Ernst Lubitsch's "Ninotchka" has all of the elements needed for a flawless comedy and the most important ingredient of them all is skilled timing which is what this movie excels at the most, and for that it is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Greta Garbo stars in an Oscar nominated performance as Ninotchka a Russian envoy sent to Paris in order to find her fellow comrades Iranoff (Sig Ruman), Buljanoff (Felix Bressart), and Kopalski (Alexander Granach) to get updated on the progress on a sale for jewels that it turns out as soon as she gets there that the jewels have been confiscated by the government and they have to get them by legal means. During the timethat she's there she meets a playboy named Leon (Melvyn Douglas) who wants to show her around town and at the same time falls in love with her but she doesn't yet feel the same way because she is Russian and he is a rich man and thinks about him only in political terms but it takes time for them to gradually fall in love with each other, and when they do they can't stand to be away from each other. Lubitsch and his screenwriters Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder wisely focus on the romance between the two main characters because they knew that their relationship was what was going to be the magic of the movie and make it stand the test of time. The performances are solid especially by Garbo and Douglas (who deserved a best supporting actor Oscar nomination), the screenplay is brilliantly written, the cinematography by William H. Daniels in gorgeous black and white is masterful,the chemistry between Garbo and Douglas is rock solid, and Lubitsch's direction is superb. It's really no wonder why Billy Wilder had a sign on the desk in his office that asked the question "What would Lubitsch do?" after seeing this movie. This movie is right up there with "Some Like it Hot" (1959), and "Tootsie" (1982) as one of the all time great American comedies. This is one of 1939's very best films.
Review of Ninotchka
