Mata Hari (1931)

A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.

Director:

George Fitzmaurice (uncredited)

Writers:

Benjamin Glazer (by), Leo Birinsky (by) (as Leo Birinski)

Stars:

Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Greta Garbo	...	Mata Hari
Ramon Novarro	...	Lt. Alexis Rosanoff
Lionel Barrymore	...	General Serge Shubin
Lewis Stone	...	Andriani
C. Henry Gordon	...	Dubois
Karen Morley	...	Carlotta
Alec B. Francis	...	Caron
Blanche Friderici	...	Sister Angelica (as Blanche Frederici)
Edmund Breese	...	Warden
Helen Jerome Eddy	...	Sister Genevieve
Frank Reicher	...	The Cook-Spy

Storyline

During World War I, 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, a young up-and-coming officer. In order to get her hand on secret documents in his possession, she spends a night with him. But the secret police is on to her, only waiting to get enough evidence to arrest her.

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Plot Keywords:

female spy | 1910s | french third republic | german spy | female protagonist | 

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Taglines:

The most dangerous spy of all time,

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Мата Хари

Filming Locations:

Agoura Ranch, Agoura, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$558,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ramon Novarro wears internal lifts in his boots so that the difference in height between himself and Greta Garbo was increased on screen.

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Goofs

Towards the climax of the film, when Mata Hari confronts General Shubin, she is wearing a ring on her left ring finger. She hurries out of the room, and moments later she encounters Rosanoff. He takes her by the hand and the ring is no longer there.

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Quotes

General Serge Shubin: Gay? With DiSignac? Is that necessary?
Mata Hari: Why not? He's very attractive.

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Connections

Featured in Complicated Women (2003)

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Soundtracks

Tango des Amours
(uncredited)
Music by Jack Milton

User Reviews

Worth a watch

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.