''The Mysterious Lady'' (1928) is a

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

romantic drama, starring

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

Conrad Nagel John Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 – February 24, 1970) was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Academy Honorary Award in 1940 and ...

, and

Gustav von Seyffertitz Gustav von Seyffertitz (4 August 1862 – 25 December 1943) was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81. Biography Gustav von Seyffertit ...

, directed by

Fred Niblo Fred Niblo (born Frederick Liedtke; January 6, 1874 – November 11, 1948) was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer. Biography He was born Frederick Liedtke (several sources give "Frederico Nobile", apparently erroneously) in Yo ...

, and based on the novel ''War in the Dark'' by Ludwig Wolff. The film grossed $543,000 in the USA and $541,000 elsewhere, grossing $1,084,000 worldwide, its profit was $369,000.

Plot

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Captain Karl von Raden (Conrad Nagel) purchases a returned ticket to a sold-out opera and finds himself sharing a loge with a lovely woman (Greta Garbo). Though she repulses his first advance, she does spend an idyllic day with him in the countryside, where romance blossoms. Before Karl can return to duty, his uncle, Colonel Eric von Raden (

Edward Connelly Edward Connelly (December 30, 1859 – November 21, 1928) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Connelly had a Broadway theater career going back to the Victorian era. His Broadway credits include ''The Wild Du ...

), the chief of the secret police, assigns him an important mission to deliver secret plans to officials in Berlin, but he also warns his nephew that the woman he just met is Tania Fedorova, a top Russian spy. Tania surprises Karl, meeting him onboard the train. Here she professes her love to him, but he informs her that he has been deceived, and is well aware that she is a spy. Dejected by his reaction, Tania leaves his compartment. When the train stops the next morning, Karl wakes up and finds the secret plans have been stolen. As a result, he is court martialed and sentenced to

military degradation Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ...

and imprisonment for treason. However, Colonel von Raden visits him in prison and arranges for his release. He sends his nephew to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, posing as a Serbian pianist, to seek out the identity of the real traitor and thus exonerate himself. In Warsaw, by chance, Karl is asked to play at a private party where he once again crosses paths with Tania. She is being escorted by General Boris Alexandroff (

), the infatuated head of the Russian Military Intelligence Department. Foolhardily, Karl plays a tune from the opera they attended together. She recognizes it, but does not betray him. As the party goers are leaving, she slips away for a few stolen moments with her love. The jealous Alexandroff suspects their feelings for each other. He hires Karl to play the next day at a ball he is giving at his mansion for Tania's birthday. While Alexandroff and Tania are alone in his home office, he receives a parcel containing the latest secrets stolen by the traitor, whom he casually identifies as Max Heinrich. Later, Tania steals the documents, gives them to Karl, and sends him out via a secret passage. However, it is all a trap. Alexandroff comes in and tells Tania that what she stole was mere blank paper; he shows her the real documents. He pulls out a gun and announces that he intends to use it on Karl, who has been captured outside. She struggles with Alexandroff and manages to fatally shoot him; the sound goes unheard amidst the merriment of the party. When the guards bring the prisoner, she pretends the general is still alive and wants to see him alone. She and Karl escape with the incriminating documents and get married.

Cast

as Tania Fedorova *

as Captain Karl von Raden *

as General Boris Alexandroff * Albert Pollet as Max Heinrich *

as Colonel Eric von Raden * Richard Alexander as General's Aide * Betty Blythe as Opera singer (*uncredited)(''per the dvd commentary track Jeffrey Vance and Tony Maietta'')

Home media

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

released ''The Mysterious Lady'' to DVD in 2005 as part of a box set called The Garbo Silents Collection with a music score by

Vivek Maddala Vivek Maddala is a four-time Emmy-winning composer who focuses on writing music for feature films, theater and dance productions, and television. He is known for composing music scores for independent movies such as '' Kaboom'', ''Highway'', and t ...

. The home video version contains an audio commentary track by film historians

Jeffrey Vance Jeffrey Vance (born May 21, 1970) is an American film historian and author who has published books on movie stars including Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Career While working as an archivist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists he met El ...

and Tony Maietta.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mysterious Lady, The 1928 films 1920s spy films American romantic drama films American silent feature films American spy films American black-and-white films Films based on German novels Films directed by Fred Niblo Films set in the 1910s Films set in Vienna Films set in Warsaw Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1928 romantic drama films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films