"The Mysterious Lady" is Overwrought, Hackneyed and Very Much a Product of Its Time

 

by Daniel White

Recently on FB, a fellow film aficionado posted that Greta Garbo was a "hammy" actress. Oddly enough, at that very moment I was watching a Garbo film, The Mysterious Lady (1928). I am here to set the record straight: Miss Garbo was decidedly NOT hammy. Sensitive, intuitive, subtle, and sensual, but definitely not hammy. Ah, out of the mouths (fingers?) of the misinformed, the misguided, and the mistaken...

An MGM silent, directed by Fred Niblo, the film is of its time, and therefore could easily be dismissed by anyone with a modern sensibility. Overwrought, hackneyed, a romantic melodrama that is as ludicrous as it is exquisite, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Set during WWl, Garbo plays Tania Fedorova, a Russian spy who inadvertently falls in love with an Austrian officer, Karl von Raden (Conrad Nagel), she has been targeted to seduce. Informed by his uncle (who just happens to be the head of the Austrian secret service, natch) that Tania is a spy, Karl spurns her advances when they meet on a train bound for Berlin ("You are a very clever actress, Tania Fedorova!"). She disappears, along with the military plans in Karl's possession ("I came to you as the woman who loved you - - I leave - - your enemy" Ouch). Disgraced and imprisoned (the scene where Nagel is publicly humiliated is a humdinger), the vengeful Karl is released from the hoosegow and goes to Warsaw disguised as a Serbian pianist (you can't make this stuff up). Determined to exonerate himself, and possibly give the wicked Tania a good pinch in the rear, the two ill-fated lovers soon meet again.

Inane, insane, and unbelievable, the movie is so far-fetched it should be classified as sci-fi or fantasy but here's the kicker... It doesn't matter! It's entertaining and Garbo is bewitching. Possessing one of the most photogenic faces ever to appear in film, she also manages to make this trifle watchable (director Niblo helps immensely with some artful camera work). She certainly looks fabulous in outfits attributed to Gilbert Clark, but I'm sure Miss Adrian was lurking around somewhere and must have offered up an idea or two.

Just when you think this movie couldn't get any more outlandish... It does! (Thank you, Cinema Gods!). Caught by the Russians, Karl is commanded to be brought before General Boris Alexandroff (a sinister Gustav von Seyffertitz), whose mistress is... yes, our very own Tantalizing Tania! Determined to save the man she loves, Tania shoots Boris (the gunshot goes undetected by a mirthful, madcap Mazurka being performed outside the general's room). Desperate to conceal his death, she props the body up and pretends to be flirting outrageously when his aides bring the hapless Karl into the room. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Listen, not everything from the Golden Age of Hollywood was golden (June Allyson, anyone?), and I know silent film can be treacherous for the uninitiated, but give The Mysterious Lady a try, it is most assuredly worth it. Certainly Greta Garbo is worth it. Some of her movies may not have withstood the test of time, but the luminous, unhammy Garbo has.

Available on YouTube in a scratchy print that has been bolstered immeasurably by a wonderful, timeless contemporary score by Vivek Maddala.