While 13th century China remains a mystery, we learn a lot about 1930s Hollywood through this fictionalised romp
The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938)
Director: Archie Mayo
Entertainment grade: C–
History grade: D
Marco Polo was the first European to document travel to China in his Description of the World. Whether or not he actually visited China himself is a subject of dispute among historians.
Trade
The opening title cards state that Marco Polo (Gary Cooper) was the first European to visit China and "the first travelling salesman". Even if you do believe Marco went to China, he himself claims that his father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo Polo went first. He was blatantly not the first travelling salesman. The first evidence of long international trade routes dates them to at least 3,000 years earlier. But the movie had to get 1930s American audiences to identify with a 13th-century Venetian merchant somehow – hence the claim.
The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938)
Director: Archie Mayo
Entertainment grade: C–
History grade: D
Marco Polo was the first European to document travel to China in his Description of the World. Whether or not he actually visited China himself is a subject of dispute among historians.
Trade
The opening title cards state that Marco Polo (Gary Cooper) was the first European to visit China and "the first travelling salesman". Even if you do believe Marco went to China, he himself claims that his father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo Polo went first. He was blatantly not the first travelling salesman. The first evidence of long international trade routes dates them to at least 3,000 years earlier. But the movie had to get 1930s American audiences to identify with a 13th-century Venetian merchant somehow – hence the claim.
- 12/9/2011
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
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