Mata Hari (1931)

Mata Hari is an American romantic film drama first released in 1931, directed by George Fitzmaurice.  The film stars Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone and C. Henry Gordon.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


France, 1917.  Mata Hari is an erotic dancer that no man can resist – which makes her job as a German spy all the more easy.  At the request of her boss, Andriani, she seduces a young Russian lieutenant named Alexis Rosanoff so that other enemy operatives can steal a secret message containing details of important military manoeuvres.  When her former lover, the ageing General Shubin, learns that she has passed him over for a younger man, he is furious and threatens to expose the dancer’s espionage activities.   Mata Hari has no choice but to kill him.  Hearing that Rosanoff was badly injured on his return flight to Russia, she hastens to the hospital where he is being treated, realising, for the first time in her life, that she is in love.  Aware that Mata Hari’s usefulness is over, Andriani sends one of his men to execute her...

The third and most memorable screen portrayals of the life and death of Mata Hari is the one that contributed most to the myth of the infamous dancer-turned-spy.  It also added to the mystique of the actress who played her, Greta Garbo, who by this stage in her career was the most famous actress in the world.  The Swedish Sphinx is a perfect casting choice for the part of the alluring temptress, combining an obvious earthy beauty with an ethereal exotic charm that makes her an unattainable object of desire.  It may not be Garbo’s best film but it was her most commercially successful.

Although daring and ambitious when it was made, when viewed today Mata Hari creaks with age, and it is hard not to laugh at some of its unintentionally funny clichés.  In common with many early sound films, the quality of the visuals is badly restrained by the limitations of the recording technology of the period, although there are a few sequences which rise above this and make a great impact.

Whilst the film may fall down in its production design and screenplay, this is more than compensated by the quality of the performances.  Not only is Garbo on fine form, there are some equally impressive contributions from her co-stars. Lionel Barrymore and Lewis Stone.  Mata Hari may not be perfect but it occupies an important place in film history and, whilst it may not be historically accurate, it has great entertainment value.

© James Travers 2008

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