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Mata Hari (1931)
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Overview
User Rating:
Writers:
Release Date:
26 December 1931 (USA)
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Tagline:
WHWN MATA HARI DANCED! Here is Greta Garbo's greatest picture---a romance based on the true life story of the exotic woman spy, Mata Hari. Truly all-star, this production will leave in mind and heart the memory of an unforgettable thrill! (original herald) more
Plot:
Mata Hari is a German spy, working in Paris. She has already seduced the Russian general Shubin, and has now set her eyes on lieutenant Rosanov...
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NewsDesk:
Ramon Novarro II: Best Films, Rex Ingram
(From Alternative Film Guide. 27 October 2009, 1:34 PM, PDT)
(From Alternative Film Guide. 27 October 2009, 1:34 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Campy, but fun
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Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Greta Garbo | ... | Mata Hari | |
| Ramon Novarro | ... | Lt. Alexis Rosanoff | |
| Lionel Barrymore | ... | Gen. Serge Shubin | |
| Lewis Stone | ... | Andriani (pavilion owner) | |
| C. Henry Gordon | ... | Dubois (French Secret Service chief) | |
| Karen Morley | ... | Carlotta (German agent) | |
| Alec B. Francis | ... | Maj. Caron (Mata'a lawyer) | |
| Blanche Friderici | ... | Sister Angelica (as Blanche Frederici) | |
| Edmund Breese | ... | Warden | |
| Helen Jerome Eddy | ... | Sister Genevieve | |
| Frank Reicher | ... | The cook / spy (German captain) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
USA:89 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
UK:A (original rating) |
UK:PG (re-rating) (2006) |
Norway:16 (1932) |
Australia:G |
USA:Approved (PCA #5419-R, July 1939 for re-release)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Film debut of Roy Barcroft.
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Soundtrack:
Ave Maria, Op.52 No.6
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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.