''Romance'' is a 1930 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

film directed by

Clarence Brown Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. Early life Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...

, starring

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

, Lewis Stone, and Gavin Gordon. The movie was adapted by Edwin Justus Mayer and Bess Meredyth from the 1913 play by Edward Sheldon. A 1920 silent film also called '' Romance'' was one of the first releases by then new

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

and starred

Doris Keane Doris Keane (December 12, 1881 – November 25, 1945) was an American actress, primarily in live theatre. Early life and family Keane was born in Michigan to Joseph Keane and Florence Winter. She was educated privately in Chicago, New York, Pa ...

, the actress in Sheldon's 1913 play.

Plot

On New Year's Eve, Harry (

Elliott Nugent Elliott Nugent (September 20, 1896 – August 9, 1980) was an American actor, playwright, writer, and film director. Biography Nugent was born in Dover, Ohio, the son of actor J.C. Nugent. He successfully made the transition from silent fil ...

) tells his grandfather ( Gavin Gordon), a bishop, that he intends to marry an actress, even though that is frowned upon by his

social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, inc ...

. However, his grandfather recounts via flashback a cautionary tale of a great love affair with a "

fallen women "Fallen woman" is an archaic term which was used to describe a woman who has "lost her innocence", and fallen from the grace of God. In 19th-century Britain especially, the meaning came to be closely associated with the loss or surrender of a ...

" during his own youth. When he is 28 years old, Tom Armstrong, the son of an aristocratic family and the rector of St. Giles, meets the famous

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ...

star Rita Cavallini (

) at an evening party given by Cornelius Van Tuyl ( Lewis Stone). Tom falls in love with Rita even though there are rumors that she is Van Tuyl's mistress. Tom's family disapproves of Rita, but he continues to pursue her until he discovers that she has been lying to him about the true nature of her relationship with Van Tuyl. Though he forgives and loves her, their different lives and different social classes make an engagement untenable. Ultimately, Tom marries Harry's grandmother. In a surprise ending, he counsels Harry to marry the woman he loves, regardless of the consequences.

Cast

as Rita Cavallini * Lewis Stone as Cornelius Van Tuyl * Gavin Gordon as Tom Armstrong *

as Harry * Florence Lake as Susan Van Tuyl * Clara Blandick as Abigail Armstrong * Henry Armetta as Beppo * Mathilde Comont as Vannucci * Rina De Liguoro as Nina (credited as Countess De Liguoro)

Reception

Mordaunt Hall of ''The New York Times'' wrote that "Greta Garbo's performance in ''Romance'' is perhaps as good as anything she has done on the screen.""Romance"

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

. Retrieved February 9, 2014. And Norbert Lusk of the movie magazine ''Picture Play'' wrote that Garbo's performance "is a thing of pure beauty, an inspiring blend of intellect and emotion, a tender, poignant, poetic portrait of a woman who thrusts love from her because she considers herself unworthy of the man who offers it." Romance cost $496,000 and grossed $733,000 in the United States and $523,000 elsewhere, the worldwide gross was $1,256,000, it made a profit of $287,000.

Academy Awards

Nominations * Best Director: Clarence Brown * Best Actress: Greta Garbo

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Romance (1930 Film) 1930 films 1930 romantic drama films American black-and-white films American romantic drama films Films based on works by Edward Sheldon Films directed by Clarence Brown Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by Bess Meredyth 1930s English-language films 1930s American films