GRETA GARBO, CONRAD NAGEL | THE KISS (1929) Oversized photo by Milton Brown – 1

[Los Angeles]: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1929. Vintage original 11 x 14″ (28 x 32 cm.) black-and-white double weight glossy silver gelatin photo. Minor edge and corner wear. Ink stamp “Photograph by Milton Brown, Credit appreciated” and attached typed paper informational blurb on verso. Handwritten code of “440-72” in pencil. Fine.

Not only was this Greta Garbo’s last silent film, but it was the last silent film produced by MGM. Full of pre-Code elements — a married woman not only committing adultery with a full-time lover, but who also accidentally kills a young man who forces himself on her, ending in courtroom dramatics. MGM pulled out all the stops in production with the unbelievable art deco sets and beautiful costuming of Garbo. Garbo may have been one of the few who welcomed the stringent Code a few years later. So tired was she of playing women of ill repute that she went on strike until MGM (the studio for which she made millions, particularly from Europe) agreed to worthier material.

Greta Garbo and Conrad Nagel are beautifully captured in this romantic moment.