This, as you have guessed, is one miserable little film. Miserable, but leading to a "good for you (the hero)" ending. The misery gets heaped on just as it did for George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life). His marriage destructing and ending, his horrible work situation, the terminal illness of his mother (beautifully paid by Anne Bancroft), and his lack of a "backbone", provide no relief from his lot in life. I've only watched the film, all the way through, once or twice. The misery is much too intense for me. The wait for something "good" to happen seems to take forever. I prefer to pick up the action after the final hospital scene and assume his misery, instead of experience it repeatedly (much like the way I watch "It's a Wonderful Life"). Identifying with misery is easy, but "Garbo Talks" allows us hope and leaves us on a high note........ PS-- When Garbo does finally "talk" (one sentence), she speaks volumes.......

source: Garbo Talks

Trailer—Garbo Talks

Garbo Talks

There are two stories here. The obvious one is about a man who grows by succeeding in impossible quest: the dutiful son fulfills his dying mother's wish, to meet her idol. That makes for a very pleasant movie. The more interesting story, beautifully summed up in the animation of the opening credits, concerns the role of idols in our lives. The conversation that forms the culminating scene of the movie hints, in several subtle ways, that this relationship has an almost religious dimension: because our interaction with media idols can mark the defining moments of our lives; and because of the intriguing way that Garbo talks... This second story makes this film exceptional.

Gilbert Rolfe (Ron Silver) is a pushover at work. His mother Estelle (Anne Bancroft) is an opinionated crusader who frustrates him. His wife Lisa (Carrie Fisher) tries to get him to work for her parents but he refuses. Jane Mortimer (Catherine Hicks) is his flirtatious co-worker. His father Walter (Steven Hill) divorced Estelle long ago after tiring of her relentlessness. Then she's told by the doctor that she has 4 to 6 months to live. She's a Greta Garbo fan and wishes to meet her. He decides to do all he can to talk to the reclusive Garbo. This is set up for a fun comedy. I can see the movie is trying to do a comedy. However it soon becomes obvious that the comedy isn't hitting right. I think Anne Bancroft tries her best but Ron Silver is no comedian. He can't make it work. It also isn't much of a drama. It's obvious from the start that Gilbert will learn from his experience and stop being a pushover. Everything in between falls flat except for Bancroft. She's great.

Anne Bancroft plays Estelle, a dying Jewish mother who asks her devoted son (Ron Silver) to locate reclusive one-time movie star Greta Garbo and introduce the two before Estelle checks out for good. Might've been entitled "Bancroft Talks" as the actress assaults this uncertain comedic/dramatic/sentimental material for its duration. Hot-or-cold director Sidney Lumet can't get a consistent rhythm going, and Bancroft's constant overacting isn't scaled back at all by the filmmaker--he keeps her right upfront: cute, teary-eyed and ranting. Estelle becomes a drag on this scenario (not that the thinly-conceived plot has much going on besides). Silver and co-stars Carrie Fisher and Catherine Hicks end up with very little to do but support the star, and everyone is trampled by her hamming. *1/2 from ****

Anne Bancroft has one of my favorite "renowned actress who really wants a great part" stories regarding this movie. She wanted the role, but Sidney Lumet wasn't going to give it to her. He'd just seen one of her husband's (Mel Brooks) lesser known, but still good movies, "To Be or Not To Be," and told her he was looking for someone older, less glamorous, less beautiful. And she said, "Look, in that movie, I was carefully photographed, I was lovingly lit, and I was sleeping with the producer!" So she got the part. And did such a good job.

Anne Bancroft, in the film Garbo Talks, experiences what many film fans can only dream of, meeting their idol. As Estelle Rolfe fades, we see her son Gilbert grow, helped along by his quest to find the mysterious Greta Garbo before his mother dies. This film, while not great, is a great film if you are a Garbo fan. Listening to Estelle tell Garbo of all the big moments of her life and how each were punctuated by one of Garbo's films, is a testament to the power film can have.

A beautiful, simple little movie about the love between a mother and her son. I saw this many years ago, and when I finally found a copy on VCR, snapped it up for my mom... It's now her very favorite movie and gets watched (and recited-along-with!) on a regular basis. It's made her quite the belle of the ball, with all of her friends dying to borrow it! If your mom likes movies from the 40s, and loved Steel Magnolias, get her this and watch it together. And if either of you can sit through the scene where Gilbert confronts his mother's idol without crying at the sweetness of the exchange, the panic and vulnerability in his whole being, you're tougher than we are! Lovely!