Flesh and the Devil is an American silent romantic drama film[3][4][5] released in 1926 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the novel The Undying Past by Hermann Sudermann.

In 2006, Flesh and the Devil was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Condemned by a local pastor for continuing to associate with Felicitas, Leo eventually loses control of his emotions, leading to a climactic duel between the two boyhood friends.

Flesh and the Devil, produced in 1926, premiered at New York's Capitol Theatre[8] on January 9, 1927[9] and marked a turning point for Garbo's personal and professional life.

She had just finished The Temptress and was tired, plus her sister had recently died of cancer and she was upset that her contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer did not allow her to take the long trip back to Sweden.

[10] A sternly worded letter from MGM (read by Garbo biographer Barry Paris on the audio commentary for the 2005 DVD release of the film) warned her of dire consequences if she did not report for work.

In his February 18, 1927, review for the Chicago Daily News, Sandburg raved: “If there was ever, in screendom, as earnest an exchange of kisses as that between John Gilbert and Greta Garbo in Flesh and the Devil let him who knows of it speak now or forever hold his peace….Miss Garbo is hereafter a star to be reckoned with, so perfectly does she create a character for the heroine, lovely, pitiful, thrilling Felicitas, who drifts downward without ever realizing that the world holds such things as morals.”[15] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 94% based on 16 contemporary and modern reviews.