A Message to Garcia (1936) Reviews

• Much Ado About An Invitation To A Meeting

  theowinthrop2006-08-21

  In the middle of the Spanish American War, an American newspaper editor and writer (and self-proclaimed Bohemian) named Elbert Hubbard wrote a brief essay that would sweep the country in ways only reminiscent to Tom Paine's "Common Sense" (or his "The Crisis"), Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and Edward Everett Hale's "The Man Without A Country". Yet today, while Paine, Stowe, and Hale are still read for their major works, few regard Hubbard. Maybe this is due to the lack of staying power in our memories of the Spanish American War. After all, it is our shortest major conflict (about half a year of declared warfare between the U.S. and Spain, and three months of actual fighting). But we do recall the "Maine" explosion, the battle of Manila Bay and George Dewey, and Teddy Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, and the "charge up San Juan Hill". Why not Hubbard's essay? I think it is because Hubbard pushed the wrong message in the essay. When Edward Everett Hale wrote "The Man Without A Country", he was looking at the problem of patriotism and nationality. Lt. Philip Nolan foolishly throws it aside, and spends the rest of his life regretting it. Whatever we may think of patriotism, Hale makes a well written defense of it. Hubbard starts out doing the same thing in describing how Lt. Rowan is given a message to deliver to General Calixto Garcia, head of the Cuban Revolutionary Army. The essay starts describing the many dangers in the jungles of Cuba Rowan faces to deliver the message (an invitation to Garcia to attend an important meeting with American military leaders in front of the city Santiago, which is under siege). There are beasts and natural dangers (like quicksand) that Rowan has to overcome, as well as by-passing Spanish military patrols. He does so, and gets the message to Garcia. But here Hubbard made the error, which in the Progressive Era was not seen as an error, but which Hale would never have understood. Hubbard sees Rowan's success as an example of "get-up-and-go" American pragmatism. He sees that the Lt. Rowans of the world are the doers and shakers. He compares them favorable with those "slackers" at home who don't do that extra something for their bosses that impresses bosses and leads to raises! The end result is that Hubbard's "A Message To Garcia" becomes an advertisement for America's Chambers of Commerce. There is nothing wrong with this, but it trivializes an important military mission. Fortunately the 1936 movie ignored the idiocy of Hubbard's message. It concentrated on Lt. Rowan (John Boles) mission to get that message to Garcia (Enrique Acosta). He is aided by Raphaelita Maderos (Barbara Stanwick) and Sgt. Dory (Wallace Beery, as an American deserter, who regains his sense of duty). Opposed is the Spanish agent Dr. Ivan Krug (Alan Hale Sr.) who nearly derails the mission. It is a serviceable little movie, and one of the few sound films that actually deal with T.R.'s "Splendid Little War". And Garcia did get the message in real life and in the film. One negative comment that I am aware of. Harry Golden, in his book "Only In America", talks about the film, and points out the importance of the meeting is never stressed properly. After Garcia gets the message, we see him go to the meeting by boat, and shake hands with his hosts. As Golden says, it looks like Garcia was simply invited to lunch! This idea may have influenced a later Warner Brother cartoon with a similar plot involving Speedy Gonzalez and Sylvester the Cat as enemy combatants. Gonzalez is asked to deliver a message to a revolutionary leader from his general. Sylvester keeps trying to catch him, and gets injured, but Speedy gets pretty tired. Finally, having tied up Sylvester, Speedy delivers the message (which he has to read). It's an invitation to a birthday party. Pretty sore about this (and Sylvester is not too thrilled either) the same idea enters both their heads. Speedy releases Sylvester, who starts chasing the revolutionary leader and the general who was throwing the party.

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• I think the person in charge of casting this film was out of his mind!!

  MartinHafer2013-01-31

  "A Message to Garcia" has the sort of insane casting that was not very uncommon during Hollywood's golden age. Think about it--Barbara Stanwyck plays a Cuban woman! And, Wallace Beery plays an American living in Cuba for ten years...which sounds plausible except that he knows almost no Spanish at all!!! What was the studio thinking?! Surely they could have gotten some folks more suited to these roles! And, surely Stanwyck could have at least tried to put on some sort of non-American accent!! This film is set in the period just before the Spanish-American War in 1898. The President of the US has sent an emissary (John Boles) to Cuba on a secret mission to deliver a message to the leader of the Cuban rebel army led by General Garcia. The problem is locating the guy. After all, it's not like Garcia wants anyone to find him--otherwise the Spanish army would have quickly captured him! Once in Cuba, Boles is assisted both by Stanwyck and Beery during a long trek through the jungle. Oddly, folks seem to die several times during this journey--only to amazingly appear later in the movie! Pretty weird! Overall, this is a dopey movie. Surprisingly, its best aspect is Beery's broad acting because he does bring some energy and humor to the film--two things otherwise lacking in the movie. A rather limp film in most ways--surely the studio could have done better. By the way, after writing this review I listened to Robert Osborne (of Turner Classic Movies) talk about this film. Apparently it was a bomb at the box office--reviewers and the public just wouldn't accept Stanwyck in such a ridiculous role! I would rank this one up there with John Wayne as Genghis Khan and Clark Gable as the Irish leader, Charles Stewart Parnell, or Katharine Hepburn as a Chinese woman in "Dragon Seed". It's a film she clearly should have been ashamed of, as she was the worst thing about it.

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• Mexican variation on an old George Arliss movie.

  mark.waltz2013-03-26

  As fans of practically everybody in this cast, I knew that the casting of Barbara Stanwyck as a Cuban would be suspect. I proved myself to be right, not having seen this film in over 20 years. This is difficult to overcome and as hard as I tried, I couldn't get past that, her Brooklyn accent, although not outrageously strong, coming through at certain intervals. She had attempted this in one of her very first films (the disastrous "Mexicali Rose") and by 1936, was big enough of a star to choose her own projects. Wallace Beery's character seems to be there to be the comic matchmaker between Stanwyck and John Boles (as an American Lieutenant) with Alan Hale the stereotypical Spanish villain. All this casting is ironic considering that a year later, Stanwyck would be nominated for an Oscar for "Stella Dallas" where Boles played her husband and Hale played her alcoholic sidekick.

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• Watch For Beery

  davidjanuzbrown2012-12-06

  This is not a great film by any means: Barbara Stanwyck as Raphaelita Maderos a Cuban with no Spanish accent speaking English,happens to work like Jessica Alba as Sue Storm/ in "The Fantastic Four" (Not well at all) it is one of the weakest roles of her career ("Walk On The Wild Side" & "The Man With A Cloak" are her worst). But the main reasons to watch are: 1: It is a rarity and if you are a Stanwyck or Wallace Beery completest, it should not be missed. 2: Beery's Sgt.Dory, is the main highlight of this film, he is excellent. Spoilers ahead: He went from a despicable human being (Selling gunpowder to both the Cubans & Spanish, and being willing to do anything for Whiskey & Gold, to becoming willing to die for Lt. Rowan (John Boles), whose job it was to get the "Message To Garcia" (The Cuban General fighting the Spanish). He knew he was going to die, throughout the final third of the film, but he met himself a friend in Rowan, who he could not allow to die (That is why he cared that Rowan would know he would not sell him out), and he even offered to turn down gold, and just wanted Rowan to send a message to friends back home. 3: The ending of the film where Dory, Garcia and the Cubans rescue Rowan who along with Raphaelita, was captured by the Spanish, and their Agent Dr. Ivan Krug (A really nasty Alan Hale performance (Krug was a mercenary and sadistic person who enjoyed torture)). Dory is killed by Krug, and Rowan kills Krug, and as he dies, Dory gives Rowan the only thing of value he has, a Gold Watch given to him by Garcia. Although Dory said that to Rowan, he had one more thing for Rowan... His friendship, and that is why he died, saving his friend. Beery is the main reason to watch.

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• Feeble attempt to tell a most intriguing espionage tale

  bkoganbing2013-04-05

  Elbert Hubbard's famous essay on how Lieutenant Rowan of the United States Army delivered a message to Cuban rebel general Garcia from President McKinley was embellished to an action adventure story with some horrible casting. I'm betting the real story of Rowan's journey through Cuba was far more interesting. The horrible miscasting of Barbara Stanwyck as a Cuban senorita is the main problem. She who adopted a nice brogue for The Plough And The Stars and Union Pacific probably would have made it worse had she talked with an accent in A Message To Garcia. I'd like to think that Darryl F. Zanuck in one of the first features of the newly formed 20th Century Fox Studio would have tried for Dolores Del Rio. I'm sure Zanuck laid out some big bucks to Louis B. Mayer for the services of Wallace Beery. I agree with another reviewer that someone who had spent 10 years in Cuba living hand to mouth as Beery's character had, would have picked up some working knowledge of Spanish. But Beery was good box office back then and Zanuck was no fool that way. What there is of the picture he steals from John Boles playing the real life Lieutenant Rowan and Stanwyck playing a fictional senorita with whom he has a romance. A Message To Garcia is a nice, but feeble attempt to tell the story of a most intriguing espionage tale.

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