- A Message to Garcia
-
For the 1936 film, see A Message to Garcia (1936 film).
A Message to Garcia is an inspirational essay written by Elbert Hubbard[1] that has been made into two motion pictures. It was originally published as a filler without a title in the March, 1899 issue of the Philistine magazine which he edited, but was quickly reprinted as a pamphlet and a book. It was wildly popular, selling over 40 million copies,[2] and being translated into 37 languages. It also became a well-known allusion in American popular and business culture until the middle of the twentieth century. According to language expert Charles Earle Funk, "to take a message to Garcia" was for years a popular American slang expression for taking initiative and was used by many people who were unaware of its origins.
Contents
Background on A Message to Garcia
With tensions between the United States and the Spanish (who then ruled Cuba) growing, President William McKinley saw value in establishing contact with the Cuban rebels who could prove a valuable ally in case of war with Spain. McKinley asked Colonel Arthur L. Wagner to suggest an officer to make contact with Calixto García e Iñiguez, one of the leaders of the rebels. Wagner suggested Andrew Rowan, by now Captain, who then traveled to Cuba via Jamaica. Rowan met Garcia in the Oriente Mountains and established a rapport. Rowan garnered information from Garcia who was eager to cooperate with Americans in fighting the Spanish. Rowan returned to the US and was given command of a force of "Immunes", African-American troops assumed to be immune to tropical diseases found in Cuba. He received the Distinguished Service Cross.[3]
Films
A Message to Garcia was first made into a motion picture in 1916 by Thomas A. Edison Inc. The silent film was directed by Richard Ridgely and starred Mabel Trunnelle, Robert Conness, and Charles Sutton as Garcia.
A 1936 talkie was made by Twentieth Century Fox that was directed by George Marshall and featured Wallace Beery, Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Alan Hale, Herbert Mundin, Mona Barrie, and Enrique Acosta as Garcia.[4]
Other media
The radio show Suspense broadcast a 30-minute adaptation with the same title on September 14, 1953. It starred Richard Widmark as Rowan.
Seattle based band Visqueen released an album in 2009 titled "Message to Garcia".
Now included in a 2011 novel, A Message to Garcia, written by Otto Oldenburg, the theme is taken to heart and Elbert Hubbard is quoted and credited.
References
- ^ Amazon.com: A Message to Garcia: Elbert Hubbard: Books
- ^ Elbert Hubbard's "A Message to Garcia"
- ^ Andrew Summers Rowan Arlington National Cemetery Website
- ^ A Message to Garcia (1936)
External links
- Story of Elbert Hubbard, the Roycrofters and A MESSAGE TO GARCIA from FreeEnterpriseLand.com
- Text with explanatory foreword by Elbert Hubbard and Spanish translation
- Text with background material.
- How I Carried the Message to Garcia by Andrew Summers Rowan.
- With Elbert Hubbard's theme in mind, A Message to Garcia by Otto Oldenburg.
- 1916 silent film: A Message to Garcia at the Internet Movie Database
- 1936 "talkie" film: A Message to Garcia at the Internet Movie Database
Categories:- Essays
- 1916 films
- Silent films
- Black-and-white films
- 1936 films
- Spanish–American War
- 1899 works
- United States Marine Corps in popular culture
- Works originally published in American magazines
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
