Garbo Gargle

Ingredients

• 1 dash Crème de Menthe
• 1/4 glass orange juice
• 1/4 glass Grenadine
• 1/4 glass French Vermouth
• 1/4 brandy

Method Shake well and strain into a medium sized glass. Top with a splash of Port Wine.

Notes Greta Garbo, née Gustafson, was a silent screen actress who was only brought to Hollywood because her director, Mauritz Stiller, insisted on it. It's ironic to think that he died in poverty while Garbo went on to greater glory.

In her silent era days, Garbo was classed as a European mystery and was adopted by MGM studios who were noted for their glamour. She was partnered by the screen idol of the time, John Gilbert, and rumours of an affair were rife. In 1927 they starred in a film called Love. This gave the publicists the chance to say:

Garbo and Gilbert in 'Love'

With the advent of sound, MGM were nervous. With her heavy accent it was feared that she wouldn't make the transition very easily. Her co-star, John Gilbert, had already had his career flushed down the tube because his voice was too high-pitched and this didn't sit comfortably with his manly image.

The cinema-going world waited with bated breath. Garbo was to make her speaking debut in Anna Christie (1930). The public were kept in suspense for the first 20 minutes of the film and then Garbo uttered the immortal words,

Gimme a whisky with ginger ale and don't be stingy, baby.

The public loved her and the studio breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Throughout the 1930s, Garbo played heroic, historical women such as Camille, Mata Hari and Anna Karenina. She was notoriously press-shy and was famed for having the tag line, 'I want to be alone'. She never actually said this of her own volition.

Garbo and Gilbert teamed up in one talkie - Queen Christina. This tells the story of the Swedish queen who renounced her throne for love. She chose Gilbert as her love interest over Laurence Olivier. Gilbert died shortly afterwards.

Garbo also headed the cast in one of the first ever all-star cast productions. Grand Hotel (1932) starred, among others Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford and Wallace Beery. The stars would not join up to have a group photo and even Crawford stated that she only saw Garbo once on set. This is also the film where Garbo was forced to use those immortal words 'I want to be alone' which, as we've already seen, came to be inextricably associated with her in her own personal life.

With the advent of war, Garbo's popularity went into steep decline and she then decided to do comedy. In Ninotchka she plays a diplomat who has to prevent the sale of some jewels. The scene where Garbo gets drunk is a classic. Her only other comedy, and also her final film, Two Faced Woman, was slammed by the decency board. Garbo retired after this - she said that the spirit of the 1930s had gone for good.

Garbo never made another film and became a recluse and the dinner guest of the exceptionally rich and famous - Aristotle Onassis, Winston Churchill, Swedish nobility and the sometime lover of Mercedes D'acosta - an American writer/poet who was famous for her tricorn hats

Gentileza: http://www.bbc.co.uk