Juarez (1939)
With a cast of Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Brian Aherne, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp, Gilbert Roland, John Garfield, Gale Sondergaard, Harry Davenport, Joseph Calleia, and Louis Calhern, you wouldn’t think the movie would be bad. Unfortunately, Juarez was so stinky, I could barely get through it. Once again, Paul Muni put on a disguise designed to make him unrecognizable to his adoring public, and put on an accent to play a character of a different ethnicity than his own. Since he’s done that in so many of his movies, why don’t you rent something else tonight?
The movie shares screen time between Benito Juarez and Emperor Maximillian, played by Paul and Brian, showing the push and pull of Mexican politics during the 1860s. Juarez fights for democracy, and Maximillian and his wife, Bette Davis, don’t want to give up the throne. Bette is much more attached to the monarchy than Brian, and she’s given several scenes to shout, thrash, scream, and show her sanity is hanging by a thread. I love Bette, and to be kind, I’ll just say this isn’t her finest performance.
I also love Paul, and this isn’t his finest performance, either. He tries very hard to look like Juarez, but he doesn’t get to do much acting in this movie. He has a stone-face in every scene, is given very little dialogue, and never has the chance—either because of the script or his personal choice to embody his character—to show any displays of emotion. The political aspects of this film aren’t particularly interesting, since many films of rebellion have similar themes and scenes. And, since the acting isn’t good either, there’s not much of a reason to watch it. Even if you’re a Brian Aherne fan, you can find much better acting in My Son! My Son! than you can in this film.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Paul Muni movies here!
The movie shares screen time between Benito Juarez and Emperor Maximillian, played by Paul and Brian, showing the push and pull of Mexican politics during the 1860s. Juarez fights for democracy, and Maximillian and his wife, Bette Davis, don’t want to give up the throne. Bette is much more attached to the monarchy than Brian, and she’s given several scenes to shout, thrash, scream, and show her sanity is hanging by a thread. I love Bette, and to be kind, I’ll just say this isn’t her finest performance.
I also love Paul, and this isn’t his finest performance, either. He tries very hard to look like Juarez, but he doesn’t get to do much acting in this movie. He has a stone-face in every scene, is given very little dialogue, and never has the chance—either because of the script or his personal choice to embody his character—to show any displays of emotion. The political aspects of this film aren’t particularly interesting, since many films of rebellion have similar themes and scenes. And, since the acting isn’t good either, there’s not much of a reason to watch it. Even if you’re a Brian Aherne fan, you can find much better acting in My Son! My Son! than you can in this film.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Paul Muni movies here!