rickodonovan It is remarkable that short of some 60 minutes of The Divine Woman, Greta Garbo's entire career and filmography has survived for our enjoyment. Torrent, her first American film after two feature-length European films, is remarkably impressionable. Now for the first time seen on the DVD release from Warner Bros. (it's previous availability consisted of a piecemeal ten parts on You Tube), her first MGM vehicle is absolutely stunning! The MGM back lot sets are resplendent of old Spanish countryside, Monta Bell's direction is brilliant, and Garbo's technique- from subtle gestures to facial expressions in closeups are very much in evidence. In yet another great Ibanez novel adapted to the screen, the heroine is a Spanish girl of a poor family who is spurned by a rich lover and runs off to Paris to pursue a career as an operatic singer. She subsequently returns to her small Spanish town a famous diva. In essence a story of the conflict of romantic love versus cultural duty and societal trappings. There are many great scenes. There is one erotic shot in particular in which leading man Ricardo Cortez lays in the lap of Garbo that clearly provided the inspiration for the now legendary love scene with Garbo and John Gilbert in Flesh and the Devil. The exteriors during the flood scene rival those shot in The Temptress. Altogether, great casting, tremendous special effects and an actress who captivated the movie-going public then as now make for an early work in the development of a film icon that surprises and delights. Where I had once thought it merely hinted at an astounding talent yet to come, Torrent shows clearly that by 1927 Garbo was already delivering the goods.

bkoganbing The film Torrent was a first and a last for Greta Garbo. It was her first American made film at MGM, the only studio in the USA that she would ever work at. It was also the last time that someone else was billed above her in the credits, that being her leading man her Ricardo Cortez.Torrent is based on the popular Spanish writer's Vicente Blasco Ibanez's work Entre Naranjos. It concerns a pair of mismatched lovers, Garbo and Cortez, who can't quite get together, mostly due to the machinations of Cortez's mother Marta Mattox. Mattox is a wicked woman who has some set ideas about who her son should be marrying. Remember this is Spain and such arranged marriages were still even in those times quite proper. Mattox has Gertrude Olmstead in mind as a daughter-in-law, she's the offspring of Mack Swain a man grown rich in hog raising. Swain provides a few moments of comic relief with his tender concern for the piglets before they grow into big old hogs to be butchered.Blasco Ibanez had previous novels The Four Horseman Of The Apocalypse and Blood And Sand previously filmed with Rudolph Valentino in the lead. It might have been interesting if Valentino had done this one with Garbo, but he might have been beyond film making when this was done. In any event, one of the Valentino wannabes Ricardo Cortez fills in with the male lead.One reason Valentino might not have wanted this film is because clearly the lead character is Garbo's unlike the other two works previously mentioned. When she gets done dirt by Cortez who is doing what Mattox and her 'adviser' banker Tully Marshall tell her, she leaves Spain and goes to France where she becomes a great opera star. And leads quite the scandalous life there.When she returns to Spain and tries to rekindle things, Mattox is even more outraged. She has a political career in mind for her son. Cortez is now running for the Spanish Parliament which curiously enough is called the Cortes. The title refers to a flood and a dam breaking causing all kinds of havoc in the countryside. Cortez in fact braves the Torrent in a row boat trying to rescue Garbo from harm's way. When they do get together they have a brutally frank discussion, the brutality coming from Garbo.The special effects here, primitive though they seem now are quite remarkable for their time. They look very similar to the shots used in 20th Century Fox's The Rains Came that came out in 1939 and that won an Oscar for Special Effects. Unfortunately for Torrent it came out one year before Oscar made his debut.I'm not going to give any endings away so you'll have to see the film to find out if Cortez and Garbo get together in the end. Garbo rightly won rave reviews for her performance and in an age when exaggerated gestures was the norm in silent screen acting, she was remarkably subtle in her role. So she would be the rest of her career, she had a remarkable face for closeups.Although Greta Garbo would go on to do far better work than Torrent, this film is still a fitting debut for her on the American big screen and holds up very well for today's audience.

MartinHafer Despite Louis B. Mayer reportedly not being interested in signing the young Greta Garbo to a contract, this first American and MGM film for the actress looked quite beautiful. It's obvious that the film was assigned some amazing talent to film the production and make matte paintings, as it has all the nice polish and artfulness you'd expect from the best pictures the studio could produce. It simply looks beautiful--even 84 years later.As for Garbo herself, like her other very early American films she, too, looks different. While she's quite recognizable, her makeup is much softer than it would become just a year later--giving her a less severe look and a gentleness about her you just didn't see in subsequent films. I kind of wish they'd kept this look, but considering how famous she'd become with the trademark look, who am I to say they shouldn't have gone that route?! The film is about Garbo and how she and her family are unfairly forced off their land by the landlord. While the landlady, the much esteemed Doña Bernarda, claims it's because the bank has demanded payment, it's because her son has fallen for Garbo--and what better way to get rid of her than to force them out on the streets! Nice lady, huh?! Years pass and by now Garbo has become a new singing sensation who is world-famous. When she returns to her hometown years later, her old boyfriend (who HAD promised to marry her but wimped out when his mother, Doña Bernarda, refused to allow it) sees her. His new love for another lady is now tested--will he be content to marry this lady who is the heir to a huge pig fortune or will he want his old flame? And, more importantly, will Garbo even take him back after he behaved so spinelessly? In the meantime, a huge rainstorm hits. The land begins to flood and homes soon are being washed away by the deluge. Cortez and a friend make a mad dash as the dam breaks! In a scene where they obviously superimposed his row boat over the cascading stream, he eventually makes it out alive and to the home where Garbo is now staying. She welcomes them inside and they stay with her until the storm passes. Then, he admits that he still loves her and had braved the storm to make sure that she was safe. She tells him to get lost! Next, you see Ricardo about to get married to his second choice, the daughter of the Pork King. He obviously has little enthusiasm for this--and you feel sorry for the lady, as she did nothing wrong. Soon, Cortez is seen wandering back to Garbo's home--he's love-sick and needs her. In this scene, Garbo is quite luminous and can't tell him to leave--as they dissolve in each other's arms. Once again, he tells her of his love for her.When Doña Bernarda learns of this, she is not pleased. Evidently, a Pork Queen is a better catch than an internationally known singer. Because of the meddling of this nasty old lady, Garbo leaves--unwilling to come between the mother and her wimpy son. But, Cortez comes running--announcing he MUST have her and won't rest until he has her as his wife. Moments after making this proclamation, a family friend talks to Cortez and convinces him to give her up for the good of his career and reputation. So much for "won't rest until he has her for his wife", huh?! Despite Cortez being a wimp through and through, for some reason she cannot bring herself to hate him. And so, he marries the Pork Queen and lives a very dull life. When years later Garbo meets Cortez again, he is a dull looking middle-aged man--while she is as beautiful as ever. And, not surprisingly, she tells him, once again, to get lost.At the time this film was made, Garbo was not a star in the US and Cortez was. So, in light of this, it's surprising they gave Cortez such an unlikable character to play. Instead of the usual confident Valentino-like role they'd been giving him, here he is an indecisive wimp--a HUGE wimp. And, from here on, his career was on a slow downward spiral. As for Garbo, the role helped establish her as a big star--as she was THE focus of the film and played a character much like her later personas.As for the film, the new music composed for it was very nice, though a tad repetitive. The print, oddly, was nearly perfect throughout except for the intertitle cards--which could use some restoration.A most enjoyable film--expertly constructed, wistful and worth seeing. And, for one of the few times I can think of it, I have no real complaints in this excellent film.

kidboots MGM were unsure of how to market Garbo when she first arrived in Hollywood. Mayer had a lot of faith in her and her appearance in "Torrent" justified that. She did not speak a word of English so she must have found it difficult to work, also Ricardo Cortez did not make it very easy for her.The torrent of the title is the river Juscar that winds through a sleepy little village in Spain. Leonora (Greta Garbo) hopes someday that her voice will bring great wealth and happiness to her struggling parents. Leonora and Don Rafael (Ricardo Cortez) are in love but he is under his mother's thumb and cannot get her to consent to his marriage. Meanwhile Dona Brull (Martha Mattox) has evicted Leonora's parents from their home and they send Leonora to Paris hoping to give her a chance to further her singing career. Leonora sends a note to Rafael, urging him to remember his promise and come with her. His mother is enraged and forbids him to go - so of course he caves in to her request.Years pass. Leonora has a new identity - she has become La Brunna, the toast of the Paris Opera. Rafael has turned out just as his mother wished - he is running for office and is courting a "safe" young girl, Remedios (Gertrude Olmstead) who is a "hog" heiress. Mack Swain plays her father. Leonora decides to visit her old home, and I agree - why hasn't she helped her mother out. Her mother is still living at the family home, working as a skivvy and taking in washing. Leonora and Rafael meet but Leonora is full of ridicule. Garbo is so enchantingly beautiful, it is hard to believe that he could be happy with Remedios.The dam is bursting and the torrent is flooding the town. Leonora's house is in the path of the raging river but when Rafael attempts to rescue her he finds she is quite safe. They then re-kindle their romance. There is a "horizontal" love scene in this film, very similar to the one in "Flesh and the Devil".Dona Brull goes spreading gossip about how Leonora really got her wealth and Leonora's mother believes her and tells Leonora to go. Rafael meets Leonora just before she is about to tour America. Again he intends to go with her but again he lets her down. He spends so much time listening to other people destroy her reputation - "what will she do for you but drag you down". The irony is she has just secured a top government job for him if he comes with her. They meet again, years later - she is as fresh and vibrant as ever - he looks older than his years, bowed down by mediocrity.It is certainly a good film with a positive message to follow your heart.Lucien Littlefield does a good job as Cupido, the barber and Leonora's old and faithful friend.Highly Recommended.