The Adventures of Marco Polo
Tags: action

Plot synopsis:
Nicolo Polo shows treasures from China and sends his son Marco Polo (Gary Cooper) there with his assistant (and comic relief) Binguccio (Ernest Truex). They sail from Venice, are shipwrecked, and cross the desert of Persia and the mountains of Tibet to China, to seek out Peking and the palace of China's ruler, Kublai Khan (George Barbier).
The philosopher/fireworks-maker Chen Tsu (H. B. Warner) is the first friend they make in the city, and invites them into his home for a meal of spaghetti. Children explode a fire-cracker, and Marco thinks it could be a weapon. Meanwhile, at the Palace, Ahmed (Basil Rathbone), the Emperor's adviser, harboring dubious ambitions of his own, convinces Emperor Kublai Khan that his army of a million men can conquer Japan.
Kublai Khan promises Princess Kukachin (Sigrid Gurie) to the King of Persia. Marco, arriving at the palace, sees Kukachin praying for a handsome husband. Marco is granted an audience with the emperor at the same time as a group of ladies-in-waiting arrive; Kublai Khan lets Marco test the maidens to find out which are the most worthy. Marco tests them all with a question ("How many teeth does a snapping turtle have?"), and he sends off the ones who had incorrectly guessed the answer, as well as those who had told him the correct answer (none), retaining those saying they did not know. His reasoning behind this is that they are the perfect ladies-in-waiting, not overly intelligent, and honest. Kublai agrees and Marco immediately becomes a favored guest. Ahmed shows Marco his private tower with vultures and executes a spy via a trapdoor into a lion pit. Kukachin tells Marco that she is going to marry the King of Persia, but, having fallen in love with her, he shows her what a kiss is. A guard tells Ahmed, who vows to keep Marco out of the way. Ahmed then advises Kublai Khan to send Marco into the desert to spy on suspected rebels. Kukachin warns Marco of the deceiving Ahmed.

Review: Gary Cooper plays the Venetian explorer, and the film opens in a Venice seemingly constructed of cardboard.
The placid mandarin figure takes this in his stride, and happens to mention that he is treating his son to a crash course in both eastern and western wisdom - which is not bad for a place that has not yet been visited by a European.Soon our Gary (er, Marco) is served a mysterious oriental dish called 'spaghet', which he thinks he will introduce to Venice when he returns.At the royal palace (made of a superior form of cardboard), he is soon immersed in the intrigues of the court of Kublai Khan.
Archie Mayo's 1938 "The Adventures of Marco Polo" is an odd film to watch.
Robert Sherwood, a distinguished writer of better films, is responsible for writing the screen treatment, but frankly, his imprint is lacking in the finished product.Of course, times have changed and no Hollywood producer would dare to give this type of "entertainment" to today's audiences because they would be seen as ridiculous, at best.
It's obvious the people behind this film either had budget problems, or they didn't get the right art directors to improve the film.Gary Cooper, as Marco Polo, appears to be lost.
THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO take him from his home in Venice, across the wide expanse of Asia, to the palace of the great Kublai Khan.Lavish and at times exciting, this adventure film never rises far above the level of a comic book and should not be relied on for much historical accuracy.
Even so, it is nonetheless entertaining, with a sturdy hero and a villain worthy of scorn & hisses.To his credit, Gary Cooper plays the title role with good grace and a straight face, doubtless well aware that a fat paycheck would be his reward for spending so much time running about in 13th century garments.
His romance with princess Sigrid Gurie is refreshingly low-key and charming, even if wholly implausible.Basil Rathbone is the evil Saracen who controls the Khan's court, his lust for ultimate power having made him as rapacious as the vultures & lions he keeps in his private apartments to feed upon his enemies.
Suave & sophisticated, Rathbone's soothing voice and sinister good looks made him the perfect intelligent villain.A bevy of fine character actors keeps the fast paced story moving: little Ernest Truex as Marco's bookkeeper with bad feet - he spends much of the film perched on Cooper's back; H.
B. Warner as the soft-spoken Chinese inventor who befriends Marco; chubby, dithering George Barbier as a less-than-awesome Khan; rotund Robert Greig, sporting enormous fingernails, as the Khan's majordomo, and diminutive Ferdinand Gottschalk as a most unfortunate emissary from the Khan of Persia.Jolly Alan Hale appears as a rebel leader who blithely sends his prisoners off to be boiled in oil, but secretly lives in fear of his termagant wife, Binnie Barnes, while he secretly ogles slave girl Lana Turner.***************************Some of the true facts concerning Marco Polo (1254-1324) and omitted by the film should perhaps be relayed.
(There was no romance between Marco and the princess; to attempt one would have been more than his life was worth.) Eventually, after seemingly endless travel, the three Polos arrived home in Venice, having been gone for 24 years.
Worthless as biography and not even much of a Gary Cooper adventure film but on a camp level there is entertainment value here.
Gary Cooper does not look at all like a traveling merchant in the 13th century but like Gary Cooper of course, oddly that's one of the films strengths since even when faced with the unlikely sight of Basil Rathbone as Ahmed a Mongol villain Coop is there to remind you that this is a vehicle for its star and little else..
Other than that, it has no distinction whatsoever except that it provides a nice comic book excursion into the past with lavish sets of Oriental splendor but little else for compensation.Still, it's watchable enough thanks to the low-key and quietly humorous performance of GARY COOPER (an unlikely choice for the role of the Italian adventurer from Venice).
It's also interesting to watch SIGRID GURIE, fascinating in close-ups with Hollywood's brand of Oriental make-up--but an actress who never managed to be more than a passing fancy.BASIL RATHBONE adds the right touch of menace as Ahmed, the villain of the piece, and ALAN HALE brings his boisterous presence to the role of a man who was afraid of his lecherous wife (BINNIE BARNES) but not afraid to dispose of his enemies in boiling oil.It gets more laughable as it goes on, but reaches new heights of incredibility with an ending that has Polo making use of explosives to bring down the enemy camp.
Like the better realized but equally fake-medieval "Adventures of Robin Hood," released the same year (1938), "The Adventures of Marco Polo" (note the similar title) provides plenty of entertainment in the comedy-adventure genre that eventually led to "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Evaluating either "Raiders" or "Marco Polo" on its historical accuracy misses the point.
(Remember, it's not supposed to be real.) As Kublai's evil vizier, Basil Rathbone emanates the same elegant menace as he did in the role of Sir Guy in "Robin Hood." The ubiquitous Alan Hale, Sr., plays his usual self, and if you look carefully you'll see teenybopper Lana Turner in a small but fully credited role.Why aren't there any Chinese here in leading roles?
Gary Cooper plays the role of Marco , a venetian adventurer , in this all star production of Marco Polo's adventures .
Young Marco travels to China to help Kublai Khan fight against rebels, headed by his own assistant , with a new invention : gunpowder .
High budget Hollywood production deals with Marco Polo travels from Venice to Pekin , where he falls in love with the Emperor's daughter .
Marco (sympathetic as well laconic Gary Cooper) becomes the first traveler to record his visit to the Eastern court of the Emperor Kublai Khan .
Kublai (Barbier) is a kindly fellow , but his villain aide Ahmed (Basil Rathbone replaced originally cast John Carradine as the evil of a piece) wants to get rid of Kublai Khan so he can be emperor, and to get rid of Marco Polo so he can marry the princess .
But Ahmed sends Marco Polo to the West to fight barbarians led by a Tartar chief called Kaidu (Alan Hale Jr), but he goes back just in time to save the day .
Look out for Lana Turner in her sixth movie making a short appearance , almost extra , as a slave girl , later she recalled in a Gary Cooper biography that her "fancy black oriental wig" had been glued around her face with spirit gum, while she felt extremely uncomfortable in her costumes .
The film was received poorly at the box-office, becoming the biggest flop up to that time for both Gary Cooper and Samuel Goldwyn; it was estimated that the picture lost close to $700,000 .
Being a Samuel Goldwyn production, the film is the very antithesis of a history lesson; still, it's more interesting when dealing with the title character's various discoveries in the Orient than his romantic conquests!
Goldwyn, however, could surely afford to employ a reliable cast - most of whom, though, one would be hard-pressed to accept as Chinese - including Gary Cooper (likeable as always in the lead, if not exactly believable), Basil Rathbone (a typically sly villain), Sigrid Gurie (Kublai Khan's daughter and, naturally, an object of contention between Cooper and Rathbone), Ernext Truex (funny as Cooper's flustered sidekick), Alan Hale (a jovial rebel leader) and H.B. Warner (who basically replicates his dignified Chang from LOST HORIZON [1937]).
But - although the film (of course) plays loose with historical fact - it must be remembered that Marco Polo did it as well, and there is almost no actual record to compare anyone's version of the story against: Polo (like Cellini) was a notorious liar-in-print.
I first saw this film with my world history class when I was a junior in high school.There were three other classes watching with mine,most of us were heckling it.Among the corniest aspects were the sign for the Polo Brothers business written in English(this was Venice,they were Italians),then when Ernest Truex was in a gondola searching for Marco Polo breaking out in song about him.Even after makeup,Sigrid Gurie looked about as Chinese as Hillary Duff does without makeup.I couldn't believe such talented actors as Truex,Gary Cooper,& Basil Rathbone would have made such a silly film.The best performance was by H.B.Warner as Chen Tsu,the first Chinaman Polo befriended.It was on TCM last night,Robert Osborne commented about how the movie was not a box office hit,I'm not surprised.The only reason to watch is for laughs at how corny it is..
THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO is an unjustifiably maligned film.
Yes, it has a lot of problems with it, including the miscasting of the Chinese characters (Sigrid Gurie was a mistake), the sluggish middle part and somewhat insulting plot points concerning Chinese culture in general (they don't know what a kiss is?) but if you overlook this (yes, it might be much for some), there's actually a fun film here with Gary Cooper at his most relaxed and handsome, Basil Rathbone being wonderfully evil, some cool vintage Hollywood sets, an exciting climax all done with an amiable goofy tone to it which makes you forget the film's obvious weaknesses.The best thing about ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO is Gary Cooper.
Thankfully, Basil Rathbone is there to bring balance to the uneven film with a control and yet knowingly campy performance.So to recap, a fun old fashioned adventure film with Gary Cooper at his most enjoyable..
It's quite an expedition to go to China,if we are to believe the screenwriters!Today,Venice ,and the lovely women Marco ,a womanizer as irresistible as Casanova,seduces,and tomorrow,no problem ,we are in a Chinese village where a wise man reads the Bible to children ("are you a Christian?-No,but I want'em to be carefully taught and be aware of all religions around the world ";relevant today and even a lesson to be remembered in our troubled times)A cheap expedition :only two persons (Marco and some kind of dwarf ,here to provide the story with a comic relief ) and not a long and winding road full of ambushes or dangers .As easy as to go from the Doges Palace to Marco's uncle's mansion .(The uncle is just passing by) It's very pleasant though.Gary Cooper is handsome and his charm is as effective in China as it is in Venice (or in America);there is a very tongue-in -cheek side that sustains the interest throughout:Marco suggests he "test" the women,before a khan shocked by his brazenness;the princess ,reciting all his family tree to play for time and thus not to marry the ugly villain,the ending with a dubious moral ,which people with a dirty mind might take for a future menage à Trois..
Venetian Marco Polo (Gary Cooper) travels to China and meets the famed ruler Kublai Khan (George Barbier).
Unfortunately he must deal with the evil machinations of Khan's scheming adviser, Ahmed (Basil Rathbone).Diverting adventure drama with a slightly miscast Cooper having a good time.
With The Adventures of Marco Polo he could hardly have done worse.How can I say it, Gary Cooper just does not suggest a renaissance Italian Man. Unless they all had that Montana drawl.
The two of them as the history books tell us, go off to the court of Kublai Khan to negotiate a trade agreement for Venetian merchants, particularly the House of Polo.There the real history stops as Cooper gets involved in all kinds of palace intrigue.Here's some of where Sam Goldwyn's casting gets positively zany.
Mr. Goldwyn produced an absolute bomb here in his depiction of Polo (Gary Cooper) going to China.By the way, with the exception of a map stating Cathay, ancient Cathay is referred to as China in this film.
Gary Cooper comes across like a western star and Sigrid Gurie, his leading lady, must have thought she was doing a poor imitation of Luise Rainer in "The Good Earth."You know you're in for it when Ernest Truex, the bookkeeper, goes singing "Marco Polo" on a gondola at the beginning of the film.Alan Hale and Binnie Barnes play leaders in western China where the Kublai Khan sends them to.
Barnes and Hale are completely unfaithful to each other.Basil Rathbone, as evil as ever as the horrible Ahmed, minister to the khan, even looks disgusted and rightfully so by all this.H.B. Warner provides the firecrackers, spaghetti and gun powder for all this.Goldwyn lost a bundle on this mess and rightfully so.
Sam Goldwyn production, Vasquez Rocks sitting in for China, a 40-ish looking Gary Cooper playing a 17 year old, some harmless, Caucasian boob masquerading as the Great Khan, good old Alan Hale for comic relief (what else could he provide?).
Everyone is miscast: a Caucassian actress born in Brooklyn, herself billed as a "Norwegian beauty" cast as a weak sister Chinese princess; Alan Hale as the western Chinese rebel leader; Gary Cooper as Polo.
Historically inaccurate doesn't even begin to describe how bad this movie is -- and I happen to like Gary Cooper.
This film was a big loss to MGM in 1938, most people did not find that Gary Cooper was suited for this type of picture and his leading lady, Sigrid Gurie was a star from Norway who lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. and not many people knew anything about her.
Anyway, Cooper played Marco Polo and tried his hand at comedy which did not suit him.
Sigrid Gurie,(Princess Kukochin),"Sofia" fell in love with Parco Polo (Gary Cooper), "The Plainsman" even though she was going to have an arranged marriage to another man she did not know.
Basil Rathbone, (Ahmed), "The Black Sleep", played the evil person who had strong desires for the Princess and wanted to kill Marco Polo.
Six foot, three inch Gary Cooper standing upright and passing through the palace guards undetected among the Chinese peasants (e.g. pretending to be a Chinaman himself) isn't the only unbelievable moment in this fictionalized biography of the great Venetian explorer.According to Robert Sherwood's screenplay, or N.A. Pogson's story, produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by Archie Mayo, Marco Polo (with help from Kaidu, played by Alan Hale) actually saved China, rescuing emperor Kublai Khan (George Barbier), and his daughter Princess Kukachin (Sigrid Gurie), from his own ambitious adviser Ahmed (Basil Rathbone), as well as bringing spaghetti and coal to Italy.Apparently Polo also discovered that the gunpowder China used to burn bright for celebrations and make firecrackers (as toys) could be also be utilized on a larger scale for weaponry (e.g. to blow up gates or bring down walls).
Since historians question the facts surrounding this famed, mid-to-late 13th century trader-explorer, I'll not comment further on the validity of such claims.In the film, Ernest Truex plays Polo's traveling companion and bookkeeper Binguccio, Binnie Barnes plays Kaidu's wife Nazama, H.B. Warner plays the native Chen Tsu who helps Polo, Ferdinand Gottschalk the Persian Ambassador, Harold Huber plays Toctai, the assassin Ahmed sends to kill Kaidu, and Lana Turner plays Nazama's maid, who's coveted by Kaidu.Because his son is young and popular with the ladies (his disarming good looks?), Nicolo Polo (Henry Kolker) and some Venetian businessmen decide to send Marco (Cooper) to the East to establish trade agreements.
THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO was a notable flop for producer Samuel Goldwyn, being a staged Hollywood version of the adventures of the famous Venetian explorer who travelled to China and brought back spaghetti and gunpowder.
Gary Cooper is miscast as the lead and there's some value from Basil Rathbone's clichéd scheming villain, but watching the likes of Lana Turner and George Barbier pretending to be Asian is quite the embarrassment.
You can just imagine the planning meetings; "yeah, we'll have Gary Cooper as Marco Polo, there'll be adventure, beautiful girls, romance, action, all set in the mystic east, it's gonna be GREAT...".Except it wasn't.
Often films that don't do well at the time are viewed more kindly in hindsight, but not this one; it is very patchy indeed.Gary Cooper does his best but you can see his heart is not in it; if he too had been made up to look 'oriental' then it could have been an epic miscast on a par with John Wayne in 'the Conqueror' two decades later.
The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938): Gary Cooper, Basil Rathbone, Sigrid Gurie, George Barbier, Lana Turner, Binnie Barnes, Ernest Ruex, AlanHale, Ward Bond, H.B. Warner, Robert Greig, Henry Kolker, Lotus Liu, Harold Huber, Reginald Barlow, Harry Cording, Richard Farnsworth, Leo Fielding, Anne Graham, Hale Hamilton, Eugene Hoo, Greta Granstedt, Granville Bates.....Director Archie Mayo, Story by N.A. Pogson, Screenplay Robert.
"The Adventures of Marco Polo" was a different type of film for him and originally, audiences did not flock to see it.
The real Marco Polo never behaved the way Cooper does in the movie, nor did he ever experience the type of encounters he has in this film.
For such a film, this one is well worth viewing, especially if you're a fan of Gary Cooper or have an interest in classic films.1300's era Italian/Venetian explorer Marco Polo (Cooper) is assigned to explore China, namely the capital of Peking, the home of the Great Emperor Kublai Kan (Barbier).
Trouble arises when Marco is sent to dangerous enemy territory, as part of a carefully constructed plot by the Emperor's adviser Ahmed(played by Basil Rathbone).
Gary Cooper goes from Italy to China in a manner that only old Hollywood could manage with make believe sets and white actors pretending to be Asian.
Cooper, a good actor in the right part, is completely out of place as Polo.
Not.The one redeeming factor of the film is Gary Cooper.