Yes. Hollywood gets in the way of history, this is a movie from 1939 after all, but look at the selection of actors who gathered to do this. Muni, Raines, Davis, Aherne, Garfield, Roland, Crisp, Sondergaard!!! Each one as professional as the other, working together as a beautiful ensemble, with this story as a great platform for each of them. I loved the performances of Paul Muni and Brian Aherne. Some have said that these actors were wooden or sluggish, but I disagree! Both of these actors knew step by step of how their characters would act and react to the situations put before them and did it wonderfully. The two gems in this movie are the performances of Gilbert Roland and John Garfield. Their emotional responses, especially to the abdication of, and, subsequent execution of Maximilian are brilliant. Reading the "Trivia" section of this movie convinces me even more of how much thought went into the presentation of this motion picture...even when Hollywood in 1939 would be tempted to cut corners around historical facts. Movies were made with heart and hard work back then. They knew their craft.
