Mata Hari (B or 3/4 stars)
Greta Garbo beguiles as an exotic dancer-cum-WWI German spy in 1931's 'Mata Hari' (directed by George Fitzmaurice). We first see the Dutch beauty in Paris, posing as a said dancer/courtesan. Her spymaster, Andriani (Lewis Stone), directs her to intercept specific Russian messages involving Allied troop movements. For some time now, Mata Hari has been having a liaison with the indiscreet Gen. Serge Shubin (good 'ole Lionel Barrymore), but she then meets the handsome, smitten, up-&-coming Lieutenant Alexis Rosanoff (silent film star, Ramon Novarro) ... and falls in love with him. Then she learns her lover has the exact documents/messages she is seeking & so she betrays her love for him to serve her country; taking him to bed while her 'associates' copy down all his messages.
Gen. Shubin learns of their tryst & explodes in rage, threatening to turn-in Mata as an agent & even implicate Alexis. To save both herself & her unsuspecting lover, Mata shoots & kills her past lover, the general. When Alexis begins looking for Shubin, Mata compels him to leave at once. He flies off to Russia where he is shot down, assumed dead, but actually alive & blinded. Learning of this, the devastated Mata follows her heart {or lust} rather than her military orders & goes to Alexis to tell him of her love & loyalty to him. After gathering enough evidence against her, Andriani - who once told her "being in love and being a spy were incompatible" - orders a secret agent to murder her, but said agent is foiled by local feds. Everything culminates with a lover's lie, a passionate embrace, & a foreboding court trial.
This film was enormous back in the early ‘30s; Garbo's biggest hit -- and it's easy to see why. Dressed to the nines, & embroiled in an intriguing espionage tale, Garbo was stunning. Her introductory dance scene was enough to have reeled in the masses, haha. George Fitzmaurice directs with style here; making the most of the war melodrama, his actors & the lavish production (soft camera lensing, sleek sets, UNREAL costumes that Garbo got to wear). Though this film is based on a true story, little shown here is historically factual; and that's one of the major issues I have with the film on the whole.
The melodrama also contains some mediocre dialogue, outdated melodrama, & ludicrous situations ... but I went with it. In fact, some of the silliness that's inherent in the script comes across as enjoyably campy {within the super-serious story being told}. Greta Garbo does her Greta Garbo thing, here: sexy, seductive, provocative, languid, mysterious, heavily-accented {haha}, and then explosively, romantically emotional in the closing moments -- it all works. Ramon Navarro's dark, Rudolph Valentino-like looks & charms aid the proceedings; great sexual chemistry with Garbo. And so, flaws & super-serious sappy ending aside, I mildly enjoyed this 'weepie' melodrama. I can see how this movie would have raked in the $$ back in the day.
Gen. Shubin learns of their tryst & explodes in rage, threatening to turn-in Mata as an agent & even implicate Alexis. To save both herself & her unsuspecting lover, Mata shoots & kills her past lover, the general. When Alexis begins looking for Shubin, Mata compels him to leave at once. He flies off to Russia where he is shot down, assumed dead, but actually alive & blinded. Learning of this, the devastated Mata follows her heart {or lust} rather than her military orders & goes to Alexis to tell him of her love & loyalty to him. After gathering enough evidence against her, Andriani - who once told her "being in love and being a spy were incompatible" - orders a secret agent to murder her, but said agent is foiled by local feds. Everything culminates with a lover's lie, a passionate embrace, & a foreboding court trial.
This film was enormous back in the early ‘30s; Garbo's biggest hit -- and it's easy to see why. Dressed to the nines, & embroiled in an intriguing espionage tale, Garbo was stunning. Her introductory dance scene was enough to have reeled in the masses, haha. George Fitzmaurice directs with style here; making the most of the war melodrama, his actors & the lavish production (soft camera lensing, sleek sets, UNREAL costumes that Garbo got to wear). Though this film is based on a true story, little shown here is historically factual; and that's one of the major issues I have with the film on the whole.
The melodrama also contains some mediocre dialogue, outdated melodrama, & ludicrous situations ... but I went with it. In fact, some of the silliness that's inherent in the script comes across as enjoyably campy {within the super-serious story being told}. Greta Garbo does her Greta Garbo thing, here: sexy, seductive, provocative, languid, mysterious, heavily-accented {haha}, and then explosively, romantically emotional in the closing moments -- it all works. Ramon Navarro's dark, Rudolph Valentino-like looks & charms aid the proceedings; great sexual chemistry with Garbo. And so, flaws & super-serious sappy ending aside, I mildly enjoyed this 'weepie' melodrama. I can see how this movie would have raked in the $$ back in the day.