Juarez is a 1939 American historical drama film directed by William Dieterle. The screenplay by Aeneas MacKenzie, John Huston, and Wolfgang Reinhardt is based on the 1934 biography The Phantom Crown by Bertita Harding and the 1925 play Juarez and Maximilian by Franz Werfel.
Plot
The film focuses on the ongoing conflict between Maximilian I, an Austrian archduke who is installed as the ruler of Mexico by the French Napoleon III, and Benito Juárez, the country's U.S.-backed president. In 1863, Napoleon III of France, fearful he will lose Mexico to Juárez, circumvents the Monroe Doctrine by instituting sovereign rule and controlling an election that places Maximilian von Habsburg on the Mexican throne.
Upon his arrival in the country with his wife Carlota of Belgium, Maxmilian realizes he is expected to establish French supremacy by confiscating land that Juárez had returned to the native people and penalizing the rebels under his command. Maximilian decides to abdicate his throne but is deterred from doing so by Carlota.
Maximillian offers Juárez the position of prime minister, but Juárez's refusal to compromise democratic self-rule for the Mexican people creates an unbridgeable rift between the two. When the American Civil War comes to an end, the United States warns Napoleon that it intends to enforce the Monroe Doctrine by military force if necessary, sending arms in support of Juárez's army. Their efforts are thwarted by Vice President Alejandro Uradi, who seizes the American ammunition and therefore virtually guarantees victory for Maximilian. However, Napoleon orders all French troops to evacuate Mexico, leaving Maximilian without an army.
Angered by this move, Carlota returns to Paris to appeal to Napoleon, but she suffers a mental breakdown. Juárez and his rebels capture Maxmillian and his men. Although arrangements to set him free are made, he insists on remaining with his supporters. Tried and found guilty, they are sentenced to death by firing squad.
Cast
Production
As early as 1935, producer Hal B. Wallis had proposed a film about Maximilian I of Mexico and Benito Juárez to director Max Reinhardt. At the time, he was interested in casting Luther Adler as the titular Mexican president. In 1937, Wallis and Jack L. Warner, in an effort to dissuade any other studios from embarking upon a similar project, purchased the screen rights to both the novel The Phantom Crown by Bertita Harding and the play Juarez and Maximilian by Franz Werfel, and on September 30, Aeneas MacKenzie began writing a first draft under associate producer Henry Blanke's supervision. According to Blanke, "Our problem from the outset in preparing this story for the screen was by no means one of glossing over facts, but rather one of cleaving to the exact line." To ensure the film was as accurate as possible, Warner Bros. head of research Herman Lissauer acquired three hundred books on the subject, and two historians were hired to help with changes to the script.
The epic film boasted 1,186 supporting players performing on 54 sets designed by art director Anton Grot and his assistant Leo Kuter. The largest was an 11-acre replica of Mexico constructed on a ranch in Calabasas, California. Behind the throne room and living quarters of Maximilian (Brian Aherne) was a 250-foot-long and 50-foot-high backdrop of Mexico City, with Popocatépetl in the distance.
In later years, Time Out London stated "Only Bette Davis and Gale Sondergaard have any fire in this otherwise plodding Warner Bros costume drama," while Channel 4 noted "Despite the frills, there is very little substance in this overcooked adventure."
Awards and nominations
Brian Aherne was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 12th Academy Awards. Juarez was on a preliminary list of submissions from the studios for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) but was not nominated.
See also
- The Mad Empress - 1939 film distributed by Warner Bros.