Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (August 9, 2023)
In 1930, Greta Garbo spoke, and in 1932, she wanted to be alone. She would retire from films at the relatively young age of 36 in 1941, but 1933’s Queen Christina finds Garbo in her prime.
Set in 17th century Sweden, six-year-old Christina (Cora Sue Collins) rises to become queen after the death of King Gustavus Adolphus (C. Montague Shaw), her father. As an adult, Queen Christina (Garbo) concentrates on her job and eschews love, all to the dismay of her subjects, as they want her to create an heir to the throne.
This leads to unrest when Christina steers away from Swedish suitors. Christina falls in love with Spanish King Philip’s envoy Antonio Pimentel de Prado (John Gilbert) and this complicates matters.
Despite a career that lasted 20 years, Garbo only made 32 features – and she worked in a mere nine during the second half of that span. Given that her peers often made four or five movies a year in the 1930s, this inactivity does make one believe Garbo’s classic line that she wanted to be alone.
From the distance of nearly a century, I admit I can find it tough to figure out why Garbo became such a massive star. I guess her combination of looks, melancholy and Nordic detachment made her interesting to audiences, but I don’t know how well her performances hold up after all these years.
Not that Garbo becomes a liability here, as she delivers more than adequate work. However, her legend precedes her, and her somewhat stilted turn can mean she doesn’t deliver a memorable piece of work.
Not that I can claim Garbo harms Queen Christina, partly because she seems more than competent. However, the bigger issue becomes the bland nature of the film itself.
Even a stellar turn from Garbo couldn’t save this sluggish flick. Basically a romance at heart, Queen Christina takes forever to link Christina and Antonio as lovers, and it stumbles on the way there.
This occurs partly because the characters don’t even meet until more than 25 minutes into the movie, and even then, they don’t connect in a meaningful manner. After a short intro, we then get stuck with an exceedingly long segment at a pub in which they become acquainted.
Even then Christina and Antonio don’t click romantically because the movie invests a ton of effort into the notion that she passes for a man. This stretches credulity because – even when clad in androgynous garb and with an attempted “male voice” – Garbo doesn’t look vaguely masculine.
I could stomach the “mistaken gender” concept more easily if this part of the movie didn’t feel like it runs forever. This section of the flick goes for nearly 16 painful minutes before Antonio learns the truth.
Even when Christina and Antonio fall for each other, it happens in an odd, non-organic manner. They become lovers because the script pushes that contrivance, not because it makes a lick of plot sense.
Not content to give up on its charades, Christina continues to hide her true identity and doesn’t let Antonio know of her regal status. Why? I don’t know, for the flick never makes this – or any of the other ruses – logical.
After this point, the film becomes about civil unrest, a topic that vaguely starts to create some spark. However, the movie soon lapses back into romantic melodrama and sinks into a morass of dullness.
All of this leaves Queen Christina as a forgettable production. It never threatens to ignite and becomes a tedious affair.
