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Customer Reviews of Wild Orchids

A Silent on the Verge of Sound
This 1929 silent film is almost a "talkie" with its synchronized sound and fitting music, making it an interesting viewing experience, whether you are used to silent films or only 'talkies'. The sound effects are things like a cheering crowd, slamming doors and hand clapping, and the music is quite varied, according to the mood and scenes, such as Javanese natives performing their tribal dances (though it's not authentic Javanese music; only a Hollywood version of 'something exotic'!)
This aspect alone makes this silent film worth experiencing, but add to that the excellent performances by the principle players: Greta Garbo, the wife who longs for more romance and attention from her husband; Lewis Stone, the 'blind' husband who only has his business on his mind; and Nils Asther as the enigmatic Javanese prince who tries to seduce the neglected and frustrated wife.
Greta Garbo goes through many emotions, all of which she plays wonderfully, and each of the characters is solid and realistic. The story is, in fact, just like Erich von Stroheim's "Blind Husbands", only more detailed and sophisticated, and in a more exotic setting. Even if the storyline is familiar or somewhat simple, the actual telling of the story, the acting performances and visual -and audio! - experiences make up for it very nicely.

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Greta Garbo caught up in a love triangle in the orient
Greta Garbo is involved in another exotic love triangle in "Wild Orchids," a 1929 film directed by Sidney Franklin, adapted from John Colton's story "Heat." Garbo plays Lillie, the young wife of John Sterling (Lewis Stone), who takes her on a trip to inspect his plantations in the Orient. Aboard the ship they meet Prince De Gace (Nils Asther), who starts pursuing Lillie. At his palace in Java, the Prince entertains the couple and when Sterling is away finally seduced Lillie. Sterling returns, sees them, and ends up with the necklace she left on the couch where she and the Prince were making love. When the trio goes on a tiger hunt, Lillie discovers the necklace in Sterling's coat and realizes her husband knows the truth. Suddenly, she is very afraid about what might happen on this tiger hunt. While "Wild Orchids" is not a great Garbo film, it is certainly above average. I started off thinking, here we go, another love triangle movie, but the ending was actually something of a surprise. Having Garbo in the "Orient" allows her to wear a few exotic outfits along with the standard furs and silks, so she certainly looks as alluring as ever. Asther is nothing special as the exotic Prince of the Orient, while Stone provides his usually solid performance.

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Passionate sexdrama
Greta Garbo in one of her very best silent films. Although she is for once not the tantalizing vamp of her earlier films,Miss Garbo never looked or acted more sensual than here. Watch out for the erotic climax between Nils Asther and her,this is definately great fun to watch