A century ago,
Douglas Fairbanks was Hollywood’s top action star. Jumping around like a jack rabbit, he showed off both his winning smile and well-developed muscles. In 1920, he played Zorro, then five years later, he played Zorro’s son. He portrayed D’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers. My favorite of his works is The Thief of Bagdad. [I corrected this sentence.]
He was Hollywood’s great swashbuckler. He made period pieces, and very big ones. His films contained large sets, crowds of extras, and brilliant special effects (that could only be made in the camera).
Douglas Fairbanks wasn’t just an athletic actor. He produced his own films and controlled everything, yet he never gave himself directing credits. He didn’t need them. That body and those shining teeth told everyone that you were about to see a very entertaining movie.
This disc contains two Fairbanks flicks, The Black Pirate and Robin Hood. But the first thing you see when you start the disc are seven – yes seven – trailers you’ll have to deal with. And they’re not even trailers for other Fairbanks flicks, or even swashbucklers! Luckily, you can skip over them.
The Black Pirate (1926)
Douglas Fairbanks sets out to destroy the pirates that killed his father. He becomes the leader of the scurvy gang. Aside from being the most photogenic man on the ship, he’s also the strongest, and smartest, and the only man who can slide down a sail with a knife (kids, do not try this at home).
The Black Pirate was only the third feature-length movie shot entirely in Technicolor (a very different system from what we have now). The movie looks very good for a film of its time, even though there is no blues or yellows (impossible at the time).
Pirates: How It Looks
I think this is my third or fourth viewing of The
Black Pirate. The first time I saw it, it was entirely in black and white! Another time, they had bright yellow titles. But I’m pretty sure that this restoration is the best so far.
Pirates: How It sounds
The music is in only 2.0 stereo, but you don’t need surround sound for a silent movie. In 1926, Fairbanks commissioned Mortimer Wilson to compose a score to play in theaters. Robert Israel conducted this score, now recorded for this disc. The music is pretty much on the nose.
Robin Hood (1922)
This Robin Hood movie seems to be more interested in the aristocracy than the starving peasants (which is what the Robin Hood myth is supposed to be all about). It begins when King Richard III (Wallace Beery) and his army set out to the Crusades. Fairbanks plays a nobleman who is a friend of the King. The film is more than half over before Fairbank’s character becomes the leader of the merrie men and things finally get fun (even if it’s still mostly about the aristocrats).
Robin Hood: How It Looks
This is an extremely big movie. Castles, turrets, huge sets, and hundreds of extras. Like most silent pictures, much of the film is tinted, and I assume that the tints follow the original colors. It’s beautiful in a sort of overdone way.
Robin Hood: How It Sounds
Rodney Sauer of the Mont Alto Motion Picture compiled an excellent score, which is in just 2.0 stereo.
And the Extras
- Black Pirate Commentary by Rudy Behlmer: You get a lot of information about early Technicolor, pirates, Fairbanks, and other information. Sometimes he seems to have too much to speak about.
- Black Pirate Outtakes: 18 minutes. Behlmer explains what’s happening. There’s a lot about cinematic sword fights. I discovered that a real swordsman would have a lot of trouble with a sword.
- Additional Outtakes for The Black Pirates: 29 minutes. No sound at all. Just people, mostly in costume, doing their job.
There are no extras connected to Robin Hood. I was disappointed. I would have happily listened to Rudy Behlmer explaining how the castles were created.
Bayflicks 