The Adventures of Marco Polo

Buy This Item The Adventures of Marco Polo by MGM (Video & DVD)  Available from Amazon  $17.99  on 11-28-2008     Gary Cooper makes a dashing, flirtatious explorer-adventurer in <I>The Adventures of Marco Polo</I>, a twinkling account of Polo's 13th century travels from his home in Venice to China, where he established a new east-west trade route. Nothing comes easy, of course, so the film's script (by author Robert E. Sherwood) finds playboy Polo barely surviving his journey only to be sabotaged in his efforts to forge a relationship with emperor Kublai Khan (George Barbier). Polo’s rival for Khan's loyalty (and the affections of the emperor's daughter, played by the exotic Sigrid Gurie) is the scheming Ahmed (Basil Rathbone), who has the ruler's ear and is wont to punish enemies by chaining them down for the benefit of hungry vultures. The story's general outrageousness extends to Polo’s banishment to a tribe of rebels, led by a henpecked strongman (Alan Hale) whose shrewish wife takes a shine to the Venetian stud and saves him from execution. Directed by Archie Mayo (<I>The Petrified Forest</I>), <I>The Adventures of Marco Polo</I> is glossy fun, led by Cooper's charming, knowing performance and highlighted by the film’s unwillingness to take anything too seriously. Scenes in which Polo is introduced to two Chinese inventions--spaghetti and gunpowder--are priceless. <I>--Tom Keogh</I> Reader Reviews You simply can't take "The Adventures of Marco Polo" seriously...but as a light-hearted, glossy, tongue-in-cheek adventure, the film is great fun, from the same year as Warner's "The Adventures of Robin Hood". With producer Samuel Goldwyn's biggest box office star, Gary Cooper, in the lead, as a drawling, skirt-chasing Polo, the film opens with an opulent, Hollywood version of 13th century Venice, then quickly moves to the steppes of central Asia, and finally the equally opulent court of Chinese Emperor Kublai Khan (George Barbier), where Cooper and his groaning comic relief (Ernest Truex) encounter Khan's exotic, if not particularly Oriental-looking, daughter (Sigrid Gurie...who learns how to kiss from the obliging Polo), and Khan's ruthless adviser, Ahmed (another terrific villainous portrayal by Basil Rathbone), who has designs on both China and Gurie. Screenwriter Robert Sherwood tosses in a bit of history (the Chinese inventions of spaghetti and gunpowder, introduced to Polo by H.B. Warner, channeling his "Lost Horizon" persona), but clearly treats the storyline as farce, adding a feared (but henpecked) tribal chief (a heavily made-up Alan Hale), and his jealous wife (Binnie Barnes, who also falls under Polo's spell). Also, watch for 17-year-old Lana Turner in a small but showy role as a most desirable Chinese handmaiden (this is the infamous film where Goldwyn's makeup department burned off her eyebrows, permanently). Directed by veteran director Archie Mayo (who lacked Michael Curtiz' flair for epic period adventure), the action scenes are a bit flat, and Cooper's climactic fight with Rathbone is somewhat disappointing (truthfully, he seems out-of-place confronting a swashbuckling villain). Certainly, 1938 audiences weren't 'buying' Cooper as an Italian adventurer (it WAS a stretch!), and the film flopped, but if you're in the mood for pure escapism, from Hollywood's 'Golden' age, "The Adventures of Marco Polo" is certainly worth a look!

The Adventures of Marco Polo Available from Amazon Price: $17.99 Updated on 11-28-2008.

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