Plot
Juarez was originally designed to concentrate almost exclusively on the tragedy of Hapsburg Emperor Maximillian, whose attempts to establish a puppet government in Mexico on behalf of Napoleon III ended in disaster and death. But when Paul Muni decided that he wanted to play Zapotec-Indian-turned-Mexican President Benito Pablo Juarez, the film's emphasis perceptibly shifted -- and Bette Davis, cast as Empress Carlotta, was shunted to second billing rather than first. Muni's makeup and costuming convincingly transforms him into Juarez incarnate. But unlike his other historical impersonations (Pasteur, Zola), Muni's Juarez is a one-note characterization: stoic, uncompromising, and v-e-e-r-y slow of speech. Far more exciting dramatically is Bette Davis as Empress Carlotta, whose highly stylized descent into madness is a tour de force both for the actress and for director William Dieterle. Claude Rains and Gale Sondergaard, as Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie, in essence repeat their diabolical characterizations from Anthony Adverse (1936), while John Garfield is singularly miscast as Pofirio Diaz. The best performance is delivered by Brian Aherne, whose kindly, honorable Emperor Maximillian is less a despot than a misguided political pawn. When Aherne, about to be executed at Juarez' orders, requests that his favorite Mexican song "La Paloma" be played as he is led before the firing squad, audience sympathies are 100% in Maximilian's corner--which was not quite what the filmmakers intended. Based largely on Bertita Harding's book The Phantom Crown (the film's original title), Juarez takes every available opportunity to parallel its title character's fight against foreign intervention with the then-current European situation. To protect their investment in Juarez Warner Bros. purchased outright a like-vintage Mexican film on the same subject, The Mad Empress, suppressing the latter film's release in the United States. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
Juarez manages to be a very entertaining and effective historical epic, despite some enormous flaws. Part of its success lies in the fact that -- unlike so many Hollywood attempts to film history -- a great deal of what ends up on the screen is accurate. It helps also, of course, that the historical situation being explored is one that is in and of itself exciting and intriguing. The screenplay doesn't always succeed in capturing this excitement and intrigue totally, due in no small part to the fact that too many people had a hand in writing and shaping it, but individual sequences are excellent and director William Dieterle does a fine job of pulling together its disparate parts and camouflaging the gaps and faults. He is helped greatly by Brian Aherne's excellent performance, which makes Maximilian into a sympathetic and complicated character, as well as by Bette Davis, who sinks her teeth into her juicy mad scene and plays it for all she is worth. Gale Sondergaard and Claude Rains are also effective, both smoothly villainous, but John Garfield is quite miscast. More damaging, however, is Paul Muni whose decision to underplay his role in order to contrast with Davis' histrionics renders Juarez distant, remote, uninvolving, and quite dull. This leaden anchor at its center weakens Juarez, but the film fortunately has enough assets to mitigate the damage. ~ Craig Butler, RoviCast
- Paul Muni - Benito Pablo Juarez
- Bette Davis - Empress Carlota von Habsburg
- Brian Aherne - Emperor Maximilian von Habsburg
- Claude Rains - Louis Napoleon
- John Garfield - Porfirio Diaz
Credit
Orry-Kelly - Costume Designer, William Dieterle - Director, Warren Low - Editor, Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Composer (Music Score), Leo F. Forbstein - Musical Direction/Supervision, Anton Grot - Production Designer, Tony Gaudio - Cinematographer, Henry Blanke - Producer, Hal B. Wallis - Producer, John Huston - Screenwriter, Aeneas MacKenzie - Screenwriter, Wolfgang Reinhardt - Screenwriter, Bertita Harding - Book Author, Franz Werfel - Play Author| Juanita Hall (1966 Film), Juanita Bynum Unplugged (Film) | |
| Juarez Mexico (Film), Juba (1978 Film) |
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