The Mysterious Lady

This is, quite possibly, the silent film to present to those who are resistant to silent films. First, the characters earn our affection from the very beginning -- scenes of the beautiful Garbo crying during an opera, Nagel becoming entranced by her. Within the first five minutes, you are drawn into them. Garbo becomes more beautiful as the years go by -- we see a beauty that is modern; Garbo would be considered beautiful in the 21st century, unlike many stars from the earlier days. (I mean, could Theda Bara cut it in 2009? Mary MIles Minter? Pola Negri?) Conrad Nagel plays the male lead quietly but effectively -- almost all of the acting here is restrained.

Beyond the beauty of Garbo, one has to really credit Fred Niblo for directing this film. The film is essentially Hitchcock before Hitchcock. This film has elements of "North By Northwest," "The Man Who Knew Too Much," "The Thirty-nine Steps," and, most surprisingly, "Notorious." You have the "wrong man" theme, the guilty, obsessive love, the elegant, tricky villain, the conflicted heroine, Hicthcockian camera movements, some unexpected plot twists, some scenes of real suspense, and even a darkly humorous bit toward the end regarding a corpse.

Very nicely done.

This is to my mind the most brilliant of all of Garbo's silent films, and I never fully understood the attitude of most critics who simply dismiss it on the account of the Divine Woman's own lack of care for this particular entry. True, she did not like just doing this film, and true, Mauritz Stiller was actually dying while she was shooting this, therefore, we can understand that she thought poorly of it; yet this was shot at the peak of silent film-making, in 1928, and never before had Fred Niblo been so good, never had his full command of the motion picture been so obvious. All through the film, the direction is superb, subdued and subtle, while the gorgeous settings, MGM's trademark, are lit and photographed at their best. Niblo makes the best of his composition skills, with or without Garbo in the shots, and the way he deals with the extras, putting the stars in the distance, swallowed by the crowd, is clearly an innovation for 1928; his use of a few, but decisive shots based on a moving camera proves that, like the European imports(Murnau, Leni, Fejos, Christensen) or like his fellow Americans (Ford, Borzage,Wellman), he was aware of the German experiments. Of course, the spy story is not the source of any intellect-expanding masterpiece, but, hey, this is a stylish and entertaining film that foreshadows some of Hitchcpock's best British films of the decade to come. And Niblo even handles suspense in a remarkable way in the last five minutes. The edition id remarkable, the print being a bit worn but still clear; and an emasculating restoration has been avoided, retaining thus the crystal-clear, crisp quality of William Daniel's photography. And to conclude, a question about Garbo: who else on earth could wear these dresses and get away with it?

Fred Niblo is undoubtedly one of the most under-rated film-makers ever. His visual stylisations, here helped by the incredible photography of William Daniels, can make a fairly routine spy yarn into a beautiful work of art. Of course it helps when Greta Garbo is on your canvas. This is an astonishing film that, had it been given a more believable ending (tragic rather than happy), may well be considered a masterpiece today.

Garbo's beauty and superb acting abilities make the material compulsive. And Conrad Nagel matches her perfectly. Their first love scene is intoxicating in its beauty, and heart-stopping in its passion. It is one of the great love scenes of all time. And in the nail-biting climax there is a moment so grotesquely powerful that you will never forget it. This is a film to savour and love - it represents silent film at its very best. Yes the plot is slight, but what is conveyed beyond that plot is more than profound. And the excellent music score on the MGM video enhances this profundity. This film is beauty itself.

Greta Garbo's usual fine performance, along with a good supporting cast and an interesting (if somewhat familiar) story, make "The Mysterious Lady" a very good melodrama. It has a good mix of romance, intrigue, and suspense that gets the most out of the fairly simple premise, and along the way there are also some good touches by director Fred Niblo.

In a part similar to her role in the better-known "Mata Hari", Garbo here plays a glamorous Russian spy who targets an Austrian officer, aiming at first to steal important military secrets, but soon genuinely falling in love with him. The conflict between personal feelings and perceived patriotic duty sets up the rest of the drama, and it builds up to an interesting climactic scene, with an exuberant party taking place in Warsaw while, in a private room, a tense confrontation plays out.

Besides keeping a good pace and atmosphere, there are a few places where Niblo's direction also highlights key props in a fashion that would have pleased Hitchcock. And while Garbo as usual dominates the screen, the supporting cast features solid performances. Conrad Nagel plays the Austrian, with Gustav Von Seyffertitz as a Russian spy-master. Perhaps the best performance in the supporting cast is by Edward Connelly, in a smaller role as Nagel's uncle. It's a good combination that makes for a very good movie.

In Vienna, in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, Captain Karl von Raden (Conrad Nagel) and his partner Captain Max Heinrich (Albert Pollet) learn in the box office that the ticket for the opera is sold- out. Out of the blue, a man returns his ticket and Karl buys it and shares a box with a gorgeous woman that is waiting for her cousin. Karl gives a ride home to the lady and they spend the night together. On the next day, they spend a wonderful day in the countryside together. Karl is assigned to travel to Berlin by train to deliver secret plans to the German government. His uncle, Colonel Eric von Raden (Edward Connelly), who is the chief of the Austrian secret service, advises Karl the woman with whom he had spent the previous day is the notorious Russian spy Tania Fedorova (Greta Garbo). While in the train, Tania meets Karl to tell that she is in love with him, but he rejects her telling that he knows who she is. On the next morning, Karl wakes up and finds that the plans have been stolen and he receives a message from Tania telling that she came as a woman in love with him and left as his enemy. Karl is expelled and imprisoned by the army as traitor but his uncle offers him the chance to clean his name, traveling to Warsaw to find who the traitor is. Karl poses as pianist and meets Tania and her lover, the powerful General Boris Alexandroff (Gustav von Seyffertitz). What will Karl and Tania do?

"The Mysterious Lady" is an impressive silent movie with the goddess Greta Garbo. The story begins as a romance with a subtle scene of love between Tania and Karl. Then there is drama, action and thriller with the encounter of the two former lovers. The use of special effects in the early cinema is also fantastic when Karl is playing piano for Tanis and Boris wishing her dead. "The Mysterious Lady" is mandatory not only to fans of Greta Garbo, but also for lovers of cinema as art. Unfortunately the DVD released in Brazil shows very damaged images and deserved to be restored. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "A Dama Misteriosa" ("The Mysterious Lady")