Garbo retired because fo the war. Her films did OK stateside in the major cities, but made their real money aborad. When WWII cut off that market she called it quits. Ophuls hoped that with the war’s end he coulstart things up again with her but it was no go commercially. Her films were expensive to make and the studios were no longer interested in “carriage trade” product. So that was that, and she went back to shopping on New York’s east side. Ophuls headed for France where he made La Ronde, Le Plaisir, Madame de. . ., and Lola Montes

I believe Ophuls shot tests of Garbo — it would be amazing to see those. Likewise he shot some footage of Louis Jouvet just before the war, I think, for a wild theatre-movie that never happened.