Really Surprised!

Disapointment

Absolutely the worst movie.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

In this film the legendary Greta Garbo stars as the infamous spy "Mata Hari" who uses her wiles as an exotic dancer during World War I to seduce selected generals and politicians in Paris and then steals their secrets in the heat of passion before passing them on the Germans. Now while I candidly admit that this story doesn't exactly conform to actual history considering the year this movie was produced I have to say that it was still quite interesting all the same. Of course Greta Garbo had much to do with that as I thought she was absolutely stunning. Yet even though I liked her performance I must also admit that in my opinion neither the script nor the other actors involved managed to rise to the occasion and as a result this movie failed to realize its potential. I especially didn't care for the ending as it was just a bit too melodramatic for my tastes. Be that as it may, while this movie might be of interest to nostalgia buffs or fans of Greta Garbo, I have to rate this movie as only slightly better than average.

Audiences today have largely not heard of Greta Garbo, who was the queen of MGM from the silent days up until the time she made her last film in 1941. Her beauty was unrivaled with the possible exception of Marlene Dietrich, to whom she was often compared. "Mata Hari" tells the true story of the WW1 spy who conquered all with her feminine wiles. Garbo is beautifully costumed and superbly photographed in this film, which shows why MGM was at the head of their game even in the early-talkie era. Lionel Barrymore plays a good part in this and Ramon Navarro (who was gay in real life) plays his love scenes with the proper amount of nostril-flaring that went with the Latin-lover image he had fostered. (Although here he plays a Russian, or Rus-si-an, as Garbo pronounces it.) A fun movie that flies by fast.

In 1917, in Paris, the famous dancer Mata Hari (Greta Garbo) has a double life as a German spy, obtaining secrets from French and Russian officers in bed. The chief of the French Secret Service Dubois (C. Henry Gordon) is unsuccessfully in her tail trying to find proofs to incriminate Mata Hari. The Russian general Serge Shubin (Lionel Barrymore) has a crush on Mata Hari, but when she meets the young Russian pilot lieutenant Alexis Rosanoff (Ramon Novarro), she sleeps with him to photograph secret documents in his possession. But they fall in love for each other, and the jealousy of her lover Shubin provides the evidences to Dubois to arrest her.This fictional and naive romance based on the life and death "Mata Hari" is an enjoyable melodramatic love story. Of course it is not a historic event, but this pleasant romantic fantasy is supported by an extremely beautiful Great Garbo performing a charismatic role in a great production. In spite of not being a masterpiece, I totally disagree with the unfair reviews in IMDb. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Mata Hari"

While Greta Garbo certainly had her charm and charisma, it wasn't on display in this one as much as I had hoped. The film apparently bears as little resemblance to the history of Mata Hari, as Garbo had to the forty-something Dutchwoman. Ramon Novarro wasn't very convincing as a Russian, but I guess people didn't pay as much attention to accents and such back in the pre-Streep days. The drama was overwrought, as was the style of the times. (All drama was melodrama) You do have to admire the costumes, though. Imagine how it would have looked in color. This film is certainly worth seeing, to Garbo fans. Anyone else may not enjoy it all that much.