Two-Faced Woman (1941)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Ludwig Fulda (play)
S.N. Behrman (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

30 September 1942 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

She's Twins! Her first picture in two years . . . so we're giving you two Garbos in this one! And both of her are terrific!

Plot:

While at a ski lodge, Larry Blake sees instructor Karin Borg and decides to sign up for private lessons...

Plot Keywords:

Twins | Magazine | Ski Lodge | Infidelity | Impersonation

Cast

Greta Garbo	...	Karin Borg Blake
Melvyn Douglas	...	Lawrence 'Larry' Blake
Constance Bennett	...	Griselda Vaughn
Roland Young	...	Oscar 'O. O.' Miller
Robert Sterling	...	Dick 'Dickie' Williams
Ruth Gordon	...	Miss Ruth Ellis, Larry's Secretary
Frances Carson	...	Miss Dunbar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Alton	...	Cecil - Karin's Dancing Partner (uncredited)
Olive Blakeney	...	Phyllis (uncredited)
Hillary Brooke	...	Dress Shop Clerk Who Called Hotel (uncredited)
George Calliga	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
André Cheron	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
George Cleveland	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Jules Cowles	...	Dance Floor Watcher (uncredited)
Mark Daniels	...	Bellboy (uncredited)
Cliff Danielson	...	Ski Lodge Clerk (uncredited)
Ken Darby	...	Member of nightclub trio (uncredited)
Gloria DeHaven	...	Debutante in Ladies Room (uncredited)
Helen Dickson	...	Rhumba Dance Extra (uncredited)
Daniel Estrada	...	(uncredited)
Michaele Fallon	...	Debutante in Ladies Room (uncredited)
Emily Fitzroy	...	Rhumba Dancer (uncredited)
Arno Frey	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Nacho Galindo	...	(uncredited)
Roy Gordon	...	Man Standing at Ski Lodge Counter (uncredited)
Eula Guy	...	(uncredited)
Grace Hayle	...	Rhumba Dancer (uncredited)
Vinton Hayworth	...	Guide (uncredited)
Tom Herbert	...	Rhumba Dancer (uncredited)
Olin Howland	...	Frank, Ski Lodge Manager (uncredited)
G.P. Huntley	...	Mr. Wilson (uncredited)
The King's Men	...	Nightcub trio (uncredited)
Paul Leyssac	...	Ski Lodge Clerk (uncredited)
George Lollier	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Louis Mason	...	Theater Man Answering Telephone (uncredited)
Walter Merrill	...	Stage Manager (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Rhumba Dance Extra (uncredited)
Odette Myrtil	...	Dress Shop Saleswoman (uncredited)
Douglass Newland	...	Man (uncredited)
Hilda Plowright	...	(uncredited)
Lorin Raker	...	Rhumba Dancer (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Dance Floor Extra (uncredited)
Rad Robinson	...	Member of nightclub trio (uncredited)
Carlos Ruffino	...	(uncredited)
James P. Spencer	...	Carl (uncredited)
William Tannen	...	Skier Who Searched for Missing Couple (uncredited)

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Ludwig Fulda		(play)
S.N. Behrman		(screenplay) &
Salka Viertel		(screenplay) and
George Oppenheimer		(screenplay)

Produced by
Gottfried Reinhardt	....	producer

Original Music by
Bronislau Kaper

Cinematography by
Joseph Ruttenberg

Film Editing by
George Boemler

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair styling designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andrew Marton	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Edward Woehler	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Daniel B. Cathcart	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Special Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
William Grimes	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo Arnaud	....	orchestrator
Roni	....	lyrics

Other crew
Robert Alton	....	dance director (as Bob Alton)
Paul Flato	....	jewels
Elizabeth Talbot	....	dance double: Greta Garbo (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Loew's (as Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1941) (USA) (theatrical) (as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Loew's (1941) (USA) (theatrical) (as Loew's Incorporated)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (19??) (Finland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• M.P.E.A. (1948) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1948) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1943) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1947) (France) (theatrical) (35 and 16 mm)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Ibérica S.A. (194?) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Epoca (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Esselte Video (19??) (Finland) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Motion Picture Export Association  german dubbing

Also Known As:

The Twins (USA) (working title)
La femme aux deux visages (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Tvillingarna (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
A Mulher de Duas Caras (Portugal) [pt]
Die Frau mit den zwei Gesichtern (Germany) [de]
Duas vezes meu (Brazil) [pt]
Duralicowa kobieta (Poland) [pl]
Kaksoset (Finland) [fi]
La mujer de las dos caras (Spain) [es]
Liebe auf den zweiten Blick (Austria) [de]
Non tradirmi con me (Italy) [it]
Otra vez mío (Argentina) [es]
Tvillingerne (Denmark) [da]

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:T | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7687)

Filming Locations:

near, Reno, Nevada, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Greta Garbo's last film.

Quotes:

Katherine Borg: I like older men. They're so grateful.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Garbo (2005)

Soundtrack:

Chica Choca

The goddess comes down to earth

Screen icon Greta Garbo was nearing the age of 36 when she began filming "Two-Faced Woman," a comedy also starring Melvyn Douglas, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, and Ruth Gordon. The world was changing, and it was time for her to come off of her queenly throne, get out of those huge Adrian costumes, and join the land of the common people. Back in those days, when an actress hit the 30-35 range, she was considered over the hill. Crawford was shown the door by Louis B., Norma Shearer smartly retired, and Garbo's costar in this movie, Constance Bennett, at 37 was playing supporting roles after years of stardom.

So in fact, Garbo's days at MGM were probably numbered as the studio sought to find her a new image. Unfortunately, her new image - in a light, fluffy comedy - coincided with the entrance of the U.S. into World War II. Everyone was too distracted to care, including Garbo, who wanted to go home to Sweden.

I come at this film with a slightly different perspective, having transcribed hundreds of hours of Garbo's phone conversations with art dealer Sam Greene for the book "Garbo" by Barry Paris. Any exposure to Garbo the woman is enough to realize that she was a remarkable artist. Though a neurotic, passive, and frightened woman, her beauty and vivid imagination, born of isolation, made her a tremendous star and a great, expressive actress.

In "Two-Faced Woman," Garbo plays a dual role, that of a nature-loving ski instructor, Karin, who marries a guest (Melvyn Douglas) at the lodge where she works, and the twin sister whose existence she fakes, the globe-trotting party girl Katherine. Katherine is invented when Karin comes to New York and sees her new husband with his former girlfriend (Bennett).

"Two-Faced Woman" isn't a great movie - it's pleasant enough, and the cast is terrific, but it suffers from bad timing and the fact that this was such a departure for Garbo. Many people didn't feel it was a particularly successful one. She actually is quite good, particularly in the nightclub scene when she dances the chica-choca, a dance Katherine makes up when her shoe catches in the hem of her dress. In real life, whenever the dance instructor arrived at Garbo's house to give her lessons, the curtains were drawn. Knocking at the door, he would hear Garbo yell, "Go away, rumba! Go away!" Nevertheless, she acquits herself delightfully throughout the scene, culminating with the dance. The other thing that is marvelous in the film is the wild skiing scene at the end - absolutely tremendous, and I'm surprised it didn't kill the stunt double.

The film was controversial because the character of Larry seduces a woman he thinks is his sister-in-law, so the script was changed to be more acceptable. A scene was inserted where Larry calls the ski lodge and learns that Karin is out of town. Realizing Katherine is Karin, he plays along, turning the tables on her. It seems like a silly change now.

"Two-Faced Woman" was not the flop the years have built it up to be; in fact, it made back 5 times its budget. And it's highly unlikely it ended Greta Garbo's career. Had things worked out, she would have returned to films after the war - in fact, she almost did. But when the funding for the proposed film fell through, she was embarrassed, humiliated, and being the kind of woman she was, never took a chance to be put in such a position again. Garbo was part of a world that ended when the bombs started dropping, and she didn't find her place in the one that emerged.