Unrealized Projects 1970-1979

A PANTOMIME PIERROT (early 1970s)

The most ridiculous rumor around Broadway one season had Garbo making her New York stage debut as a pantomime Pierrot —if the producers met her demand to clear the first fifteen rows of seats.

Pierrot

Pierrot is a stock character of mime and Commedia dell'Arte, a French variant of the Italian Pedrolino. His character is that of the sad clown, pining for love of Columbine, who inevitably breaks his heart and leaves him for Harlequin. He is usually depicted wearing a loose, white tunic.

The noticeable feature of Pierrot's behaviour is his naïveté, he is seen as a fool, always the butt of pranks, yet nonetheless trusting. Pierrot is also portrayed as moonstruck, distant and oblivious to reality.

SOURCE: GARBO Book

FOREWORD FOR: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS
(SVEN BROMAN 1970s)

In the 1970s Sven Broman (writer of  Garbo on Garbo aka Conversations with Garbo), he asked her of she would write the foreword to his proposed book – The Truth about the Lady of the Camellias.  She declined of course.

SOURCE: GARBO Books

GRETA! (1971) - stage

Another rumor was that Garbos 'old friend' Antoni Gronowicz's wrote a play for Greta about her life story and that she may will play herself on stage.

On 27 November 1971, he wrote Gloria Swanson, asking her to "please let me know when I could see you [to] discuss my new play, 'Greta'!"

Maybe this also only existed in Gronowicz' mind.

THE GRETA GARBO SHOW (USA 1971)

In January 1971, a strange rumour appeared in a well known American newspaper. Garbo would coax out of  her retirement to host her own nightly talk show, to chat with such lively conversationalists guests as, Howard Hughes, J.D. Salinger,  Charles Lindbergh, Ari and Jackie Onassis and Mao Tse-Tung.

Another rumour was the Leopold Stokowski would help provide banter and Pablo Casals would lead the band.

SOURCE: American Newspaper

LUDWIG II (early 1970s)

In 1970 Garbo met Luchino Visconti at his unfinished house in Castelgandolfo to discuss the possibility of her playing the Queen Mother in his Ludwig II production.

Someone told me that the meeting took place, the person who told me had a relative that worked at that house.

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Visconti and Garbo sat outside, they drank tea and talked and laugh. She left two hours later. He may or not offered her the part, i have no evidencebut of course Garbo declined.

The part went to Isabella Telezynska and the film was released in 1972.

SOURCE: Unknown

IN SEARCH OF A LOST TIME (1971)

This Marcel Proust classic is also known as Remembrance of Things Past. Time Magazine reported in March of 1971 that Luchino Visconti hoped to entice Garbo to play the Queen Marie-Sophie of Neaple in his film adaptation of this Proust classic.

“She has not said yes. On the other hand, she has not said no,” the magazine divulged.

Luchino Visconti

Luchino Visconti also announced that Garbo has approached him to play the small part of the Queen or the a part as the Duchess de Guermantes.

"I am very pleased at the idea that this woman (Garbo), with her severe and authoritarian presence, should figure in the decadent and rarefied climate of the world described by Proust," Visconti said.

Sir Laurence Olivier, Marlon Brando, Alain Delon and Madelina Renaud were all rumored to be in the production too.

Garbo, late 1960s

In spring 1971, Visconti started to look for places to film the movie. He planned to shot in Paris and in the Normandy but he had differences with his producer, Nicole Stephane and he was  un­able to raise the money for the opulent production he was plan­ning. He stopped the preparatory work (costumes, set design, screenplay etc) and began working on Ludwig II.

Did Garbo do a screentest?

There is a rumour that Garbo made a colored screentest for this film but is not confirmed and we truly doubt that this is true.

ALTERNATIVE TITLES: Remembrance of Things Past, A La Recherche du Temps Perdu
SOURCES: GARBO Book

BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON (1971/72)

Greta Garbo as Pope Innocent III? Italian Movie Director Franco Zeffirelli considered her, thought Charlie Chaplin might also be suitable, ended up by picking Laurence Olivier, who was unavailable.

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"Olivier couldn't do it, so they asked me," said his modest replacement, Actor Alec Guinness, who was in Italy filming a confrontation scene between Pope Innocent and St. Francis of Assisi for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Zeffirelli's cinematic treatment of the saint's life."

"Religion is still an important factor for the young," mused Sir Alec , a Catholic himself. "Only difference is that in the past, religion was a sort of disciplined thinking. Now the young don't even know what the word discipline means."

SOURCES: News Magazine

MOVIE ON VIRGINIA WOOLF AND VIKTORIA SACKVILLE WEST (1972)

Itakian actress Rossella Falk wrote in her 2006 biographie that GG joked about doing a movie with Falk. GG suggested „I could impersonate Virginia Woolf, and you, Rossella, Victoria Sackville West ... and it could be released after my death!"

She wanted do the film in less than one week and on board of the yacht. Her idea was that it could be produced by Rossella's husband. She also wanted them both to wear red wigs and intense makeup, so that nobody could recognize them in this experimental film.

SOURCES: Rosella Falk La Divina

TALLEYRAND OU LE SPHINX INCOMPRIS (1972)

Greta was offered a role in this film. She declined. The film was made under direction of Jean-Paul Roux.

SOURCES: GARBO Book

AIRPORT 75 (1975)

Bill Frye, who was producing the film for Universal, fantasized about adding Garbo to his passenger list, but she turned him down flat. “What could be worse than playing an old movie star?” she would say.

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Garbo found it boring to play "an aged actress" and the part went to Gloria Swanson.

SOURCES: GARBO Book

GARBO BIOGRAPHY FILM (mid 1970s)

A strange American gossip magazine wrote that Garbo was going to play herself in a film about her life.

SOURCES: USA Magazine

AUTUMN SONATA (1977)

It was rumoured that Swedish master director Ingmar Bergman, offered Garbo a role in the movie.

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Garbo declined and Ingrid Bergman got the role. The film was a critical success.

SOURCES: German Magazine

FEDORA (1978)

The character and career of Fedora in the original Thomas Tryon short story is based on elements from the lives and careers of Dietrich & Garbo.

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Billy Wilder offered Marlene and Greta the Countess Sobryanski role. Both declined.

SOURCE: Internet

GARBO BIOGRAPHY FILM (1978)

A German gossip magazine wrote that a biographical film about Garbo's Life is planned and that Romy Schneider, Isabelle Huppert and Isabella Adjani are in consideration to play Garbo , in this French production.

It was going to be directed by Jacques Ruffio and the film was going to be based on an upcoming biography about Garbo written by Antony Gronowitz but t he biography book was not released until Garbo's death in 1990.

Isabelle Huppert

Romy Schneider

Isabella Adjani

Director Ruffio said that he only wanted to do the film if Garbo gave her okay. The magazine quoted that Garbo said that if Romy Schneider will play “Garbo” on the Big screen and the screenplay is good enough, she would give her yes to the production. Another magazine wrote that Garbo said "Only Romy can play me!"

Another rumor is that Romy also was interrsted but only if the screenplay is good.

SOURCES: news magazines