Wild Orchids *** (1929, Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone, Nils Asther) – Classic Movie Review 5331

Director Sidney Franklin’s steamy 1929 MGM silent drama stars Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone and Nils Asther. Garbo is on alluring form, dressed by Adrian and photographed by William H Daniels.

It is written by Hanns Kräly, Ruth Cummings, Willis Goldbeck and Richard Schayer, based on John Colton’s story Heat, with a similar plot to Garbo’s later sound film, The Painted Veil (1934).

Asther plays Prince De Gace in Java who tries to seduce Lillie (Garbo), the young wife of his tea plantation business visitor John Sterling (Stone).

Though a silent, it was released with an orchestral score and sound effects, retained on both the 1998 VHS and 2009 DVD releases.

It was one of the top grossing films of 1929, taking $1,165,000 on a budget of $322,000.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5331

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