Her husky voice and purposefully exaggerated Swedish accent debuted in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie (1930), which was publicized with the slogan "Garbo Talks".

Estelle Rolfe (Anne Bancroft) is a middle-aged, divorced and outspoken social activist whose behavior causes her devoted grown son Gilbert (Ron Silver) some consternation.

A lead takes Gilbert to aging paparazzo Angelo Dokakis (Howard Da Silva), who had previously photographed the elusive Garbo and is acquainted with her habits and possible whereabouts; but after several days of staking out her apartment building they are unable to find her.

Vincent Canby of the New York Times in his October 12, 1984 review wrote of the film having "a number of comic scenes and lines that are played with great verve by Miss Bancroft and Mr.

The site's consensus states: "Garbo Talks finds Lumet shifting into comedic gear while commanding a cast that's often talented enough to distract from the story's flaws.