Rating: 
Made the same year as Juarez with Bette Davis and Paul Muni, this version of Archduke Maximilian’s doomed reign as a French-supported emperor of Mexico is far inferior. The acting is stiff, even for 1939. Honestly, there is little reason for anyone to watch this movie, unless they feel compelled to see every movie on the Franco-Mexican War. Read More…
A page listing all of the essays and movie reviews on the French Intervention in Mexico (1861-1867). Read More…
A podcast on the French Intervention in Mexico (1861-1867). Read More…
Rating: 
A solid introduction to the French Intervention in Mexico, a relatively unknown episode in history when France tried to turn Mexico into a puppet state, Juarez presents the basic chronology, but is limited by the decision to have Paul Muni’s Juarez single-handedly evict the invaders. Read More…
When Mexican President Benito Juarez refused to honor the foreign debts accumulated by his predecessor. Emperor Napoleon III of France used this refusal as an excuse to invade Mexico in 1862 and install Archduke Maximilian, younger brother of the Habsburg Emperor of Austria, as Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico in 1864. Napoleon hoped to exploit Mexico’s rich mineral resources and counterbalance the American republic with a Catholic Mexican monarchy. Maximilian proved to be more fixated on court etiquette than ruling the country, so when American pressure forced Napoleon to recall his army, forces loyal to Juarez restored the Mexican Republic in 1867. Read More…