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"Mata Hari" is a pre-code film that took lots of liberties with the real life story of the World War One spy, but who cares? One watches a film like this to enjoy the old stars in action, including Lionel Barrymore, hamming it up sans wheelchair. Though Garbo has never been one of my favorites I enjoyed her performance here; she smiled quite a bit and never once said she wanted to be alone. Most of the time she just wanted to be with handsome Ramon Novarro, and who could blame her?

Funniest moment to me: Ramon's character is obviously Catholic (as Ramon was in real life) and he has promised his mother to keep a candle lit before this Madonna icon and never let the flame go out, because if it goes out then evil will descend upon him. So Mata (Greta) tells Alexi (Ramon) that his room is too brightly lit; he goes around and turns off all the lights -- except for the candle. So then she asks him to blow out the candle. "If I am everything to you then you will blow it out." He asks her in shock: "But why would you ask me to?" (a perfectly reasonable question she doesn't answer). He ends up rejecting the sacred for the profane, blowing the flame out and the room goes into darkness. The camera pulls away and we are supposed to know instinctively that they are making love all through the night. And of course evil descends on Ramon's character, and he goes blind, but what the heck, this is Hollywood.

Watch it for the stars, not for history. If you want history, read a book.

German spy Mata Hari works in Paris during World War 1 under cover as an exotic dancer, and falls in love with a young Russian officer while she is taking advantage of him.

The script is rubbish, dialogue trite at best, and the treatment doesn't hold together well. Adrian's costumes are ridiculously improbable, but in a sinfully pleasurable MGM kinda way. You simply sit there and gape at Adrian's inventiveness and sense of kitsch. And William Daniels photographs them beautifully.

As he does his favorite subject, Greta Garbo. There is no way anyone could call Mata Hari one of the better Garbo roles, although she looks gorgeous at every turn, even in her slightly awkward Balinese dance in the beginning, all arms and legs. And still Garbo manages to be sexy! Notice the glance she sends Ramon Novarro as she draws the curtain of her bed. This was a short period in the history of Hollywood, when there was no functioning censorship, and it is always titillating to see what cinematographers, directors and stars made of it. And here they exploit it to the full.

Not a great film, not even in the Garbo canon, but still worth a watch, absolutely.

A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari , an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I . Based loosely on the real-life story of the World War I alluring spy , though the title character was real, the events in the film are mostly fictional . The exotic dancer uses her contacts in European high society, along with her seductive charm , to collect military secrets during the war . It starts in Paris 1915, Folies Bergere , where Mata Hari is playing a spectacle impersonating an oriental dancer along with Goddess Kali sculpture . Mata Hari beguiling everyone from a Russian officer (Lionel Barrymore) and a pilot (Ramon Novarro , he wears internal lifts in his boots so that the difference in hight between himself and Greta Garbo was increased on screen ; and being the first time Novarro took second billing since becoming a star) . Mata Hari successfully plays both sides against each other until at last her deceptions catch up with her.

This is the classic adaptation by filmmaker George Fitzmaurice with Greta Garbo as the notorious dancer playing exotic dances and Ramon Novarro as her lover . While this film was in production, rumors began circulating that co-stars Garbo and Novarro were having an affair ; this was untrue, but they did develop a strong friendly rapport . The Greta Garbo/Ramon Novarro combo turned Mata Hari into a major worldwide blockbuster, with $2.22 million in worldwide rentals . This is a melodramatic biography about notorious dancer with smouldering allure who had relationships with high-ranking military officers, politicians , millionaires and others in influential positions in many countries . This is Greta Garbo's one of the greatest picture , a romance based on the true life story of the exotic woman spy , Mata Hari . Truly all-star such as Lionel Barrymore and Ramon Novarro's highest-grossing picture after Ben-Hur ; this production will leave in mind and heart the memory of an unforgettable thrill , emotion and sensitivity . Furthermore , an important support cast such as Karen Morley , Henry Gordon , Lewis Stone and uncredited Mischa Auer in opening scene as condemned man who won't betray Garbo's love . This George Fitzmaurice's romantic spy melodrama Mata Hari was well received by critics and enthusiastically embraced by moviegoers .

Although the story is inspired on real events, it's mostly a historical fiction , the actual deeds are the followings : His true name was Margaretha Zella(1876-1917), a Frisian-Dutch known dancer and double agent during WWI. She was a successful courtesan , though was known more for her eroticism and sensuality rather for her stunning classic beauty. At 18, she answered an announce in newspapers about a man looking for spouse . She married Netherland Colonial Official and they moved to Indonesia , at island of Java. But the marriage was a disappointment and the couple early separated in 1903. Meanwhile she practices Indonesian traditions, uniting a local dance company learning the exotics jigs. Later she revealed her artistic name, Mata Hari, for 'eye the day' of the sun. She moving back to Europe , winning fame and fortune as exotic dancer. She was one of the leaders of the contemporary dancers, such as Ruth Dennis and Isadora Duncan that looked to Asian world for inspiration. During WWI, as neutral origin citizen was able to cross national borders freely , she travelled among Netherland, France, Germania, Spain but her several movements inevitably attracted attention. In early 1917 the German staff in Madrid transmitted messages to Berlin referring the activities of a German spy , code named H-21. French Intelligence intercepted it and identified as Mata Hari. Then she was detained and put on trial, framed of spying for Germany and condemned death warrant , accused to cause deceasing of at least 50.000 allied soldiers. She was founded guilty and executed by firing squad at the age of 41.

Other versions based on famed courtesan/spy are : a silent version ¨Mata Hari¨ with Magda Sonja , ¨Agent H 21¨ (1964) by Jean Louis Richard with Jeanne Moreau and Jean Louis Trintignant and ¨Mata Hari¨(1985) by Curtis Harrington with Sylvia Kristel , Derek De Lint , Christopher Cazenove , Oliver Tobias , Gaye Brown and Gottfried John.

As the notorious "Mata Hari", Greta Garbo makes both the role and the character her own, providing a portrayal that is much deeper and more complex than the historical character probably was. The rest of the cast and production work well enough, but they are mostly there only to provide Garbo the backdrop and the foils that she uses to develop the main character.

The story focuses Mata Hari's liaisons with two Russian officers, an older general played by Lionel Barrymore, and a young aviator played by Ramon Novarro, with an implacable Secret Service man (played by C. Henry Gordon) trying to stop her. Each of the three plays his part well, while allowing Garbo to take the spotlight. Lewis Stone also makes good use of his limited screen time, and Karen Morley has some memorable moments as another spy.

The story probably has little in common with the historical facts, and while the historical character is an interesting one, it seems certain that Garbo's character is more so, combining her obvious appeal with a depth of feeling and a complicated set of priorities, as few other actresses could have done. Designing the story and characters with her in mind works well, making for good drama and one of Garbo's many effective performances.

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"

She is not the first to play Mata Hari, the alluring spy of World War I. But Greta Garbo is very memorable as the temptress; the seducer; the beguiling not-so-secret agent. Garbo's exotic dance is quite lethal for the early 1930s. Ramon Novarro plays the young lover willing to give his life for hers. Lionel Barrymore is the older lover that dies by her hand. This classic does not claim to be factual to history, but makes a great melodrama not to be missed. Supporting cast features Lewis Stone, C. Henry Gordon and Karen Morley. Viva la France.

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.

Seductively mysterious, the exotic dancer MATA HARI pays the ultimate price for being the most famous spy of World War One.

Coming only fourteen years after the execution of its title character, here is a densely plotted film given the full MGM gloss & glamour. Production values are excellent, even if the script strays a bit too much into fiction to tell its story.

Languid & languorous, Greta Garbo slinks across the screen like a large cat, almost purring her dialogue rather than speaking it. Utterly fascinating, it is easy to see why she dominated her generation & why her legend still endures. Finally coming fully alive during a penultimate murder scene, Garbo exhibits the frenetic energy of which she was capable on screen. Fortunately, she is only required to dance once, leaving to the imagination the full impact of Mata Hari's original private performances.

Ramon Novarro, who receives co-equal billing with Garbo, had been an important movie celebrity far longer than she, but her rising sun tended to obscure most other stars in her orbit and Novarro has to work hard to get much notice in their joint scenes .As always, MGM's chameleon actor (this time he plays a Russian) gives a very competent performance, but as a romantic pair they make a rather unusual couple - which simply means that Novarro's sexual ambiguity is perfectly mirrored by Garbo's intrinsic androgyny.

Lewis Stone is quite effective as a sinister German spymaster. C. Henry Gordon gives some nice moments as a tough French policeman. Lionel Barrymore is also on hand, flamboyantly overacting as a Russian general who delivers military secrets to Mata Hari in exchange for her favours; he apparently decided Garbo wasn't going to steal the entire picture and he puts up an outrageous display of ham acting.

Karen Morley & Frank Reicher appear as German agents who learn the price of becoming no longer useful to Berlin; movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Mischa Auer in the opening scene as an unfortunate victim of Mata's wiles.

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Born to a prosperous hatter in The Netherlands on August 7, 1876, Margeretha Geertruida Zelle was convent schooled and later attended a teacher's college. In 1895 she married British-born Campbell MacLeod, a captain in the Dutch colonial army and lived with him in Java & Sumatra from 1897 until 1902.

After their divorce, Margeretha settled in Paris, where she changed her name to the Malay 'Mata Hari,' which means 'eye of the day.' Fabricating a mystique of exotic mysticism, the beautiful Mata supported herself quite nicely as a courtesan and erotic dancer, giving special performances around Europe to delighted clientele. Several military officers of various nations counted themselves among her lovers.

The details of Mata's involvement in espionage still remain rather vague. It's possible she entered the German Secret Service as early as 1907, but she later is thought to have worked for the French Secret Service, as well. As a citizen of neutral Holland, she was still able to travel freely after the commencement of the War and it is alleged that she garnered secrets from Allied officers for her German employers. It was the British who tipped off the French as to Mata's supposed activities while in Belgium, and she was arrested upon her return to France.

At the court martial trial, she could only be found guilty of giving outdated information to the Germans, which she claimed was entirely innocent. However, it was more than enough to imprison her for three months, before her final rendezvous with a firing squad on October 15, 1917.

...from MGM and director George Fitzmaurice. Greta Garbo stars as the title lady, an exotic dancer who enthralls all who see her perform, allowing her to gain access to valuable intelligence which she relays to her aloof handler Andriani (Lewis Stone). Among Mata Hari's conquests are General Shubin (Lionel Barrymore) and young ace pilot Alexis Rosanoff (Ramon Novarro).

When historians roll their eyes at the mention of Hollywood history lessons, this is the kind of film they are thinking about. The truth only remains as far as it makes the leads look attractive and dramatic. Garbo, who naturally bears little resemblance to the real Mata Hari, gets to wear some outrageous costumes and perform a lurid, pre-code dance with a giant statue of the goddess Shiva. Barrymore hams it up, and Navarro makes for an unconvincing Russian. Despite the sloppy script, there's some good set design and camerawork, and the appeal of the leads, particularly Garbo at the height of her stardom, helped make this one of the top ten biggest box office hits of the year, and the biggest for MGM.

I'm not a big fan of Garbo in general, and her talkies specifically. Her acting was more suited to the silent era, and this film, an early talkie, has a lot of silent film elements as well as silent film stars like Ramon Navarro and Lewis Stone. In fact, for 1931, this was an all star cast. Garbo herself had just been nominated for an Oscar for "Anna Christie" (1930), Stone was nominated for "The Patriot" (1930) and was in the highly popular "Big House" (1930), and the great Lionel Barrymore got his only Oscar for "A Free Soul" (1931). Navarro was still popular, though his best days were behind him.

Considering how many great films occurred in 1931 (e.g., "Frankenstein", "Cimarron", "City Lights", "Dracula", "The Champ", "M", "Public Enemy", "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde", "Monkey Business"), this is clearly a 2nd tier film though it was a big commercial success at the time.

Garbo in love. There is nothing to compare with it. And MGM knew it. Again and again they fashioned vehicles for her to be in love, and "Mata Hari" is one of the best. Who cares that it has nothing to do with the real Mata Hari? This is a beautiful film - it looks gorgeous and is brilliantly acted. It was always difficult for male actors to hold their own with Garbo - Robert Taylor failed, Olivier by his own confession couldn't "hold a candle to her" - but there are three who certainly could John Gilbert (of course!), Melvyn Douglas (in comedy) and here the sublime Ramon Novarro. He was perhaps the only one of Garbo's leading men who could compare with her in beauty (though Lew Ayres is pretty cute in "The Kiss")and William Daniels films him nearly as lovingly as he does Garbo. The shot of his face where he blows out the candle (at Garbo's insistence), that his mother made him swear to always burn, is most beguiling. The two display a rare chemistry, and the final scene in the prison cell is very moving. Novarro in love is as enchanting as Garbo in love.

And the film is about the experience of love, and how it over-rides all else in life. Very romantic and very touching. Unrequited love sends Lionel Barrymore mad - this is a great performance too - and Lewis Stone's incomprehension of love makes him a cold, heartless monster (another expert performance from him). The sad thing here is that Novarro and Garbo were never again paired. A great and powerful film.

Anyone wishing to know the truth about Mata Hari, the exotic dancer who was executed as a spy during World War I, will soon realize this is not the movie for them. But the real Mata Hari was a pathetic middle-aged woman who got in way over her head when she tried espionage--her legend is much more entertaining. Greta Garbo plays the femme fatale brought down by love to the hilt and the cast ably supports her, although modern audiences may find Ramon Novarro ludicrous as the romantic lead. The best are C. Henry Gordon as the French police chief and Lewis Stone as the leader of Mata Hari's spy ring. Nearly every line is out of melodrama--I just wish I had a better memory to quote some for you. My recommendation: just enjoy it.

A film that unfortunately hasn't aged well, despite it being MGM's 2nd biggest hit of 1931 and having considerable star power. Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, and Lionel Barrymore are at the top of the cast, and they had strong supporting players in Lewis Stone, Karen Morley, and C. Henry Gordon. Despite all these stars and a fascinating story of lust and espionage, the story as we see it here is unfortunately pretty tame, and not nearly as exciting as it should have been.

In part that's because the actual historical events were altered in order to give Garbo a redemptive arc - her character goes from sinner to saint, from stripper dancing in front of a heathen god to someone beloved by nuns, from requiring her lover to blow out a sacred votive candle before sleeping with her to a noble sacrifice to save him. The actual espionage takes a backseat to the script forcing Garbo into the usual type of role for her, one where audiences could be titillated but also feel her character's ultimate purity and righteousness, complete with Christian symbolism. The back half of this movie which trudges through her capture and trial is pretty tedious. It's unfortunate because the real story of Mata Hari is far more interesting.

The film also suffers from having been censored eight years after it was released. In their books on pre-Code films, both Mark Vieira and Mick LaSalle point out that the only version of Mata Hari that survives today is one that was re-cut in 1939. That was because chief of Production Code enforcement Joseph Breen required edits to any pre-Code films he deemed morally questionable if studios wanted to re-release them. The most painful part of this is that he wasn't content with just cuts to prints, he required them to master camera negatives - an unforgivable act if you ask me. So even though this is a pre-Code film, it too suffered from the puritanical effect of Code enforcement.

The first half hour of the film is where this hit hardest. In Garbo's first scene she does an exotic dance in front of a statue of Shiva, which culminates in her stripping in front of it. There is a jarring cut in between her writhing around while bowing before the statue and a few frames which survive of her naked behind before the lights fall. Later, when she and Ramon Novarro's character spend the night together, the moments where she seduces him by appearing in a revealing, diaphanous negligee are lost to time, as was the scene of the pair sharing a postcoital cigarette. Despite these kinds of cuts, the first half hour is the film's strongest, thanks mostly to Garbo and Karen Morley. It's worth seeing, but guard your expectations.

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.

Unlike many of her contemporaries Greta Garbo had made a successful transition from silent films to talkies in 1929. Her three subsequent films were commercial successes but were hampered either by weak scripts or leading men with whom there was no 'chemistry'. One of these was Gavin Gordon who proved to be so abysmal that he was relegated to a lower division! In 1931 she hit the jackpot with a largely fictionalised account of the alleged espionage activities of Dutch born Margarethe Zelle known to legend as Mata Hari. Her importance as a spy has no doubt been overrated and she was executed on the flimsiest of evidence. MGM conveniently ignored all of this and simply recognised a perfect vehicle for Garbo and so it proved to be. 'Chemistry' is both rare and elusive and on the silver screen means only one thing: buffo box office. It is certainly no revelation that women were not exactly Ramon Novarro's cup of tea but the 'chemistry' between effete Mexican and sultry Swede is palpable and benefits the film greatly. As the fictional General Shubin Lionel Barrymore is, well, Lionel Barrymore and Lewis Stone is sufficiently cold-hearted as spymaster Andriani, generally assumed to be based on Georges Ladoux, head of French counterespionage. It is he who delivers the prophetic line: 'The only way to resign from our profession is to die'. Art direction is by Cedric Gibbons although to what degree is difficult to judge as he was credited with a total of 1,500! On its re-release this pre-code production did not escape the unwelcome attentions of the Hays office and lost a few minutes. Apparently there is an uncut version in Brussels but the chances of its being shown commercially are minimal. As for Garbo she is luminous, intoxicating, tantalising and incredibly sensual in a role that marked the beginning of her Golden Age in which commercial success was matched by critical acclaim for her acting skills. Probably best to leave it to Bette Davis who said of Garbo:'What she does with the camera lens is nothing short of witchcraft'.

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.

The story of the exotic WW1 spy Mata Hari, and her love for a dashing Russian pilot which leads to her downfall. Dancing with a couple of miniature pagodas on her head is enough for Greta Garbo's Mata Hari to ensnare naive Russian pilot Ramon Novarro in MGM's strangely uninvolving drama. The studio presumably believed that Garbo's screen presence would be enough to distract their audience from the thin, dull plot and slow pace, but they were wrong Best scene by far is Mata Hari testing her hold over her malleable swain by persuading him to extinguish the eternal candle to the Virgin Mary over the cot on which they're about to make love, which simultaneously alerts her fellow spy outside that the coast is clear. The combined star power of Garbo and Barrymore make it worth watching, but only just.

Was not familiar at all with the Dutch spy Mata Hari prior to watching and also didn't know that this film existence. That was until quite recently when seeing more of the great Greta Garbo's films and performances, having loved what had already been seen of hers and wanted to see more. Lionel Barrymore and Lewis Stone are also worth watching in anything, especially Barrymore (am also more familiar with him of the two so that may play a little part in it).

'Mata Hari' turned out to be in my view a very good film. It fell just a little short of being a brilliant one, being a film with so many great things and it is not quite one of Garbo's best films. It does though in my mind contain one of her best performances in a career full of great ones (especially 'Ninotchka', 'Queen Christina' and 'Camille'). Almost everything is executed really well and at its best executed brilliantly, for Garbo fans it really is well worth seeing without being quite a requirement.

Garbo is the main reason to see 'Mata Hari', she is never less than captivating, looks luminous and always commands attention throughout without over-dominating even in bigger moments. Barrymore enjoys himself immensely, to me he didn't come over as too hammy, and Stone's more subtle turn contrasts nicely. Visually, the film is beautifully designed, stylishly filmed and remarkably atmospheric.

An atmosphere that was matched well in the music, which is not one of the living long in the memory scores but it fits well and is pleasant. The script is entertaining and sophisticated, without going over-the-top. The story is not too hard to follow and doesn't take itself too seriously while not resorting to camp, directed competently.

There is nothing disastrously done here in 'Mata Hari', flaws are few and they are not huge. For my tastes Ramon Novarro was a little too vanilla in his role and could have had more spark.

He and Garbo have some poignant chemistry later on but it took a while to warm up.

Concluding, well worth watching especially for Garbo. 8/10

MATA HARI's main interest is the great Greta Garbo and she does deliver a very sound performance, if not exactly a match for CAMILLE or QUEEN Christina. As a woman of exceptional beauty and elegance, I can imagine that most men must have been besotted by her in the 1930s.

The story is more about love than history (which it does not bother to follow with any degree of accuracy), and it makes no judgment about espionage, apart from a chief spy saying that death is the only way to leave the "profession".

Acting, direction and photography are generally competent, considering what was happening in the cinema in 1931. The only drawback -- from my standpoint -- is Ramon Novarro, who comes across as rather weak (I believe GG did not want him as the male lead, and you can see why).

If you are willing to cast your mind back to 1931 and to suspend your disbelief, there is much to enjoy in this picture.

It took me a long time to realize that I just don't get the whole Garbo mystique. I saw her first in "Grand Hotel" and, yeah, I got caught up in the aura--how could you not? But it's not like she was carrying the entire film. Then I saw her in "Ninotchka," which is sheer delight, and it took me years to realize that Melvyn Douglas and Ina Claire were what made the film.

"Mata Hari" is a perfect example of my rude awakening. It took me years to realize that Garbo was just a prop with a funny hairdo (what was UP with those quotation-mark bangs??), a thin-lipped and masculine face, a deep voice, and an exotic accent. She had two expressions--heartsick and flirtatious, the latter of which she seemed to convey only by talking through a smile with her head tossed back--and yet she still managed to over-act.

In "Mata Hari," Garbo dances what possibly be the most unerotic, non-sensuous exotic dance in the history of cinema, while seducing Ramon Novarro (a Russian pilot with a thick Mexican accent) and Lionel Barrymore (looking thinner and darker-haired than I'd ever see him). Thankfully, they cover her silly hair with turbans for most of the film--and, frankly, the costumes are the best reason to watch it, for they're spectacular. The film seemed to last FOREVER. And with every scene it got more ridiculous (although I admit to enjoying the scene with the candle-lit Madonna).

The best part was the brief sight of the wonderful Mischa Auer (credited only as "Firing squad victim #3"), sans moustache, in the first scenes of the film. He looked about 16 years old (although he was actually 26).

If it's sultry foreign seductresses we're talking about, give me Marlene Dietrich any day.