LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Douglas Fairbanks
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Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were the undisputed King and Queen of Hollywood in the 1920s. This coronation was no fluke. As two of the founding members of United Artists ("the inmates are taking over the asylum" a rival producer grumbled, coining a phrase) they exercised complete control over both the business and creative ends of their careers. They were beholden artistically and financially to no one, had a firm grasp both on their own abilities and the demands of their fans and could afford the best collaborators in Hollywood. During the golden days of the silent era, nobody made better pictures or was more successful than America's Sweethearts, Doug and Mary.
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Perhaps Douglas Fairbanks' finest role was as the "king of the buccaneers" in this epic silent adventure, presented here in a restored Technicolor print. Out to avenge his father's murder by pirates, Doug soon becomes the leader of the Jolly Roger. Features the breathtaking scene of Fairbanks sliding down an enemy ship's sail with his sword, slicing it in half. With Billie Dove, Donald Crisp. 90 min. Standard; Soundtrack: Dolby Digital stereo music score; audio commentary; outtakes; more. Silent with music score.
Douglas Fairbanks began acting on the Denver stage at an early age, doing amateur theatre. He was in summer stock at the Elitch Gardens Theatre, becoming a sensation in his teens. He attended East Denver High School, and was once expelled for dressing up the campus statues on St. Patrick's Day. He left during his senior year. He said he attended Colorado School of Mines, then Harvard University for a term. No record of attendance has been located, but an article about whether or not he attended Mines recounts a professor once saying Fairbanks was asked to leave because of a prank not long after he began.
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Douglas Fairbanks grew up in Denver, Colorado, longing for the stage. He became a Broadway star, and starting in 1915, a movie star, too. Many of his early comedies involve transformations, perhaps an effete Easterner becomes a rip-roaring Westerner, or a mollycoddle morphs into a he-man. His swashbucklers echo these plots in the alter-egos and transformations, contrasting brave Zorro and foppish Don Diego, The Prince who was really a Thief, and so on. The only special effect in these early films is peppy Doug and his can-do enthusiasm for whatever dilemma the plot has foisted on him. He's a complete movie star in the sense that he is the person you want to watch on the screen, and he never takes himself too seriously. "Male stars who have lasted for decades at the box office all had a sense of humor about their image, and have put a touch of irony into their macho heroes."
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The significance of Douglas Fairbanks is linked to the development of early screen comedy and the later development of the star system in the American film industry. His early career parallels Chaplin's—both began as silent comedians at approximately the same time and both succeeded in developing popular and distinctive screen personas. In 1919 they were both celebrities with sufficient autonomy to enter into a partnership with Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith to form the United Artists Association, a very important precedent for movie stars, since its adjunct operation, the United Artists Corporation, was to give them control over the distribution of their films. No longer would stars of their rank necessarily be salaried employees. Of the "artists" involved, only Fairbanks was not bound by a long-term contract, and he was the first to complete films distributed by the new corporation, His Majesty, the American and When the Clouds Roll By, both in 1919. The following year would see a major shift in his style and his image, guaranteeing him continued popular success for the following decade.
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Douglas Fairbanks was born in Denver on 23rd May, 1883. After graduating from Harvard he became an actor. He became a major Broadway star in plays such as He Comes Up Smiling and The Show Shop.
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Douglas Fairbanks