Greta Garbo of 1931 and 1932, respectively, and Garbo was dubbed "the greatest money-making machine ever put on screen." Garbo's close friend Mercedes de Acosta then penned a screenplay for her to portray Joan of Arc but producers rebuffed the idea and the film was shelved. After appearing in "As You Desire Me" (1932), the first of three Garbo films which co-starred Melvyn Douglas, Garbo's MGM contract expired and she returned to Sweden. After nearly a year of negotiations, Garbo agreed to renew her contract with MGM on the condition she would star in "Queen Christina" and her salary would be increased
Greta Garbo was banned in the Soviet Union and its satellites. With George Cukor's "Two-Faced Woman" (1941), MGM attempted to capitalize on Garbo's success in "Ninotchka" by casting her in a romantic comedy which sought to portray her as a chic, modern woman. She played a "double" role that featured her dancing the rumba, swimming, and skiing. The film was a critical failure, but, contrary to popular belief, performed reasonably well at the box office. Garbo referred to the film as "my grave." "Two-Faced Woman" was her last film; she was thirty-six and had made twenty-eight feature films in sixteen years. Although