Customer Reviews

Mysterious Lady [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having seen Greta Garbo's spy movies (Mysterious Lady and Mata Hari) I prefer "The Mysterious Lady." Garbo's seductive performance is far more engaging and believable and the story has more intrigue in the silent version. Conrad Nagel gives a good performance but it is easy to see (and prefer) John Gilbert in this part. Garbo was on bad terms with Gilbert at the time and refused to do the picture if he was cast. The movie turns around Garbo, as a Russian spy, who falls in love with an Austrian officer (Conrad Nagel). Their paths unexpectedly cross when she steals military secrets from him aboard a train. Nagel is disgraced but can redeem himself if he can put an end to Garbo's spying career. But is he still in love with her, and she with him? As is the case with many silent prints, this one has some rough places but it should not stop anyone from enjoying the film. The music nicely sets the tone of the movie.

The storyline of this film is simply mediocre. All other components are fabulous.

I have never been a big fan of Garbo; she always looks so manly, especially in sound films. This movie is definitely an exception. She is delicate and lovely wearing a bevy of spectacular toga-like costumes. Her acting is marvelous although one scene is debatable. Her character Tania tries to convince the man that she loves of her feelings for him. In it, it is questionable if Tania feels for him at all. This was probably used for effect to confuse the viewer and to move the story along.

One of the merits of the beauty of the images is the lighting. The use of shadows and reflections illustrate the story well and create a divine environment. The tinting is somewhat awkward in one scene where a storm turns the lights on an off again, but overall it is effectively utilized.

As a film made after the first talkie swept America, this film is highly sophisticated and stylized. It makes use of over-cranking for slow motion, sound effects like rain and applause, and music that shifts from room to room.

The most breathtaking thing about this film is the excellent film score. The melody used for the main couple's song is hauntingly beautiful and the way it is used throughout the movie to illustrate moods or thoughts is enormously potent.

The major problem with this film is the marred print used. It is covered in artifacts which sometimes distracts from the story. The film jumps from time to time as well.

Overall, though, this film is one of Garbo's best and can be enjoyed easily by ignoring the imperfections. At least the film is available for viewing at all.

The box is labeled "In Glorious Black & White," but the b/w print available on video is horrendous. It's not only in black and and white, but due to the ancient quality of the film transfer, it also changes to blue, amber and red. And their are spots, blips and scratches all over the film. This video can't compare to the b/w quality of 'The Kiss.'

The picture is clear. The music is wonderful. And in silence, you can see why Garbo was considered such a phenomenal sex symbol, before trite dialogue rendered her a stately object of dated romance. But she looks phenomenal, and gives more intelligence to the material than it probably deserves. If only the print quality were better.

This beautifully realized adaptation of Ludwig Wolff's romantic spy novel, "War in the Dark," has withstood the test of time to remain one of the great films of the silent era. Garbo's magic, so rarely captured in sound films is in full bloom here.

Fred Niblo's direction and William Daniels' photography allows Greta Garbo to roam the lovely sets of Cedric Gibbons as though she were born there. Garbo seems comfortable here in these settings, her expressions and inner magic the crux of her performance rather than words.

Garbo is Tania Fedorva, a most alluring Russian spy. When young Karl von Raden (Conrad Nagel) first catches sight of her at a play, he is awed by her mysterious beauty and cannot stop staring. She is only there by mistake but the chance meeting will lead them to a rainy night in Vienna where Karl will linger in Tania's magic like no other before her. A day in the country spent afterward will seem to cement their love until his uncle, a member of the Secret Service, reveals to him that she is a spy who has eluded them many times, and that their meeting may not have been by chance at all.

When Tania is confronted, she admits to Karl her first intention, but professes her true love for him and her distaste for how she must serve her country. He is too wounded to believe her and spurns her love, leading to her theft of important papers on his person. Shamed and imprisoned for being a traitor, his uncle will aid in his release so that he may find Tania and discover who has been betraying his country from within.

There is a beautiful original score here, both exciting during tense moments and lush and romantic when Tania and Karl are together. Karl will discover Tania is the kept woman of a powerful Russian man she does not love. Proof that she truly has fallen for Karl is her silence when she could betray him in a room full of enemies. Instead she sings while he plays and hatches a plan to change her loyalties for love. It is a dangerous path, however, as her mentor Boris suspects the two of being lovers, and sets a trap.

There are some tense moments with the outcome very much in doubt as Garbo's Tania is trapped in a room with a dead Boris and must convince newfound enemies that he is still giving orders. The couple's escape into the dark snowy night, first by car and then train, is both exciting and romantic, and what every romantic spy story should be.

The treatment of Wolff's novel by Bess Meredith and its marvelous execution both behind and in front of the camera make this an unforgettable silent film. The titles of Marian Ainslee and Ruth Cummings are perfectly placed so that the spoken word is not necessary. The score is both beautiful and memorable, giving just the right ambiance of the dangerous and romantic. While the print itself is not pristine, even in a few rough spots it is still quite good considering its age.

I was able to view this through a friend's generosity and no collector of silent films will want to miss this one. It is a lush embrace of Garbo and Nagel to violins and piano with danger lurking just behind the door. A fantastic film.