The immortal “touching scene” in Queen Christina was performed to the beat of a metronome - a tempo device that Mamoulian had used to good effect in Porgy (on stage) and Love Me Tonight (on film). “Garbo works intuitively”, he said. “She caught on right away. The scene was choreographed. She had to move around the room in what was a kind of sonnet in action. I explained to her: “This has to be sheer poetry and feeling. The movement must be like a dance. Treat it the way you would do it to music.” She did so brilliantly.
- Garbo by Barry Paris