The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938)
Gary Cooper, Sigrid Gurie (love interest Princess Kukachin), Basil Rathbone (sinister Ahmed), George Barbier (Kubli Khan), Binnie Barnes, Ernest Truex (Polo's sidekick), Alan Hale (outlaw Kaidu)
Director: Archie Mayo
Gary Cooper is Marco Polo; Basil Rathbone is the villain; and Lana Turner is one of the handmaidens.
Historical Background:
In the travel of the Polos, the Mongol territories were divided among the
grandsons of Genghis Khan:
Hulagu -- receives Iran, Armenia, and Egypt.
Kublai -- master of Mongolia, Northern China, and Tibet, and conqueror of
Southern China.
1251 -- Marco Polo born in Venice, Italy. Merchants Nicolo, his father, and
Maffeo, his uncle, begin their first eastern journey. They had a house of
business at Constantinople and another at Sudak on the shore of the Black Sea.
1255 -- from Sudak the Polos head east to the banks of the Volga, territory belonging to Bereke, Mongol Khan of Kiptchak. Bereke fought a war with Hulagu, the Mongol conqueror of Persia. Bereke was defeated. This stranded the Polos in place for a short while.
They travel further east to Bokhara, where they stay three years. From here they go on to visit to Kublai Khan, the most powerful of the grandsons of Genghis Khan. The great Khan was favorable to the Christians and was receptive to the visit of the Polos. He gave the Polos letters to the pope, letters which asked for Christian missionaries.
1266 -- the Polos start their return trip.
1269 -- finally reach St.-Jean d'Acre where they learn of the death of Pope Clement IV. They return to Venice.
After a wait of two years for a decision on the new pope, the Polos decide to return east, this time bringing the eighteen year old Marco Polo. (They did receive some letters from the new pope, Gregory X.)
1275 -- They finally appear before the delighted emperor, probably at Yen King near the present Beijing, after three and a half years of travel.
Kublai liked Marco Polo, who readily learned the four languages of Mongolian, Chinese, Persian, and Uighur. Kublai sends him on a journey to gather information (probably in Anman). For three years he was governor of the city of Yang-chow (Janguy).
1282 -- Marco may have participated in Kublai's expedition against the Kingdom of Mien (Burma).
Kublai finally gives the Polos permission to return to Venice.
1295 -- the Polos arrive back in Venice after a 24 year absence.
In many respects China was ahead of Europe at the time: use of paper and wide use of books of philosophy, religion, and politics. But many of the things Marco Polo told his fellow westerners were not believed and he became known as the "man of a million lies."
1296 -- Marco Polo commands a galley in Venice's war against Genoa. The Venetian fleet was destroyed in the Gulf of Lajazzo and Marco taken prisoner to Genoa. While in Genoa, he wrote a manuscript based on his notes from his travels. His work even included details about the natural history of the area's plants and animals.
Upon his release Marco returned to Venice where he served as a member of the Great Council until his death.
1324 -- he dies in Venice.
Christopher Columbus was a fan of the writings of Marco Polo and Columbus undertook his expeditions to the Americas in a hope to find a shortcut to the lands described by Polo.
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