Mata Hari

Loosely based, as the phrase goes, on the life and death of the exotic dancer who was convicted and executed for spying by the French in World War I, in truth this movie isn't much more than an excuse for the Divine Garbo to wear glamorous gowns (by Adrian), emote to the heavens and of course twist almost every man in the movie around her little finger. Of course, this time, even Greta can't get away from her real-life counterparts's fate and so pays the ultimate price for her actions in the final scene.

It's a strange movie that seeks to encourage the viewer's sympathies for a traitor who betrayed the Allied War effort for reasons which are never exactly made clear. She's also responsible for the death of her old admirer John Barrymore's bewitched, middle-aged Russian general as well as tricking the handsome young Russian pilot, Ramon Navarro, into revealing his secret mission to her.

It's a credit to Garbo's star-power and charisma that she just about pulls it off. Occasionally you see her lapse into some of the Garbo-isms she carries over from her silent movies but she undoubtedly has a great face and a feline grace about her which definitely set her apart from any other Hollywood leading lady of the day. It's also a great pity that cuts were made by the censor to the movie including her sexy opening dance and her later bedroom scene with Navarro.

Barrymore and Navarro chew what scenery Garbo has left them in parts which don't require much of themselves, other than to show puppy-dog like infatuation and devotion to their enchantress.

In short, the movie has star-vehicle written all over it and as such it serves Garbo well. I would have thought that the film's proximity to Mata Hari's true story might have seen it adhere more to the actual events but certainly not for the last time, Hollywood prints its own legend and not the facts, as much to make its stars look good as for such trivial reasons such as sticking to the actual truth.