Production
Mauritz Stiller was originally set to direct Greta Garbo's second film for MGM. However, he was removed from directing, since his command of the English language was poor at the time. He was replaced by Fred Niblo. Stiller was unhappy with his dismissal, something that affected Garbo during the four months of filming The Temptress.
Swedish director Stiller had been influential in bringing Garbo to film and their partnership was so successful that when MGM took on Garbo they also hired the man who made her face recognizable. Soon after Garbo had filmed Torrent (1926), Stiller was called in to helm The Temptress. However, Stiller's arguing with the MGM bosses caused his dismissal even after shooting a considerable amount of footage. Despite its filming difficulties, The Temptress proved to be a success, showing early signs of Garbo’s career potential. Its worldwide gross was $965,000.
After the head of M-G-M viewed the finished picture, he was so depressed at the ending, that he ordered an alternate, happier ending to be made. Theaters at the time had the option of which ending to show, depending on what they felt were the tastes of their audience.
Read more about this topic: The Temptress
Famous quotes containing the word production:
“The heart of man ever finds a constant succession of passions, so that the destroying and pulling down of one proves generally to be nothing else but the production and the setting up of another.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“The growing of food and the growing of children are both vital to the family’s survival.... Who would dare make the judgment that holding your youngest baby on your lap is less important than weeding a few more yards in the maize field? Yet this is the judgment our society makes constantly. Production of autos, canned soup, advertising copy is important. Housework—cleaning, feeding, and caring—is unimportant.”
—Debbie Taylor (20th century)
“Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man, and this standardization is called equality.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)