It beats selling soap!
Douglas Fairbanks stood alone at the top in 1920. He was the original action hero, and a bona fide movie star. His smiling face appeared on newspapers from coast to coast. The happy-go-lucky upstart of filmdom, clean-cut American destined for danger, was a proved commodity. Why then would he fuss with his formula to produce a costume drama? The Mollycoddle (1920) was the story of a citified dude in the Wild West who foils a gang of diamond smugglers. It was standard fare for 'Doug'. The Mark of Zorro (1920) was a radical departure, starring Fairbanks as a mysterious masked avenger, and the first in a string of films still considered the model for action-adventure. Next came D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1921) and an epidemic broomstick dueling schoolboys.
Fairbanks' exploration of storybook legends coincided with the development of feature films, and what was seen as an obligation to increase their length and complexity. In order to produce longer films he diluted his stories, slowing the pace by spreading the action over more time and an increasingly complex production design. The Mollycoddle was a reasonable 86 minutes. The Son of Zorro increased to 107, The Three Musketeers (1921) to 119, Robin Hood (1922) to 133 and The Thief of Bagdad (1924) to a whopping 155 minutes!
All were great films, better than great, but they suffered progressively from momentum-killing longevity. William K. Everson described the cost of this elaborate expansion as a loss of "the essentially Fairbanksian qualities, enthusiasm, pace, wit, good humor, and the ability to make points quickly and pungently." Don Q Son of Zorro (1925) while still a bit long at 111 minutes showed a degree of moderation, and played very fast.
The Black Pirate (1926)
Thursday, July 5, 3:30 & 7:00 p.m., The Lynwood, Bainbridge Island
The Black Pirate (1926) was lightning in a bottle, set on the high seas with relentless action, energetic humor and the absence of a pointlessly convoluted plot, held to a sensible 88 minutes. Fairbanks developed fantastic stunts while dazzling his audience with two-strip Technicolor throughout the film. The notable absence of women (much to the delight of Fairbanks' target audience there were only two) was largely due to a storyline occupied by bloodthirsty cutthroats, noble mariners and 'Doug', somewhere in the middle. Billie Dove was cast as the love interest and obligatory damsel in distress, Princess Isobel, based on Fairbanks' belief that she photograph well in color. Donald Crisp was memorable as MacTavish, a one-armed Scottish buccaneer and first mate of sorts, while Fairbanks' mascot Charles Stevens played the powder man, who gleefully encircled captive sailors with a trail of black powder before blowing them up with their ship.
The essence of fairytale Hollywood, The Black Pirate was filmed at Fairbanks/Pickford Studios while Mary was making Sparrows (1926). The story is told that Pickford forbade her husband from kissing another woman, including any actress in any of his films. The final scene of The Black Pirate called for Fairbanks to kiss the Princess. Mary was suitably costumed and facing away from the camera, performed the clincher herself. Another well known story, fact or fable, tells of Fairbanks dashing across the lot to unleash a verbal attack on director William Beaudine after hearing he had placed Mary mere feet from the snapping jaws and razor sharp teeth of ferocious alligators. Other sources claim photographer Charles Rosher employed a 'masked' shot to achieve the effect, with the actors and animals separated by a considerable distance. The animals were also tied down, but 'Doug's' tirade is a far better story.
Douglas Fairbanks stood alone at the top in 1920. He was the original action hero, and a bona fide movie star. His smiling face appeared on newspapers from coast to coast. The happy-go-lucky upstart of filmdom, clean-cut American destined for danger, was a proved commodity. Why then would he fuss with his formula to produce a costume drama? The Mollycoddle (1920) was the story of a citified dude in the Wild West who foils a gang of diamond smugglers. It was standard fare for 'Doug'. The Mark of Zorro (1920) was a radical departure, starring Fairbanks as a mysterious masked avenger, and the first in a string of films still considered the model for action-adventure. Next came D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1921) and an epidemic broomstick dueling schoolboys.
Fairbanks' exploration of storybook legends coincided with the development of feature films, and what was seen as an obligation to increase their length and complexity. In order to produce longer films he diluted his stories, slowing the pace by spreading the action over more time and an increasingly complex production design. The Mollycoddle was a reasonable 86 minutes. The Son of Zorro increased to 107, The Three Musketeers (1921) to 119, Robin Hood (1922) to 133 and The Thief of Bagdad (1924) to a whopping 155 minutes!
All were great films, better than great, but they suffered progressively from momentum-killing longevity. William K. Everson described the cost of this elaborate expansion as a loss of "the essentially Fairbanksian qualities, enthusiasm, pace, wit, good humor, and the ability to make points quickly and pungently." Don Q Son of Zorro (1925) while still a bit long at 111 minutes showed a degree of moderation, and played very fast.
The Black Pirate (1926)
Thursday, July 5, 3:30 & 7:00 p.m., The Lynwood, Bainbridge Island
The Black Pirate (1926) was lightning in a bottle, set on the high seas with relentless action, energetic humor and the absence of a pointlessly convoluted plot, held to a sensible 88 minutes. Fairbanks developed fantastic stunts while dazzling his audience with two-strip Technicolor throughout the film. The notable absence of women (much to the delight of Fairbanks' target audience there were only two) was largely due to a storyline occupied by bloodthirsty cutthroats, noble mariners and 'Doug', somewhere in the middle. Billie Dove was cast as the love interest and obligatory damsel in distress, Princess Isobel, based on Fairbanks' belief that she photograph well in color. Donald Crisp was memorable as MacTavish, a one-armed Scottish buccaneer and first mate of sorts, while Fairbanks' mascot Charles Stevens played the powder man, who gleefully encircled captive sailors with a trail of black powder before blowing them up with their ship.
The essence of fairytale Hollywood, The Black Pirate was filmed at Fairbanks/Pickford Studios while Mary was making Sparrows (1926). The story is told that Pickford forbade her husband from kissing another woman, including any actress in any of his films. The final scene of The Black Pirate called for Fairbanks to kiss the Princess. Mary was suitably costumed and facing away from the camera, performed the clincher herself. Another well known story, fact or fable, tells of Fairbanks dashing across the lot to unleash a verbal attack on director William Beaudine after hearing he had placed Mary mere feet from the snapping jaws and razor sharp teeth of ferocious alligators. Other sources claim photographer Charles Rosher employed a 'masked' shot to achieve the effect, with the actors and animals separated by a considerable distance. The animals were also tied down, but 'Doug's' tirade is a far better story.