Greta Garbo than $1 million at the box office, becoming one of the studio's biggest failures of the decade. Garbo's popularity had considerably dropped, and when her contract expired soon thereafter, she returned briefly to Sweden. On 3 May 1938, Garbo was among the many stars—including Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Luise Rainer, Katharine Hepburn, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Fred Astaire, Dolores del Río and others—dubbed to be "Box Office Poison" in an article published by Harry Brandt on behalf of the Independent Theatre Owners of America. After the box office failure of "Conquest", MGM decided a change of pace was needed to
Greta Keller Greta Keller Margaretha "Greta" Keller (February 8, 1903 – November 11, 1977) was a cabaret singer and actress. Born Margaretha Keller in Vienna, Austria, she studied dance from the age of eight, followed by acting. Her début was in "Pavillon," in Vienna. She also appeared on stage with Marlene Dietrich in "Broadway," in which she sang and danced. A recording contract with Ultraphon in 1929 took her from Vienna to Prague and Berlin, where she enjoyed great success with Peter Igelhoff and Peter Kreuder. For over 45 years her voice was familiar worldwide, in radio shows, films, revues, concerts and