The Monroe Doctrine (1896 film)

The Monroe Doctrine
Produced by	Thomas Edison
Starring	Charles F. Walton; John Mayon;
Release date	April 23, 1896 (New York City);
Country	United States

The Monroe Doctrine, also known as The Venezuela Case,[1]^:52 is an 1896 American propaganda film. It features an allegorical fight over national determinism between the British Empire, the United States and Venezuela.

Plot

John Bull arrives at a shoreline that represents Venezuela and starts attacking it with guns, overwhelming the country.[2]^:27 Uncle Sam arrives from the back of the image and grabs Bull by the neck. Defeating and making an example of him, Sam forces Bull to his knees and has him remove his hat for Venezuela.[3]^:viii Sam has stood up for the principles of the Monroe Doctrine.[2]^:27[3]

Cast

Charles F. Walton, known for performing in boxing films and for his lanky physique, as Uncle Sam.[2]^:27
John Mayon, a replacement of Walton's rival John Slavin known for being stout, as John Bull.[2]^:27

Background and release

In Victor Gillam's 1896 political cartoon, Uncle Sam stands with rifle between European figures and representatives of Nicaragua and Venezuela

The film was made by the Edison company as a release film for their Vitascope in 1896.[3]^:viii It depicted a political dispute that stemmed from a longstanding disagreement over land sovereignty between British Guiana and Venezuela. Miners from Venezuela had begun exploiting the disputed land, and the British warned them off with threats of armed intervention. The United States, in its assumed role as the protector of Latin America from European political forces, mediated to prevent a conflict.[1]^:52

Film historian Charles Musser wrote that the film was "doubtlessly inspired by a political cartoon" depicting the same conflict published earlier in the year,[1]^:52 and was made in April 1896.[2]^:26 It was premiered at the release of the Vitascope at Koster and Bial's Music Hall in New York City on April 23, 1896; according to the New York Herald the audience were "delighted" by the film and the American dominance shown.[3]^:viii[4]^:116 The film selection for the premiere had been curated by Raff & Gammon.[2]^:26

In July of the same year, it became the first picture to be shown in Venezuela, where the people of Maracaibo were reportedly "moved" that a film representing their country was made.[5]^:43-44

Analysis

The Monroe Doctrine is described by Musser as a "comic allegory" that was "overtly political".[3]^:viii This has been noted particularly in its first context, occupying the fifth spot in the running order at the Vitascope's premiere; it came after Walton & Slavin, a burlesque boxing match between allegorical Uncle Sam and John Bull figures, and Band Drill (a section of Milk White Flag),[3]^:viii in which American soldiers march off to war.[2]^:27 Musser also compared it to the second film shown that night, Sea Waves at Dover, which shows detail of the waves at Dover in England battering the shore, reflecting the allegorical imagery used in this film.[2]^:27 The choice of patriotic narrative in the films may have been selected to allegorically fight an expected influx of similar devices to the Vitasope from European projection manufacturers,[2]^:27[3]^:viii or to warn the French film companies away from expanding their market into the Americas.[1]^:52 Media historians James Chapman and Nicholas J. Cull refer to it as "probably the first propaganda film".[6]^:1

References

Gaudreault, André, ed. (2009). American Cinema, 1890-1909: Themes and Variations. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813546445. OCLC 318240465.
Grieveson, Lee; Krämer, Peter, eds. (2004). The Silent Cinema Reader. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415252830. OCLC 52471537.
Brown, Richard; Musser, Charles; Harvey, Michael; Anthony, Barry (2017). The Kinetoscope: A British History. Baltimore, Maryland: Project Muse. ISBN 9780861969319. OCLC 1005225000.
Musser, Charles (1994). History of the American cinema: Emergence of cinema, to 1907. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520085337. OCLC 1062078988.
Muñoz, Lionel, ed. (August 2009). "Inicios del cine en Venezuela". Memorias de Venezuela / Origenes del Anticomunismo en Venezuela (in Spanish). 10. Caracas: Fundación Centro Nacional de Historia. pp. 40–45. Retrieved 14 September 2019 – via Issuu.
Chapman, James; Cull, Nicholas John (2009). Projecting Empire: Imperialism and Popular Cinema. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781441638472. OCLC 608549043.

External links

The Monroe Doctrine on IMDb

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[:0-1] Gaudreault, André, ed. (2009). American Cinema, 1890-1909: Themes and Variations. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813546445. OCLC 318240465.

[:1-2] Grieveson, Lee; Krämer, Peter, eds. (2004). The Silent Cinema Reader. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415252830. OCLC 52471537.

[:2-3] Brown, Richard; Musser, Charles; Harvey, Michael; Anthony, Barry (2017). The Kinetoscope: A British History. Baltimore, Maryland: Project Muse. ISBN 9780861969319. OCLC 1005225000.

[4] Musser, Charles (1994). History of the American cinema: Emergence of cinema, to 1907. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520085337. OCLC 1062078988.

[:12-5] Muñoz, Lionel, ed. (August 2009). "Inicios del cine en Venezuela". Memorias de Venezuela / Origenes del Anticomunismo en Venezuela (in Spanish). 10. Caracas: Fundación Centro Nacional de Historia. pp. 40–45. Retrieved 14 September 2019 – via Issuu.

[6] Chapman, James; Cull, Nicholas John (2009). Projecting Empire: Imperialism and Popular Cinema. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781441638472. OCLC 608549043.