Juarez

Juarez is a 1939 American historical drama film directed by William Dieterle, based on the 1934 biography The Phantom Crown by Bertita Harding and the 1925 play Juarez and Maximilian by Franz Werfel. The film focuses on the conflict between Maximilian I (Brian Aherne), an Austrian archduke who is installed as the ruler of Mexico by the French Napoleon III (Claude Rains) in 1864, and Benito Juárez (Paul Muni), the country's U.S.-backed president. The film shows Maximilian questioning his role, but his power-hungry wife, Empress Carlota (Bette Davis), pushes him to remain emperor. However, the will of the people and the fickleness of Napoleon's support in the face of growing U.S. pressure to enforce the Monroe Doctrine put Maximilian in a precarious position.