John T. Ryan ONCE AGAIN WE are indebted to the folks over at TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES cable channel for bringing us yet another non-comedic short from the bygone days of a very different Hollywood. Rather than using series such as Laurel & Hardy, the Three Stooges or Leon Errol to warm up an audience by tickling the proverbial funny-bone, the Historical Short uses its one or two reels of allotted time to examine and shed light on any one of a plethora of terms and incidents from our many faceted past.WHEN ONE TAKES for consideration the subject of today's review, "the Monroe Doctrine", just what does this actually mean ? Surely everyone has run across this phrase many times, but what was or is it in actuality ? The film provided us with at least a fundamental and beginning explanation. WE ARE MAGICALLY transported via the medium of film to the White House during the Administration of James Monroe (1817-25). We find that certain European Powers have designs on now what were free and independent republics in the Americas. Spain was named as the number one offender in this matter. It was the decisive and bold move by use of Executive Order, as penned and published by President Monroe that gave notice and fair warning to such would be aggressors. By this measure, the United States recognized the newly independent Latin American Republics of Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile and Mexico-declaring that any aggression toward these nations or other newly formed independent states, would constitute an act of war against the USA.WHILE THESE NEWLY free, independent countries were protected, the caveats did not pertain to any then existing colonies. They could remain dominions of any European power (Spain to be exact), but expansion would not e tolerated. THE FILM THEN cites examples of various invocations of the Monroe Doctrine down through the years. The most famous application of the policy was probably the situation of the French invasion of Mexico during our Civil War, with Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) bringing in the Hapsburg Prince, Maximilian, to be Emperor. (Skillfully dramatized in feature film, JUAREZ (Warner Brothers, 1939).ANOTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEM in the short, THE MONROE DOCTRINE, is the casting of actor Sydney Blackmer as President Theodore Roosevelt. It would seem that Mr. Blackmer was indeed doing a good business in the Teddy impersonations; which seemed to be a most common occurrence in film.THE REAL VALUE of these historical short dramas is not that they provide such a deep and scholarly view of our history; but rather that they give us what is at least a starting point. We can always follow up our movie going with a trip to the public library.

Sillyhuron Hilarious propaganda short defending America's right to defend the rest of the western hemisphere from everyone else. (OK, the right to stop other nations "interfering" in them, with their dastardly foreign "despotism". Glad to see how democratic & liberty-loving the South Americans, especially, became). Sorry, but I'm Canadian. and it's difficult to watch a movie about this without making with the wisecracks. Henry Clay, a slave owner, is is shown eloquently defending democratic rights. Teddy Roosevelt emotes rather violently (the poor actor looks like he's about to pop his clogs) over America's peaceful intentions - and of course, not over his 3 different plans to invade Canada. One of these involved Britain's dispute about Venezuela - but it's interesting how she's never named (just called "a foreign power"). In fact the most interesting aspect of this movie is they way it attacks all European countries EXCEPT Britain. No mention of 1812 or the other disagreements in our history Why? Because it's 1939 folks & the British are now America's most valued allies. In fact they will have to be the ones stopping foreign despotism for nearly 2 years before America got involved. Anyway, the film itself is fast and fun to watch - for different reasons, depending where you come from. And Nanette Fabray & George Reeves make a wonderfully appealing couple whose love transcends national boundaries. Watch it and debate the ideas inside.

vitaleralphlouis Many years ago --- and unlike today --- Hollywood was dominated by people who loved mainstream American values and respected American history. In this era, Warner Bros. lavishly produced several short films such as "The Monroe Doctrine." These 20 minute movies had production quality equal to the best A-list movies."The Monroe Doctrine" is a very good one. Made back in 1939 in the new Technicolor, the way you would encounter these films were as add-on's to a feature, along with the cartoon, news and previews they rounded out the usual 2 hour program. It was strictly hit-n-miss about seeing these because the short subject program was rarely listed.If you want to see "The Monroe Doctrine" today, it will be easy. Just seek out the DVD for an A-list crime drama titled, "Invisible Stripes" starring George Raft, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart and Leo Gorcey. This short film is an add-on under Warner Night at the Movies.

Ron Oliver A Warner Brothers Short Subject.THE MONROE DOCTRINE asserts the rights of the Americas to be left alone from all European entanglements.This little film gives a good look at the reasons behind the Monroe Doctrine and how it was defined by succeeding American governments. It moves briskly and is well acted, especially by Grant Mitchell as John Quincy Adams and Sidney Blackmer as Teddy Roosevelt. Nanette Fabray & George Reeves very briefly portray young lovers caught up in history's flow.Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.