Greta Garbo

Still more bad news: Greta Garbo was on a European vacation, and reports of her embarrassing behavior there had reached the States. The less reserved European press commented on Garbo's frequent companionship with the Swedish Countess Ingrid Wachtmeister. The Countess, like Garbo, preferred boots and trousers, and was known in Sweden as a lesbian.

On a trip to Paris, they were spotted at a lesbian bar. One account called it "one of the most lurid nightclubs in Montmartre, frequented by hard-boiled women of the Paris demimonde, who go there attired in mannish costumes to give lady tourists the shock they are looking for by asking them to dance."

It was reported that the Countess danced the night away with "female gigolos," while Garbo, in black wig and glasses, watched from the bar.

Norma Shearer

Although she was the boss' wife, Shearer didn't throw her weight around in any obvious way. "She always smiled," recalled Robert Young. "And it wasn't a false smile, it was a lovely, sweet, gentle smile. They would ask her something, "Miss Shearer," or "Mrs. Thalberg," and she would just smile and she'd say 'No.' And that was it. . . . She just smiled, and, 'No.' Bingo. Took care of the whole thing."