DVD review from The Movie Snob

Queen Christina (C+). Next in the Greta Garbo collection is this 1933 entry. In the opening scene of this historical melodrama, it is the 1600's, and the King of Sweden has just died in battle, leaving his 6-year-old daughter Christina to assume the throne. Fast forward maybe 20 years, and Garbo is the Queen of Sweden, triumphant in the Thirty Years War and eager to let her country enjoy the fruits of peace. Weary of the press of court business (and the pressure to marry military hero Prince Charles), she takes off into the countryside on horseback. She encounters the Spanish envoy, Antonio, who is en route to the royal court, and he mistakes her for a young nobleman. They are snowed in at a remote inn and forced to share a room, and the suave Spaniard is delighted to discover his mistake. They fall in love, but the Queen conceals her identity, and Antonio is rather less delighted when he arrives at the royal court and learns the truth (since he is carrying a marriage proposal from the King of Spain). Christina and Antonio's love survives the revelation, but alas, the fervently Protestant Swedes will never accept a Catholic mate for their monarch. Will the Queen choose love or duty? The conflict may be time-worn, but it is still compelling enough to raise this film above the other Garbo works I have seen so far. Her acting is not much improved, but she's still nice to look at. Hopefully her best work is still ahead of her....