The Mysterious Lady (1928)

Powerful

Good concept, poorly executed.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Von Raden falls for an attractive woman named Tania at a music hall. She turns out to be a Russian spy who steals important information from him. The loss of this information lands Von Raden in jail, before his senior in the Secret Service lets him out to go and steal some important information back off the Russians, with help from Tania. Whether he can achieve this or not rests on the basis that she still loves him, which is one of the films major falling points - we are given no reason to believe she ever loved him in the first place. Well, we are given a reason - he treats her to a nice day in the forest - but its not overly convincing. Even worse, apparently Von Raden still has feelings for her - despite the fact she lied to him, ruined him, and put him in jail. Nothing about any of this is believable at all, and those are just the main details - there are a hundred other falsities like it. We might forgive these logic flaws if we were entertained, but we are not really. The entertainment relies on the tension of being caught out, and towards the end has some elements of Hitchcock-esque suspense, but that tension is negated by the unreality of it all. Noticeably - and typically, for positive reviews of bad films - most of the complimentary comments here focus on either the cast or the production values - topics which are less significant for the enjoyment of the film for general audiences. But who am I kidding, general audiences don't visit this forgotten patch in 2017. I'm talking to the air.

This is a very good silent film, though I had just watched two other Greta Garbo films that were incredibly similar to this one--as she plays the vamp in all three! I can't blame Ms. Garbo for this, as MGM definitely type-cast her despite her objections. In fact, she was so irritated by this theme that she went on strike to try to force the studio to give her different roles. But, considering that the public loved the films and they were all very successful, MGM wasn't about to mess with a tried-and-true formula. OF the three movies in the set, in THE MYSTERIOUS LADY, Garbo wasn't as evil she was in FLESH AND THE DEVIL or as nice as she was in THE TEMPTRESS. Instead, she played an initially evil spy who over the course of the film has a gradual change of heart. Considering how badly and abruptly the change of heart occurred in FLESH AND THE DEVIL, this one was much more believable and welcome.As I said above, the three films are all very derivative--all with a roughly identical theme. This one also has the added benefit of having almost the exact theme as her later film, MATA HARI. Wow--what a lot of repetition in Garbo's career. No wonder she retired so young! She was probably just sick of the "same old same old"! Now how much you like this film is probably heavily dependent on if you like this sort of theme or if you've seen Garbo films before. I, for one, hate all this repetition, but also realize that on its own this STILL is a very good movie. While not as deliciously evil and twisted as FLESH AND THE DEVIL, the overall film is much more even and satisfying since its happy ending is at least credible. And, the production values and acting are excellent--MGM really pulled out all stops to make this film.

This is a blueprint for the screenplay to Garbo's later talkie, MATA HARI. Here she plays a spy who seduces officer Nagel. She manages to fall in love with him but he rejects her, once he knows she is a spy. She goes ahead with her plans to steal documents from him. He is stripped of his officer's rank. Later, she kills her superior in order to save his life and flee with him.Both Garbo and Nagel are effective, but in no way extraordinary. The film is well made without being memorable overall. Scenes of interest are: Garbo's first shot as camera pulls back from Nagel's face, revealing her engrossed in the opera and a side shot of her face which follows; lighting as she lights a candleabra; cinematography and editing in Nagel's degradation scene; composition of a shot of Nagel at the piano with mirrored reflections; Garbo at the fireplace; and a tracking shot with Garbo as she greets guests on her way to a rendezvous.The MGM/UA VHS release of 1990 includes an original orchestral score and sound effects. The print used was quite poor - very scratched, decomposing in spots and with tints turning on and off within scenes. Supposedly MGM had no surviving negative or prints and had to make do with a well-worn one. This video release has since been discontinued and it has never been released on DVD.All in all, an okay film, but nothing extraordinary.

This is my favorite Garbo film besides Camille. It and Camille are my favorite movie besides Camille with Rudolph Valentino and All Nazimova. I have heard this movie called a "soaper". I just love it. And I love how it has a happy ending. While I admit that's not a believeable one, I AM HAPPY it's not a believeable one. For one thing, that's Hollywood for you. Plenty of things in films made in Hollywood aren't believeable. Always has been that way. Always will be. I don't think people should take movies too seriously. Not that I won't think a movie is unbelieveable like Romeo and Juliet and not like it. And plus, it's good it got a happy ending because I for one wanted it to. It is coming on again on TCM on September 15th. Camille was supposed to be coming on the 5th of September, but I guess not. Dammit. And to think that Camille is one of my favorite movies. At least I'll get to see The Mysterious Lady. I was also going to say that I thought that Conrad Nagle was the best person to play the part of Greta Garbo's leading man, whatever his name was, can't remember it right now. I liked him better in the role than I would have John Gilbert, despite the fact that she and John Gilbert might have more of natural chemistry because they had an off screen romance. Still, Conrad Nagle just seems like the best person for the part. I don't know what it is about him that makes him the best one. It's this certain je ne sais quoi.