IMDb > Ninotchka (1939)
Ninotchka
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Ninotchka (1939) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   6,133 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ernst Lubitsch
Writers:
Melchior Lengyel (story)
Charles Brackett (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Ninotchka on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1 February 1940 (Australia) more
Genre:
Comedy | Romance more
Tagline:
M-G-M's Laugh Riot ! more
Plot:
A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win more
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Shadows of Russia: Communism on TCM
 (From Alternative Film Guide. 3 November 2009, 11:28 PM, PST)
Oscar Nominees To Number 10 Next Year
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 25 June 2009, 1:12 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
NINOTCHKA Still Defies Her Critics more (60 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Greta Garbo ... Nina Yakushova 'Ninotchka' Ivanoff

Melvyn Douglas ... Léon - Count d'Algout
Ina Claire ... Grand Duchess Swana

Bela Lugosi ... Kommissar Razinin
Sig Ruman ... Iranoff (as Sig Rumann)
Felix Bressart ... Buljanoff
Alexander Granach ... Kopalski
Gregory Gaye ... Rakonin
Rolfe Sedan ... Hotel Manager

Edwin Maxwell ... Mercier
Richard Carle ... Gaston
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Adams ... Jacqueline - Swana's Maid (uncredited)
Monya Andre ... Gossip (uncredited)
Nino Bellini ... Swana's Restaurant Guest (uncredited)
Wilda Bennett ... Swana's Restaurant Guest (uncredited)
Symona Boniface ... Gossip (uncredited)
Emilie Cabanne ... Gossip (uncredited)
George Davis ... Porter at Railroad Station (uncredited)
Paul Ellis ... Bit Part (uncredited)
Frank Fletcher ... Bit Part (uncredited)
Bess Flowers ... Gossip (uncredited)
Mary Forbes ... Lady Lavenham, Indignant Woman in Doorway (uncredited)
Jody Gilbert ... Streetcar Conductress, Moscow Roommate (uncredited)
Lawrence Grant ... General Savitsky, Duchess' Consort (uncredited)
Jennifer Gray ... Cigarette Girl (uncredited)
Winifred Harris ... English Lady Getting Visa (uncredited)
Ray Hendricks ... Waiter (uncredited)
William Irving ... Bartender (uncredited)
Hans Joby ... Man at Railroad Station (uncredited)
Charles Judels ... Pere Mathieu, Cafe Owner (uncredited)
Armand Kaliz ... Louis, the Headwaiter (uncredited)
Peggy Moran ... First Cigarette Girl (uncredited)
Sandra Morgan ... Gossip (uncredited)
Lucille Pinson ... German Woman at Railroad Station (uncredited)
Albert Pollet ... Waiter (uncredited)
Frank Reicher ... Soviet Lawyer (uncredited)
Constantine Romanoff ... Man in Restaurant (uncredited)
Alexander Schoenberg ... Bearded Man, Eiffel Tower Tourist (uncredited)
Harry Semels ... Gurganov, Neighbor Spy (uncredited)
Tamara Shayne ... Anna, Moscow Roommate (uncredited)
Florence Shirley ... Marianne, Swana's Phone Friend (uncredited)
George Sorel ... Swana's Restaurant Guest (uncredited)
Edwin Stanley ... Soviet Lawyer (uncredited)
Kay Stewart ... Cigarette Girl (uncredited)
George Tobias ... Russian Visa Official (uncredited)
Jacques Vanaire ... Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Ellinor Vanderveer ... Gossip (uncredited)
Paul Weigel ... Vladimir, With Letter from Leon (uncredited)
Elizabeth Williams ... Indignant Woman (uncredited)
Marek Windheim ... Manager (uncredited)
Wolfgang Zilzer ... Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Create a character page for: ?

Directed by
Ernst Lubitsch 
 
Writing credits
Melchior Lengyel (story)

Charles Brackett (screenplay) &
Billy Wilder (screenplay) and
Walter Reisch (screenplay)

Produced by
Sidney Franklin .... associate producer (uncredited)
Ernst Lubitsch .... executive producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
Werner R. Heymann (musical score)
 
Cinematography by
William H. Daniels  (director of photography) (as William Daniels)
 
Film Editing by
Gene Ruggiero 
 
Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons 
 
Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis 
 
Costume Design by
Adrian (gowns)
 
Makeup Department
Jack Dawn .... makeup designer
Sydney Guilaroff .... hair stylist: Miss Claire
Beth Langston .... hair stylist (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Horace Hough .... assistant director (uncredited)
John Waters .... second unit director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Randall Duell .... associate art director
George Elder .... props (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Douglas Shearer .... recording director
Conrad Kahn .... sound engineer (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Milton Brown .... still photographer (uncredited)
Al Lane .... second camera operator (uncredited)
Floyd Porter .... chief electrician (uncredited)
William Riley .... assistant camera (uncredited)
Arnold Webster .... grip (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jack Rohan .... wardrobe (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Eric Locke .... production assistant (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
USA:Passed | Finland:(Banned) (1940) | Finland:(Banned) (1964) | Finland:K-15 (DVD) (2006) | Finland:K-16 (1941) | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2006) | Finland:S (cut) (1981) | Germany:12 (DVD, 2006) | USA:Approved (PCA #5494) | New Zealand:PG | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:13 | West Germany:6 | Portugal:M/6 | UK:U (video rating) | UK:A (original rating)
Company:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to published newspaper reports in the spring of 1939, Spencer Tracy was a leading contender for the role of Leon. William Powell, Robert Montgomery and Cary Grant were also considered for the part. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Ninotchka tells a funny story, objects on the desk change positions. more
Quotes:
Russian Visa Official: To an unseen caller: "Hello! Comrade Kasabian? No, I am sorry. He hasn't been with us for six months. He was called back to Russia and was investigated. You can get further details from his widow." more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Lugosi: The Forgotten King (1985) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
41 out of 52 people found the following comment useful.
NINOTCHKA Still Defies Her Critics, 10 July 2001
Author: fowler1 from nyc

An expertly-played and presented comedy that continues to be dogged by detractors for the oddest reasons. Some feel NINOTCHKA suffers compared to Lubitsch's earlier work, finding it formulaic alongside 1933's TROUBLE IN PARADISE. (I hadn't known Lubitsch had been given 'do-what-thou-wilt' privileges from the Hays Office - I'd labored under the delusion he faced the same restrictions in content and tone every other moviemaker did in 1939.) Other nay-sayers decry the film's jabs at Soviet collectivism as 'dated' if not 'unenlightened'. (Huh? You mean show trials and forced starvation of kulaks were GOOD things that a truly witty screenplay would celebrate?) Still other kibitzers squawk over the casting, of all things! (While it IS fun to picture William Powell or Robert Montgomery in the role of Leon, the boulevardier, Melvyn Douglas was never better than he is here. If he has his spotty moments, it's in those scenes where he must swoon with ardor, reciting dialogue that rings a tad purple to the ear; it's quite possible Powell or Montgomery would have fared even worse reading those lines.) Okay, enough defense - now let's go to NINOTCHKA's numerous strengths. Garbo is magnificent; she has a real knack for comedy (her deadpan entrance is hilarious) yet, as always, is able to break your heart with a look, a word, a gesture. Her three 'stooges' (Sig Rumann, Alexander Granach & Felix Bressart) are broadly funny and genuinely endearing. Ina Claire is everything her legend always claimed she was - though her character is icily calculating, you can't hate any woman who can make dialogue bristle like this. Lubitsch is in complete command throughout; his staging and pacing of the proceedings, masterful in its seeming effortlessness. Even the storied Metro glitz shines in NINOTCHKA, right down to the brilliant artifice of Cedric Gibbons' art direction (the Eiffel Tower sets especially). Last but not least is the superb screenplay by (among other hands) the team of Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder. Wisely, their satiric darts are dipped in a curare leavened by wit and sentiment, and while they are thrown with accuracy, their sting is never such that the satire sinks into the mire of political ideology. NINOTCHKA, after all, is about the triumph of love over politics, and to those who feel trapped in the prevailing toilet-ethic of the Farrelly Brothers' blood-poisoning of modern comedy, represents a much-needed antidote. Inoculate yourself at your earliest opportunity.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (60 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Ninotchka (1939)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
TIME says best movie of '39 packers56789
the final scene bluemarlin_1988
Paris of the the 1930s in metric mr-chris-newman
Bela Lugosi OneMind
Spencer Tracy csu16387
the last shot user-6701
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Gone with the Wind The Majestic Ratatouille The Miracle of Morgan's Creek A Month by the Lake
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Comedy section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.