruno himself. She refuses to stay at the estate but acquiesces to the persistent pleading of the other members. She asks Bruno to help her find in herself, Maria, the women he really desires.
Slowly as their understanding grows, Zara falls in love with Bruno and decides to devote her life to him. But when she actually finds love which had eluded her so long, Karl returns with the final blow.
Karl meets Ines, Maria's sister and asks for her help to expose Zara as an impostor. Ines informs Zara that one week from her return, Maria was to be legally declared dead and all the property would have been transferred to her. She insinuates that Bruno had imposed the identity of Maria upon her to safeguard the property. Zara is devastated and feels that Bruno's love is in-fact for the money. Karl brings in an heavily veiled women whom he claims to be the real Maria. He informs Zara that Maria was imprisoned at a sanatorium to enable Bruno to run the estate. The veiled lady recognizes all her servants and sister, that everybody is convinced that she is the real Maria.
But soon he truth comes out that the veiled lady is in-fact the impostor who had lived among them in the estate. Bruno tired of all the games confesses his love for Zara and tells her that his feelings would never change even if she is proved not to be Maria. Zara accepts his declaration with happiness and they are reunited. This movie was a box-office success for MGM and still considered one of the nicest romantic movies of all times.

Ninotchka (released in 1939) - A comedy starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas

This is the penultimate movie starring Greta Garbo and is an all out comedy which is a first for the actress, who was always revered for her tear jerkers. This movie made by MGM is directed by Ernst Lubitsch and also stars Melvyn Douglas opposite Garbo. This movie portrays the communist Russia to be a drab place compared to a Parisian Joie de vivre. It is one of the movies which makes veiled criticism about Joseph's Stalin's autocratic rule.
Three Russian agents, Iranoff, Buljanoff and Kopalski are deputed to sell the confiscated jewels of Countess Swana to raise money for the party. They reach Paris and stay in a posh hotel where they are overheard by one of the waiters Alexis Rakonin, an Impoverished Russian Count. He alerts Swana who is residing in Paris and her lover Count Leon d'Algout promises her the return of her jewels. Count Leon befriends the three men and show them the sights and signs of Paris which makes them wonder at their drab life style. Meanwhile Swana obtains an injunction preventing the sale of the jewels in Paris. The higher ups in the Soviet Union are furious by the turn of events and send their super spy "Envoy Extraordinary" Nina "Ninotchka" Ivanovna Yakushova to bring the three men home and facilitate the sale of the jewels. Ninotchka is a stern woman who thinks of Russia and her duty. After chastising her comrades, she also tours Paris soaking in the architectural wonders. She meets Leon who tries to flirt with her and gets a royal ignore. For Ninotchka he is an example of western decadence and soon learns his identity. Leon also comes to know about her and is intrigued by her persona.



Leon follows her to a cafe and jokes with Ninotchka to get to know her better. Even though his jokes fall flat, he manages to melt her heart. Soon both enjoy each others company and Ninotchka becomes a changed woman. She dresses and enjoys the opulence of the city and soon falls in love with the count.
A much drunk Leon and Ninotchka return to the hotel and she tries the jewels on Leon before falling asleep. Next day she gets a call from Swana that she had the jewels stolen from her room by Rakonin and names her price for their retrieval – Leon. Ninotchka agrees and goes back home. Leon pursues her and meets her when she reaches Istanbul on her next assignment. He persuades her not to leave and they live happily ever after.
This movie was banned in the Soviet Union for criticizing Stalin and Communism. But it still went on to be one of the top grosser of the year. It also snagged four Academy Award nominations including the one for Garbo, for the best actress.
In 1990, Ninotchka was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It was also included on two American Film Institute lists and was also included on Time Magazine's All-Time 100 Movies.