5. (Female): Greta Garbo
Peak Years: 1925-1932
Best Film: Flesh and the Devil (1926) From one sex symbol to another we move to the Swedish actress Greta Garbo, whose brief career in late-era silent pictures produced a lasting icon. She was famous in real life for being cagey, even reclusive, in disdaining the press which limits many other performers seeking star status. However, Garbo's reluctance to grant interviews or establish a public persona eventually became her persona. She was the mysterious woman, or a "Swedish Sphinx" as the hounding press referred to her. She lived with men without ever being married? Scandalous. But did she never marry because she was a lesbian? Oh, the possibilities were endless and who doesn't want something extra to think about during a long and loving soft focus close-up during a silent picture? Greta's performances in silents were emblematic of the oncoming evolution of the style of acting. Because actors weren't able to use their voices to emote, they often relied on exaggerated facial expressions and movements in order to convey the ideas in the script. But Garbo was famous for her subtlety, in her iconic close-ups (like the one seen in the picture above) she would often utilize a more somber and reserved expression which singled her out. Garbo's coming out party was Flesh and the Devil where she was paired up with real-life love interest John Gilbert, playing what was called a "vamp" (i.e. a slut, which all women were if they ever had any sex). She may not have made many great movies, but she was great in them. Garbo continued to make movies after the implementation of sound, but her rise as a silent film actress is an essential part of her legacy.