When Jack Gilbert, the hottest star of the silent era of Hollywood, first met Greta Garbo, the icy young Swede, she snubbed him. Not long after, Louis B Mayer, head of MGM, forced them to work together in a film. He felt that the young starlet who lit up the silver screen could only benefit by playing alongside Gilbert. Garbo, sad and vulnerable after the death of her sister, wanted to go home. Gilbert was facing divorce from his wife and didn't want to work with such an awkward co-star, who already insisted on walking off the set promptly at 5.30, even in mid-scene. So everyone was expecting some kind of explosion when they began working on 'Flesh and the Devil'. They got one: an explosion of passion. There, on set, in front of everyone, they fell madly in love with each other. What followed in their lives was to be as turbulent and as dramatic as any Hollywood melodrama. They were the first 'most glamorous couple in the world' to find out all about life in the media spotlight. Their lives would never be the same again.
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About the Author
Colin Shindler was educated at Cambridge University where he completed his PhD on Hollywood in the Great Depression. He wrote the screenplay for the movie 'Buster', and wrote and produced TV various series, including 'Lovejoy' and 'Madson'. He is the author of the bestselling memoir 'Manchester United Ruined My Life', as well as two other works of non-fiction and two novels.
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3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Silent Screen Stars,
By Stephanie D. (Dayton, OH United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Garbo & Gilbert in Love: Hollywood's First Great Celebrity Couple (Paperback)
Wow, this author needs to do more research. I love Garbo and Flesh And The Devil with John Gilbert of course was one of her best movies. But Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks became the first celebrity couple in 1920! At that time Mary Pickford was the biggest and most popular screen star in the world. I saw interviews where people said they attracted more people to their public appearances than the Beatles by far. Once Douglas had to put Mary on his shoulders to protect her from the crowd and Mary's frightened look is captured on film.
I do love Garbo and Gilbert though, don't get me wrong. Gilbert doesn't get the attention he deserved and the attention he does get it wrong! He should have gone easily into talking pictures because there was nothing wrong with his voice. But the head of MGM, Louis B. Mayer wanted Gilbert destroyed and Gilbert's film career soon ended. I'm glad this book is out though but Hollywood's Second Great Celebrity Couple just wouldn't sound right I guess.
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