GManfred I have seen most - but not all - of Garbo's films and in Mata Hari she gives her best performance. Here she is at her seductive best and seems completely at ease in the role of WWI's most famous spy. She commands the screen in all her scenes and, I must admit, lives up to her customary billing as a Hollywood Legend. I am always puzzled by the irresistible spell she is acknowledged to cast over most men. "What most men feel when drunk, that is how she appeals to sober men", or words to that effect, someone wrote. Count me out of this feeling, but in Mata Hari she comes close.Good story, good support acting and good, overall atmospheric production. Especially good was C. Henry Gordon as the French detective hot on her trail. Lionel Barrymore, standing and walking, does well as her elder lover and a miscast Ramon Novarro is her younger lover. He plays a Russian with a Mexican accent, but he was still at the height of his popularity so Hollywood gave him a pass. See it if you get a chance as it is one of Garbo's most interesting performances and in one of her most interesting movies.7/10 - The website no longer prints my star ratings.

LeonLouisRicci The Silky, Shiny, Clinging Costumes Glitter with that MGM Sheen on Greta Garbo, Slinking around as a Sultry, Seductive Spy. Not Only a Spy but the Infamous Enigmatic Exotic Dancer who it was Speculated Caused the Death of Thousands in WWI.So why isn't this Movie One of the Great Ones. Because its Clunk Overshadows the Funky Hats and Sparkly Attire. It is Assembled with a Montage that is Hardly Exciting. It Lingers a lot, and for a Spy Drama that can be Troublesome. The Lingering can be Forgiven when One Ogles the Sensuous Garbo and Her Delicious Duds, but the Story Drags.Lionel Barrymore Overacts as Usual and Roman Navarro Plays it Very Naive, Almost Childlike and is just too Vulnerable for Any Tension and as a Result Their Scenes Together are not as Good as the Ones when He is Off Screen. There is One Exception and that is Perhaps the Most Moving Scene of the Movie. The Oft Mentioned Madonna Candle.Overall, it is Definitely Worth a Watch and the Shadowy Lighting is Interesting at Times and Greta Garbo is Always Appealing, but the Film Disappoints because when it isn't Very Good (and it is occasionally) it is Very Bad.

bkoganbing Any resemblance to the little Dutch girl with a most interesting life for the prurient who became Mata Hari and this film starring Greta Garbo is strictly coincidental. About the only two things I can think of is that she was a spy and she did die by firing squad.Mata Hari had a fascinating life and was 41 when she met her demise and Garbo was 27 when she made this film. Her espionage activities only covered a small part of her life, her whole story ought to have been told. What this film lacks in facts it certainly makes up for in a kind of campy allure. Garbo is certainly at her sexiest as the woman who drives men of all ages mad with desire, so much so they wind up betraying their country. That's what she does to Lionel Barrymore who plays a Russian general who does same. She turns him into an old fool.But she herself gets good and foolish when she meets up with young Russian aviator Ramon Novarro. When she herself falls in love, it proves to be her undoing. There are a couple of really good performances here by a pair of ruthless adversaries. Lewis Stone is her spymaster and not a man to trifle with. See how he deals with another of his reluctant employees played by Karen Morley. He's far from the wise and good Judge Hardy in this role. His opposite number is C. Henry Gordon who knows full well that Garbo is a spy and is just waiting to nail her and I don't mean in the biblical sense.Mata Hari is a camp delight today, it certainly hasn't aged well. But that's not to say you won't enjoy Greta Garbo in this part.

MartinHafer I know that this review will not be like most others for this movie. That's because although Greta Garbo's style of acting was extremely popular in her day and many still consider her an amazing talent, I just don't think many of her films translate well to the 21st century. Now some of her films, like Ninotchka and Queen Christina are STILL excellent films, others like Camille and Mata Hari just seem WAY over-acted. The performances are so over-the-top and silly that I find myself very bored by them.In Mata Hari, the best example of overdoing it are her dance numbers. The costume is one of the most outlandish I have ever seen--with billions of beads and sequins and the silliest Thai-inspired head dress. And, during this "dance", Garbo shimmies back and forth and everyone in the house acts almost like males in a Tex Avery cartoon with rolling eyes, wagging tongues, etc. I just didn't get it. This was supposed to be super-sexy but I just found it stupid and about as sexy as watching grandma dance. It's simply horribly over-done--period.The story itself doesn't get much better. Garbo doesn't particularly "act" sexy, but all men become slaves to her allures--gimme a break!! This movie reminds me of some of Marlena Dietrich's and Mae West's movies. They, too, at times played these super-vamp roles but I can honestly say that instead of sexy and desirable, they just seemed campy and outdated. As for me, give me REALISTIC acting and dialog or fun acting--not overblown tripe like this.UPDATE 9/2008--I tried watching this again. That's because I had hated the movie so much and Garbo is such a god-like persona I thought maybe I was being too harsh. Well, now that I've seen it twice, I guess I was wrong....the movie is WORSE than my first review. Bad history, silly dance numbers and laughably bad dialog, this film is pure crap. Only the cult-like devotion that some of Garbo's fans have have resulted in this movie having a decent overall IMDb rating. I can only recommend the film for its "camp value" and to see just how awful it is. If you do watch it for a laugh, look for Garbo's 100% unsexy and ridiculous dance number, Ramon Novarro's ridiculous casting as a Russian and dialog that is howlingly bad.