Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine" the greatest interest" ("du plus vif intérêt"). Méliès himself recalled in 1932 that the film was a crowdpleaser. The film was less successful in countries with no strong political interest in the Spanish–American War; when the film was shown in Sherbrooke in French Canada in June 1898, audiences responded negatively and asked for films they had seen about the Passion of Jesus to be shown again instead. Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine" Visite sous-marine du Maine, released in the United States as Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine" and in Britain as Divers
USS Maine (ACR-1) later that year. While the sinking of "Maine" was not a direct cause for action, it served as a catalyst, accelerating the approach to a diplomatic impasse between the U.S. and Spain. The cause of "Maine"s sinking remains a subject of speculation. In 1898, an investigation of the explosion was carried out by a naval board appointed under the McKinley Administration. The consensus of the board was that "Maine" was destroyed by an external explosion from a mine. However, the validity of this investigation has been challenged. George W. Melville, a chief engineer in the Navy, proposed that a more