''Mata Hari, Agent H21'' () is a 1964 French-Italian

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a film genre, genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many Jame ...

directed by Jean-Louis Richard and starring

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-World War II, war era. He starred in m ...

and Claude Rich.Craig p.74 It portrays the activities of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

spy

Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (, ; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari ( , ; , ), was a Dutch Stripper, exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for German Empire, Germany during World War ...

. Costumes by

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...

Synopsis

In Paris during the First World War, an exotic dancer called Mata Hari moves in the best circles and has affairs with influential men. In fact she is Grietje Zelle from the neutral Netherlands and spies for Germany. At a party she lures Captain François Lasalle, a French army officer, back to her apartment. Once he is asleep, her contact photographs key documents from his briefcase. In their night together, François and Greitje have fallen in love. He wants to marry her, but she cannot break her contract with the Germans. When he goes back to the front, her contact gives her a new mission. She has to get into the office of another officer, Colonel Pelletier, and steal the plans of the ammunition depot he commands. After achieving this, with the help of her chauffeur Julien who is also in the pay of the Germans, she escapes into neutral Spain. When German agents succeed in blowing up the depot, Greitje is offered a ticket to anywhere in the world. She nonplusses her handlers by saying she wants to go back to France, so they arrange for her payoff to be at a bank in Paris. In fact she wants to rejoin François, who she finds at the front. While they are making love in an abandoned building, it is infiltrated by a German patrol. François is killed, but she escapes. Making her way to Paris, she is arrested as she leaves the bank and, after a court martial, shot. Nobody claims her body.

Cast

as Mata Hari / Margaretha Geertruida Zelle *

as Captain François Lasalle * Claude Rich as Julien the Chauffeur *

Henri Garcin Henri Garcin (born Anton Albers; 11 April 1928 – 13 June 2022) was a Belgian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1956 to 2022. Selected filmography * '' Mademoiselle and Her Gang'' (1957) * '' Mata Hari, Agent H21'' (1964) * ...

as Gaston, Mata-Hari's Lover * Georges Riquier as Ludovic *

Frank Villard Frank Villard (24 March 1917 – 19 September 1980) was a French film actor.Goble p.121 He was born François Drouineau in Saint-Jean-d'Angély. Selected filmography * ''The Last of the Six'' (1941) - Un homme (uncredited) * ''Cartacalha, reine ...

as Colonel Emile Pelletier / Legrand * Albert Rémy as Adam Zelle, Mata Hari's Father * Hella Petri as Baronne du Maine * Nicole Desailly as Charlotte, Mata-Hari's Maid * Carla Marlier as Ernestine, Mata-Hari's Maid * Jean-Marie Drot as German Spy Chief * Marcel Berbert as Detective Following Mata-Hari * Georges Géret as Soldier #2 * Henri Coutet as Soldier *

Charles Denner Charles Denner (29 May 1926 – 10 September 1995) was a French actor born to a Jewish family in Tarnów, Poland. During his 30-year career he worked with some of France's greatest film director, directors of the time, including Louis Malle, ...

as Soldier #1 * Max Desrau as Spectateur at the Alcazar * Van Doude as Policeman at the Bank's Entrance * Marie Dubois as Marie, the Young Girl * Yvette Etiévant as Nurse at the War Front * Édouard Francomme * Marcel Gassouk as Policeman * Charles Lavialle * Jean-Pierre Léaud as Absalon * Claude Mansard as Alcazar's Manager *

Serge Rousseau Serge Rousseau (13 March 1930 – 3 November 2007) was a French film and television actor and agent. He was a close friend of François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmake ...

* Pierre Tornade

References

Bibliography

* Craig, John S. ''Peculiar Liaisons: In War, Espionage, and Terrorism in the Twentieth Century''. Algora Publishing, 2005.

External links

*
''Mata Hari, Agent H21'' at AllMovie
* * 1964 films 1960s spy films 1960s historical films 1960s French-language films French historical films French spy films Italian historical films Italian spy films Films scored by Georges Delerue Films directed by Jean-Louis Richard Films set in the 1910s Cultural depictions of Mata Hari 1960s French films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub

Synopsis

Cast

See also

References

Bibliography

External links