The Adventures Of Marco Polo (1938/MGM/Samuel Goldwyn Co.)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: C+
Not as
many productions of Marco Polo’s like exist as you might think, but the 1938
version Samuel Goldwyn produced is on DVD from MGM and The Adventures Of Marco Polo is a watchable, if limited
entertainment experience. Gary Cooper is
the title character, exploring the world and finding himself up again evil in
the guise of Basil Rathbone as Ahmed, who intended to overthrow the Kublai Khan
throne. Archie Mayo’s directing is not
bad and the film has its moments, but all I could think of as I watched is how
many times they kept says Polo’s name. Ugh!
The film
also boasts a good cast that includes Sigrid Gurie, Ernest Truex, George
Barbier, Alan Hale, Lana Turner, plus Ward Bond, Richard Farnsworth and Jason
Robards, Sr. and is a rich production backed by producer Samuel Goldwyn, whose
company produced the film. He was a
smart man and covered all of his basis here.
This is worth a look.
The 1.33
X 1 image is not bad, was shot by both Rudolph Maté and Archie Stout, has good
grey scale and even has a few good moments of depth and detail. The sound is here in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
and Stereo, with a solid score by the great Hugo Friedhofer. There are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
