If you thought Julie Andrews gave a marvelous performance in the heartwarming musical ‘The Sound of Music’, wait till you watch this 1970 classic that showcases her smokey timbre once again. Director Blake Edwards and his actress - wife Julie Andrews join forces for a musical based on the life of legendary double agent Mata Hari.

Andrews plays Lili Smith, a World War I singer in Paris, who's actually a spy for the Germans trying to get secrets from an American pilot Major William Larrabee (Rock Hudson). Her cover up is her singing popular patriotic songs, such as ‘Pack up Your Troubles’ and ‘It's a Long Way to Tipperary’. She tries to seduce Larrabee who simply can’t resist her charms and falls madly in love with her. Lili in turn falls in love with the man she is supposed to betray. But Lili learns that Larrabee has secrets of his own, and wonders which one of them is the true deceiver. You can imagine how this is going to go… on the one side she's torn by loyalty to the motherland and the other side, her loyalty to love Larrabee. All this comes to a crescendo when Andrews croons to some classics and even going all the way to stripping on stage. In the end, can Lili still keep an eye on Larrabee? When Larrabee discovers Lili's secret, does he turn her in. Watch out what happens.

The movie's WWI aerial sequences (shot in Ireland) are something to cue into. Julie Andrews was still at the height of her. The music by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, include the superb opening number, the evocatively shot ‘Whistling in the Dark.’ When Andrews emerges out of the blackness in the first scene to sing this song it is one of those chill-inducing moments. Other great songs include ‘I'll Give You Three Guesses’ and the sobering ‘Girl in No Man's Land’.

Rating: *****

Reviewed By Verus Ferreira