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Sunday, May 25, 2008

MATA HARI (1931)

Except for ANNA CHRISTIE & GRAND HOTEL, Greta Garbo’s early talkies are a sorry bunch.  Sternberg’s DISHONORED w/ Dietrich weighs heavily on this stupefying nonsense about the WWI spy, but fading helmer George Fitzmaurice kicks off nicely w/ a military execution where unbilled Mischa Auer (looking startlingly like Johnny Depp) prefers death to denouncing Mata.  After that, there’s only a smattering of camp appeal.  (Mata Hari’s exotic dance & this deathless exchange for Garbo & Ramon Navarro; RN: I love you as one adores sacred things.  GG: What sacred things?  RN: God, country, honor, you. GG: I come last?)  Ramon hit his stride two years on in THE CAT & THE FIDDLE, but by then it was too late.  Garbo got on her feet with QUEEN CHRISTINA in 1933 and rode out the decade in style.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID:  Note the copy line ‘Film Parlant Français’ on our poster; in Early Talkie/Pre-Subtitle days, it wasn’t uncommon for stars to film their roles in multiple languages to hit as many foreign markets as possible.  Here, it looks as if Garbo & Navarro made a French-language version.  More often, roles would be recast with actors comfortable in the language the studio wanted to cover.  (Also note our artist has not done himself proud on Garbo!)

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