Mata Hari (1931)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director: George Fitzmaurice
Starring: Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore

Cinema has the distinct ability to create legends out of its movies. Whether it is legendary actors, director, producers, or characters the movies can make a person larger than life. This is even true when pertaining to the expansion of the folklore of people whom certain movies are based off of. When Greta Garbo enters the frame as the title character in Mata Hari, we see a prime example of this power in cinema.  Based on the life of an exotic dancer who was found guilty of international espionage during World War I, the film turned what was a small war account into a legendary tale about how a seductive woman played a significant role as a German spy in Paris. The film would be a fictitious exaggeration, but was a success for Garbo, MGM, and the myth of woman infiltrating  actions during a world war.

Mata Hari follows Greta Garbo in the role of the title character as she plays her part in espionage for the German military while working as an exotic dancer in Paris, seducing secrets out of military officers until she is caught and sentenced to her death. Despite the exotic dancing legend that Mata Hari is, the only dancing we see is in the very beginning of the film, setting the stage of how powerful her seduction is over the gentlemen audience. She is in fact part of a great chain of information trafficking for German intelligence. Her most powerful information supplier is Russian General Shudin, played by the famous Lionel Barrymore. There relationship is a simple one: He lusts for her and gives her information is return for romantic "favors." A hot piece of information comes to town when pilot Lt. Rosanoff (Ramon Novarro) flies into Paris, for he is to carry import message back to Russia. In order to intercept the vital information Mata becomes romantically involved with Rosanoff, sending Shubin into a fit of jealousy and threatens to reveal her truth. To carry out her duties she is forced to kill Shubin before she leaks the truth to the authorities. Mata Hari would be captured and sentenced to the firing squad, but wishes not to break the heart of her new love Rosanoff, covering up the truth of herself to him as she is sent to her death and he never knowing why she had become so close to him in the first place.

The picture is a gripping tale of a chain of spies that has you watching with suspense, ever wanting to know what is to come next, with an ending in heartbreak over the love of Mata Hari and Rosanoff. A story of love, lust, and loss Mata Hari provides a great stage for suspense as we watch the seductive Garbo bring powerful men to their knees. With good directing, cinematography, and acting the film is well made and would prove to be MGM's biggest hit of 1931 bringing in good profits for the studio.

The true story of the real Mata Hari was quite different from the one on screen. Born Margaretha Zella, a Dutch woman that would spend some time in Indonesia in a shame marriage before moving to Paris. She would use her exotic knowledge of the east in her stage performance winning over many gentlemen with her dance as the mysterious "Mata Hari." Her legend would grow with her acceptance to high social circles and fraternizing with military leaders. Her popularity with such military men would lend her to work as a spy for France during World War I, but would be arrested and tried as a double agent for the German government. She would be put to death and her file covered up for decades, lending to mysterious lore of the woman named Mata Hari.

The film would be the true blossoming of the myth of Mata Hari which had no real evidence of what the real lady actually performed, turning the idea of an exotic dancer as a spy into an idea as yet another vehicle to the career of Garbo. In 1985 a biographer would gain access to the French archives and discover that Mata Hari was in fact innocent of espionage.

The movie's three lead actors were all stars in their own rights at this time. Barrymore had long been a stage and screen legend of the famed Barrymore family. Novarro who found fame with the title role in 1925 film Ben-Hur was Hollywood's lead Latin actor of the period and be one of MGM's leading romantic actors. Garbo was on the continual uphill climb of her career and playing the leading seductive character only added to her appeal. Her thick Hungarian accent, though not in line with the character, was perfect for her performance as the seductive character. The two male actors already veterans the big stage of fame were not happy with the rise of the young actress and were afraid of her overshadowing their spotlight, which led to some of the film's over the top ham acting by both Barrymore and Novarro. With the two male stars trying hard to win back the spotlight director George Fitzmaurice would do a decent job bringing the actors back down from their overacting to fulfill the needs of their characters in the film.

Garbo in one of her revealing costumes with Novarro.

Being that the production was made before the advent of the Hays Code, the censoring code that would control Hollywood productions for years, the film contains a fair amount of sexuality. After all the film is about an exotic dancer with the power of seduction to get what she wants. When the film was attempting to be re-released years later, a common practice for studios to bank more money on already successful films (think of it as a re-run), the Hays Office would not pass the film to play in theaters. This led to substantial cuts, removing many sexually suggestive scenes. The heaviest cut scene was the seduction of Rosanoff along with revealing shots of Garbo. Of course after the many decades the scenes would make it back into the movie as originally intended.

Mata Hari is a fine example of how legends are treated within movies and how the legends grow with movies. The legends of the real life Mata Hari and actress Greta Garbo both escalated with this feature. The established legends of Novarro and Barrymore attempted desperately not to be over-shadowed by the film's young star. In the end the film is a gripping tale that, although not true to the real life inspiration, makes for an exciting and entertaining piece of cinema.