MEDIEVAL CHINA

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22466, 29 July 1938, Page 5

MEDIEVAL CHINA

Gary Cooper in "The Adventures of Marco Polo"

The screen, which lately has based I majority of its bigger productions on biographical subjects, has seen many remarkable portraits of characters taken from the past. Few of these historic personalities, however, enjoyed a life.more significant and romantic than the Marco Polo so iew people see-en. to know, whom Samuel Goldwyn has chosen as the hero of "The Adventures of Marco Polo." his rollicking adventurous romance which stars .Gary Cooper and Sigrid Gurie, a newcomer. The film is now at the Mayfair. Marco Polo's journey to the thirteenth century court of the great Kublai Khan in Kambalu, Peiping, had as its object the extension of private commerce and development of new trade opportunities for the Polo brothers, Marco's father and uncle, who were important merchants in the city of Venice. Thus, as the world's first travelling salesman, Marco set out for distant Cathay—a three years' journey through deserts and mountains, beset every- mile or so by brigands and perils unknown to Western civilisation. Marco was then 21, skilled in the use of arms, an excellent horseman and athlete, fearless and persevering in the pursuit of trouble, trade and amours. The young Polo served Kublai Khan lor 17 continuous years, years of excitement and tremendous danger. The film has a cast of 5000, which Includes, besides the principals, Basil wathbone, Ernest Truex, Alan Hale, JBirime Barnes, and George Barbier. J-ne enormous scope of the production W indicated by the large variety of sets utilised, each costing a small forilS' -Armour, furniture, jewellery, clothes of the period in costly silks and velvet -were reproduced with meticulous_care. The film was directed by Archie Mayo and is being released by United Artists. Premature explosion of a giant firecracker in a scene for "The Adventures of Marco Polo" seriously endangered , the eyesight of Gary Cooper. The actor got several burning particles of powder in his eye, which necessitated prompt treatment by the resident Pnysician and surgeon at the Samuel Ooldwyn studios, and later by an oculist. Cooper, re-enacting the discovery by the Occidental of powder

in ancient China, was standing by the side of H. B. Warner when the premature explosion took place. Warner suffered a minor burn on his hand.