Greta Garbo as Mata Hari
Screenings

Queen Christina/Mata Hari

  • This is a past program

Presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive screening series Then Came Garbo... Learn more at cinema.ucla.edu.

The Meeting of Two Queens (1991)

Chilean filmmaker Cecilia Barriga recuts scenes from the movies of Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich to construct an imagined romantic encounter between the two icons of on-screen androgyny.

DCP, b&w, 14 min. Director: Cecilia Barriga.

Queen Christina (1933)

Queen Christina, the iconoclastic, gender-fluid regent of Sweden, was 28 years old when she shocked Europe by abdicating her throne in 1654 rather than submitting to marriage. Greta Garbo was the same age when she portrayed Christina in a role that had long fascinated her and which would become one of the most celebrated of her career. Co-written by friend and frequent collaborator Salka Viertel, the script invents a male love interest for the queen, played by John Gilbert, and nods toward a rumored one (with real noblewoman Ebba Sparre). For all the film’s historical liberties, though, Garbo delivers an authentically fierce performance as a woman who charted her own course, tradition and history be damned.

35mm, b&w, 101 min. Director: Rouben Mamoulian. Screenwriters: H.M. Harwood, Salka Viertel, S.N. Behrman. With: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith. From the collection of the George Eastman Museum.

Mata Hari (1931)

This fanciful espionage melodrama was inspired by the life of the eponymous WWI dancer-cum-double-agent. Set in Paris circa 1917, Mata Hari features Garbo as a glamorous German spy who beds Russian military officers to steal state secrets while they sleep. Trouble starts when she spurns a jealous general (Lionel Barrymore) after falling hard for a handsome aviator (Ramon Novarro). Directed by George Fitzmaurice in an exotic Sternbergian vein, the film was hailed as a sexy romance that the New York Times declared “an entertainment of no mean value in which that mysterious actress, Greta Garbo, gives another flawless portrayal.”

35mm, b&w, 91 min. Director: George Fitzmaurice. Screenwriters: Benjamin Glazer, Leo Birinski. With: Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone. From the collection of the George Eastman Museum.

ATTENDING THIS PROGRAM?

Ticketing: Admission to Archive screenings at the Hammer is free. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. Box office opens one hour before the event. Questions should be directed to the Archive at programming@cinema.ucla.edu or 310-206-8013.

Member Benefit: Subject to availability, Hammer Members can choose their preferred seats. Members receive priority ticketing until 15 minutes before the program. Learn more about membership.

Parking: Valet parking is available on Lindbrook Drive for $15 cash only. Self-parking is available under the museum. Rates are $8 for the first three hours with museum validation, and $3 for each additional 20 minutes, with a $22 daily maximum. There is an $8 flat rate after 5 p.m. on weekdays, and all day on weekends.

Read our food, bag check, and photo policies.
Read our COVID-19 safety guidelines.

♿ Accessibility information