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| Adventures of Marco Polo | 
 enlarge | Directors: Archie Mayo, John Cromwell, John Ford
Actors: Gary Cooper, Sigrid Gurie, Basil Rathbone, George Barbier, Binnie Barnes
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Category: Video
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $3.80
You Save: $11.15 (75%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $3.80
Avg. Customer Rating:  (5 reviews)
Sales Rank: 31417
Format: Black & White, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 100 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6303039162
UPC: 026359112935
EAN: 9786303039169
ASIN: 6303039162
Release Date: July 7, 1994
Theatrical Release Date: April 15, 1938
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Gary Cooper makes a dashing, flirtatious explorer-adventurer in The Adventures of Marco Polo, 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 (The Petrified Forest), The Adventures of Marco Polo 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. --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews:
Great History? No...but Entertaining Gary Cooper! September 12, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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!
 Hybrid May 17, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
The problem with Marco Polo is that it couldn't make up its mind whether it was a comedy or swashbuckler. Although I like him, Gary Cooper is miscast in this role (Ronald Colman or Robert Donat would have been better) and the screenplay needed to be more sober. George Barbier's Kubla Khan (sp?) is better suited to a Paramount farce with W.C. Fields. Ernest Truex, with that whiny voice, is almost unbearable. Who comes out on top as usual?....Basil Rathbone. He is the only reason I would watch this film.
 A fun adventure movie March 15, 2007
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
Much has been made about the "miscasting" of Gary Cooper as the Venetian explorer Marco Polo. However he is one of the best actors Hollywood has ever seen and I don't believe we've seen his equal yet or are likely too anytime soon. He does quite a good job in this pic and it's a fun watch. It's not up there with Sgt. York or Mr. Deeds but you can't go wrong with any film starring Cooper. Also look for Lana Turner in one of her first roles as one of Alan Hale Sr.'s servants.
Marco? January 4, 2007
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
I'll always watch Gary Cooper. But as Marco Polo he's just not that good. MGM lavish production seems kind of chinzy. Amusing? Entertaining? Not so much. He hops effortlessly from Venice to China. He messes around with another man's fiancee in the 13th century as 20th century American men were wont to do. Nobody knows what Marco Polo was really like. He brought the west spaghetti & gunpowder. The rest of the story seems like it's from the screenwriters at MGM. The movie ends with Marco taking Princess Kukachin (Sigid Gurie) to her husband in Persia, the long way around. The more time to fool around until she marries. Nice.
 GREAT PAIRING OF COOPER and SIGRID June 18, 2003
6 out of 15 found this review helpful
Amusing, entertaining.... two words I would use in describing this holiday confection from Samuel Goldwyn. Lavish sets, costumes, music and good performances from Cooper and the Norwegian Sigrid Gurie(she is equally good in THREE FACES WEST with John Wayne).
Sigrid Gurie suffered greatly in her shaky career: At the time mof this film it was found out that she was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn and that the "Siren of the Fjords" was a "fake".
The fact that her parents were Norwegian and moved back to Norway when Sigrid was 11 months was dismissed. (Their ship was not so far the Titanic when it sunk...)
Vivien Leigh was born in Darjeeling, India and Liv Ullmann in Tokyo. They were never labeled as Indian or Japanese. There are many similar examples and why poor Sigrid suffered this idiotic case in unbelivable. Goldwyn indeed called it "a great hoax"... Why Sigrid left Goldwyn after "Algiers" is no wonder.
But she did leave us with this film, ALGIERS and THREE FACES WEST - and she playes each role differently. It`s a shame Goldwyn didn`t look after her - me may have had another star in the tradition of Dietrich and Garbo. Though I must say; SIGRID GURIE had and has a quality and a presence all her own:-)
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