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 star in the United States in 1930 and 1931. Garbo followed with two of her most famous roles. In 1931, she played the World War I German spy in the lavish production of "Mata Hari", opposite Ramón Novarro. When the film was released, it "caused panic with police reserves required to keep the waiting mob in order." The following year, she played a Russian ballerina in "Grand Hotel" (1932), opposite an ensemble cast, including John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, and Wallace Beery among others. The film won that year's Academy Award for Best Picture. Both films had been MGM's highest-earning films