Which 1939 MGM film was Greta Garbo's first comedy?

The 1939 MGM film that marked Greta Garbo’s first comedy was Ninotchka.

Directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch, Ninotchka stars Garbo as Nina Ivanovna “Ninotchka” Yakushova, a stern Soviet envoy sent to Paris on official business. There, her rigid ideological outlook gradually softens as she encounters romance, luxury, and Lubitsch’s sophisticated comic style. Melvyn Douglas plays Leon d’Algout, her romantic counterpart.

The screenplay was written by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and Walter Reisch, from a story idea by Melchior Lengyel. MGM marketed the film with the famous “Garbo Laughs!” slogan, presenting comedy as a striking change from Garbo’s established image in serious dramas such as Anna Karenina and Camille.

Ninotchka was both a critical and commercial success, earning Garbo an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. It is sometimes confused with her earlier films because several of those also featured romance, but Ninotchka is specifically recognized as her first full comedy role.