---
title: "Ninotchka: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/ninotchka/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/ninotchka"
critics_score: 76
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ninotchka (1939): what the critics said

Critics' score 76 from 7 reviews: 6 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

The reviews lean warmly positive: six of the seven are in favour and none against. The praise clusters on Garbo. Critics agree that her turn from stern commissar to champagne-drinking lover carries the film, and more than one singles out the café scene in which she finally laughs as the moment it comes alive. Lubitsch’s direction is credited with keeping the political satire light and urbane, and the screenplay, with Wilder among its writers, is praised for its wit.

The reservations are mild and mostly about tone. The New Yorker finds the Moscow scenes close to burlesque and the ending conventional. Time Out, the one mixed voice, thinks the Lubitsch touch has grown cruder by the late 1930s and calls the film consistently amusing rather than the delight its reputation suggests. The later reviews treat its cartoon of Soviet life as a period curiosity rather than a flaw. The spread is narrow.

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 1939. 

The critic calls the film one of the sprightliest comedies of the year, a gay, impertinent, and malicious satire that finds Garbo excelling in a dead-pan comedy role. Lubitsch's direction and the script are praised for their wit and for delivering a humorist's view of Soviet manners.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1939/11/10/archives/the-screen-in-review-ninotchka-an-impious-soviet-satire-directed-by.html)

## Radio Times — Tony Sloman

Rating 7.8/10. 

This is hailed as one of the funniest and most original comedies from Hollywood's greatest year, with Lubitsch's magic touch, witty screenplay by Wilder and others, and Garbo's charming transformation from stern commissar to lover.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-5juc4n/ninotchka/)

## Los Angeles Times — Mark Chalon Smith

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 21 March 1991. 

The critic highlights how Lubitsch both mocks and embraces Garbo's image, turning the severe bureaucrat into a champagne-loving bon vivant. The film's stylish construction and topical satire of Soviet life versus Western luxury are singled out as special achievements.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-21-ol-966-story.html)

## The New Yorker — John C. Mosher

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 November 1939. 

The review notes that Garbo's laugh transforms her and fits the film's parlor satire on Soviet Russia, which is urbanely handled without excess. Lubitsch tones down the comedy effectively for the leads, though Moscow scenes verge on burlesque and the ending feels conventional.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1939/11/18/1939-11-18-101-tny-cards-000001767)

## Time Out — GB

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. 

The critic notes that while Ninotchka is not quite the delight history claims due to a crude and cynical Lubitsch touch by the late 1930s, it remains consistently amusing thanks to impish political jokes and Garbo's engaging performance.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ninotchka)

## Collider — Thomas Butt

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 25 March 2025. 

The critic praises Ninotchka as a charming romantic comedy that showcases Greta Garbo's comedic talents for the first time, thanks to Ernst Lubitsch's deft direction blending humor and sentiment. The piece singles out the café scene where Ninotchka finally laughs as a highlight of the film's emotional and narrative ingenuity.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/greta-garbo-ninotchka/)

## Paste — Garrett Martin

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 16 August 2022. 

The critic notes that Garbo's emotionless bureaucrat learns to love in Lubitsch’s pre-war classic, finding her transfixing in her first comedy with genuine romance. It singles out the fixed conception of Russian Communism in popular culture as an interesting early example.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/best-movies/the-best-movies-of-the-1930s)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/ninotchka.md