ONCE AGAIN WE are indebted to the folks over at TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES cable channel for bringing us yet another non-comedic short from the bygone days of a very different Hollywood. Rather than using series such as Laurel & Hardy, the Three Stooges or Leon Errol to warm up an audience by tickling the proverbial funny-bone, the Historical Short uses its one or two reels of allotted time to examine and shed light on any one of a plethora of terms and incidents from our many faceted past.
WHEN ONE TAKES for consideration the subject of today's review, "the Monroe Doctrine", just what does this actually mean ? Surely everyone has run across this phrase many times, but what was or is it in actuality ? The film provided us with at least a fundamental and beginning explanation.
WE ARE MAGICALLY transported via the medium of film to the White House during the Administration of James Monroe (1817-25). We find that certain European Powers have designs on now what were free and independent republics in the Americas. Spain was named as the number one offender in this matter. It was the decisive and bold move by use of Executive Order, as penned and published by President Monroe that gave notice and fair warning to such would be aggressors. By this measure, the United States recognized the newly independent Latin American Republics of Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile and Mexico-declaring that any aggression toward these nations or other newly formed independent states, would constitute an act of war against the USA.
WHILE THESE NEWLY free, independent countries were protected, the caveats did not pertain to any then existing colonies. They could remain dominions of any European power (Spain to be exact), but expansion would not e tolerated.
THE FILM THEN cites examples of various invocations of the Monroe Doctrine down through the years. The most famous application of the policy was probably the situation of the French invasion of Mexico during our Civil War, with Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) bringing in the Hapsburg Prince, Maximilian, to be Emperor. (Skillfully dramatized in feature film, JUAREZ (Warner Brothers, 1939).
ANOTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEM in the short, THE MONROE DOCTRINE, is the casting of actor Sydney Blackmer as President Theodore Roosevelt. It would seem that Mr. Blackmer was indeed doing a good business in the Teddy impersonations; which seemed to be a most common occurrence in film.
THE REAL VALUE of these historical short dramas is not that they provide such a deep and scholarly view of our history; but rather that they give us what is at least a starting point. We can always follow up our movie going with a trip to the public library.
