Estratégia de Mulher

MYRNA LOY uses her exotic beauty well as a German spy who finds herself being wooed by a persistent American medical student (GEORGE BRENT) who follows her (stalks her is more like it) until she finds herself succumbing to his charms. Their relationship, although it becomes intense, is played out with humor and wit, helped by a script that is totally unpredictable in the amount of twists and turns it takes to get to a rather abrupt conclusion.

C. HENRY GORDON has a prominent role as a Turkish commander and LIONEL ATWILL gets some humor out of his role as her boss in espionage. Loy is photographed with great care and looks exquisite in her Orry-Kelly costumes. She appears to be enjoying her role here almost as much as the "Thin Man" roles she would soon be playing opposite William Powell.

As with all espionage yarns, the plot gets thicker as things go on and anyone who dozes off will have a hard time getting back on track--that's how complicated the yarn gets before the happy ending.

All told, it's a trifle but a pleasant one in the careers of Myrna Loy and George Brent, who is a little livelier than usual in his playful role.

It's unusual in that the story is about espionage and counter espionage (and perhaps counter counter espionage) among the Germans during World War I, at a time before America entered the war.

Myrna Loy plays a German spy, sent by her spy boss (Lionel Atwill) to find out whether the head of the Turkish forces (very well played by C. Henry Gordon) is a double agent, spying for the British. The Dardanelles are involved, and military secrets. Myrna's life and mission are complicated by the fact that George Brent, an American studying medicine in Germany, is accidentally arrested in a dentist's office, during the ambush of Leo G. Carroll, who is also a double agent. Rudolph Amendt (who would play the mad doctor in She Demons nearly 25 years later) has a small role.

There are nuns in this movie, and a convent, at the opening and closing. Myrna, having outed Mata Hari as a double agent, herself falls in love, jeopardizing her work. There is some very clever dialogue in this film, as well as a little bit of well placed humor, and a great scene in which C. Henry Gordon writes secrets in invisible ink on Myrna Loy's naked back.

With a Title that will do Nothing but Alienate Modern Movie Watchers this Pre-WWI Tale of a Real Life Female Infiltrator (not Mati Hari) is a So-So, Complex, Talky, Awkward Film that has some Appealing Actors like Myrna Loy (sporting a dazzling wardrobe with Flying Saucer hats) and Lionel Atwill, Among Others (no George Brent is not appealing in any way).

The First Act is in Deep Danger of Ruining the Intent of the Film as it has Brent Stalking Loy and his Relentless Advances and her Constant Rejection becomes Intolerable. But when She Finally Succombs and takes Him on as an "Assistant" things Settle Down to Watchable.

There is some Neat Spy Stuff like Messages in Tooth Fillings, Invisible Ink, and a Very Odd Scene where Body Art takes on a New Meaning. It is All Handled with MGM's Slick Sheen and the Result is Worth a Watch but as a Whole it is too Silly at Times and too Complicated by a Half to be Anything More than just Good.

I watched this more for Myrna Loy than for George Brent, whom I'd always considered wooden and stolid. Imagine my surprise to see a playful, puppyish Brent, with only a few small foreshadowings of his priggish side.

Myrna Loy is even more beautiful than usual, in a series of spectacular gowns (most notably one that is backless, nearly sideless, with a front that consists mostly of a flower, two rhinestone straps, and good intentions). She plays a German counter-espionage spy, Fraulein Doktor, who is notorious in many countries for her skill at getting information. It is clear that she didn't mind using sex to do so, which must have made negotiations with the Hays Office more fraught than usual.

There was a real Fraulein Doktor, who had run a school for spies in Belgium. She was still alive when the film was made (though suffering from drug addiction in a Swiss sanitorium), so the writers and producers had to tread carefully in their depiction of her. Loy's trademark sang-froid serves her well as she jokes about missions with her boss (the excellent Lionel Atwill), manipulates targets, and deals with the smitten Brent. The plot twists and twists and then twists a final time (just when you think you've anticipated the double-crosses, there's one last to surprise you). The cautionary references to Mata Hari help ground the story in its historical context.

The cast is great fun, with Mischa Auer as an efficient aide-de-camp, Leo G Carroll as a double-agent, and the wonderfully villainous C. Henry Gordon as Fraulein Doktor's main target.

The end, however, is simply odd. One hardly knows what to make of that final scene--it seems almost like an hallucination. Its unsatisfactory cap to the movie led me to give it a lower rating than I would have otherwise.

It's 1915. The Germans are wondering about British plans in Turkey. Annemarie, codename Fräulein Doktor (Myrna Loy), is brought into the office of German intelligence head von Sturm. She's actually working counter intelligence and accuses Mata Hari of turning for love. She vows never to fall in love. She is ordered to follow Douglas Beall (George Brent) to determine if he's a British spy. Ali Bey is a Turkish commander whose loyalty is suspect.

Apparently, there was a real person behind this fiction. It starts with plenty of intrigue including a possible real outing of Mata Hari. It's a functional espionage film although the tension is never that high. It doesn't have good action or dark realism. It is sorta like Mata Hari but the character doesn't have the exotic feelings. It also doesn't exude the sexuality. It's a bit bland but it does have Myrna Loy.