the film torrent be a first and a last for greta garbo . it be her first american make film at mgm and the only studio in the usa that she would ever work at . it be also the last time that someone else be bill above her in the credit and that be her lead man her ricardo cortez . torrent be base on the popular spanish writer vicente blasco ibanez work entre naranjos . it concern a pair of mismatched lover and garbo and cortez and who can not quite get together and mostly due to the machination of cortez mother marta mattox . mattox be a wicked woman who have some set idea about who her son should be marry . remember this be spain and such arrange marriage be still even in those time quite proper . mattox have gertrude olmstead in mind a a daughter in law and she the offspring of mack swain a man grown rich in hog raising . swain provide a few moment of comic relief with his tender concern for the piglet before they grow into big old hog to be butcher . blasco ibanez have previous novel the four horseman of the apocalypse and blood and sand previously film with rudolph valentino in the lead . it might have be interest if valentino have do this one with garbo and but he might have be beyond film making when this be do . in any event and one of the valentino wannabes ricardo cortez fill in with the male lead . one reason valentino might not have want this film be because clearly the lead character be garbo unlike the other two work previously mention . when she get do dirt by cortez who be do what mattox and her adviser banker tully marshall tell her and she leave spain and go to france where she become a great opera star . and lead quite the scandalous life there . when she return to spain and try to rekindle thing and mattox be even more outraged . she have a political career in mind for her son . cortez be now run for the spanish parliament which curiously enough be call the cortes . the title refers to a flood and a dam break cause all kind of havoc in the countryside . cortez in fact brave the torrent in a row boat try to rescue garbo from harm way . when they do get together they have a brutally frank discussion and the brutality come from garbo . the special effect here and primitive though they seem now be quite remarkable for their time . they look very similar to the shot use in 20th century fox the rain come that come out in 1939 and that win an oscar for special effect . unfortunately for torrent it come out one year before oscar make his debut . i be not go to give any ending away so you will have to see the film to find out if cortez and garbo get together in the end . garbo rightly win rave review for her performance and in an age when exaggerated gesture be the norm in silent screen act and she be remarkably subtle in her role . so she would be the rest of her career and she have a remarkable face for closeup . although greta garbo would go on to do far good work than torrent and this film be still a fitting debut for her on the american big screen and hold up very well for today audience .