The five-disc DVD set includes eleven of the joyul modern-dress comedies, westerns, satires, dream-fantasies and romances from 1916-1921 which made Douglas Fairbanks the tremendously popular hero of the American silent cinema. In addition to Fairbank's unique talent , these ebullient films showcase his gifted collaborators including writer Anita Loos and directors Allan Dwan, Victor Fleming , and John Emerson. All the films have been digitally mastered from 35mm or original-negative prints and feature new music scores.
About the films
Douglas Fairbanks came to the movies in 1915, when high salaries were luring well-known stage performers to the new feature-length productions. Although most of these performers failed to "register" on camera and soon returned to New York, Fairbanks quickly became a supernova. His energetic, optimistic character, ingratiating smile and graceful, acrobatic style rapidly made Fairbanks one of the most admired stars in the world. By 1917, he had established his own production company. In 1919, along with Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith, Fairbanks formed United Artists Corporation.
The set begins with four films produced in 1916 through Triangle-Fine Arts: His Picture in the Papers, The Mystery of the Leaping Fish, Flirting With Fate and The Matrimaniac. The collection continues with three films produced by Fairbanks for Artcraft / Famous Players-Lasky Corp. in 1917 and 1918: Wild and Woolly (1917), Reaching for the Moon (1917) and A Modern Musketeer (1918). Finally, four wonderful features that Fairbanks produced for United Artists are included: When the Clouds Roll By (1919), The Mollycoddle (1920), The Mark of Zorro (1920) and The Nut (1921). This body of work showcases the lively "All-American" character that Fairbanks would continue to draw upon in his later 1920s epics.
The films
His Pictures in the Papers - USA 1916 - Directed by: John Emerson - Written by: Anita Loos - Cinematography by: Victor Fleming - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Clarence Handyside, Rene Boucicault, Jean Temple, Charles Butler - Produced by: Triangle Film Corp. - Premiere: 10.2.1916
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish - USA 1916 - Directed by: John Emerson - Written by: Tod Browning, David Wark Griffith - Cinematography by: John W. Leezer - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love, Alma Rubens, Allan Sears, Charles Stevens - Produced by: Triangle Film Corp. - Premiere: 11.6.1916
Flirting With Fate - USA 1916 - Directed by: W. Christy Cabanne - Written by: Robert M. Baker - Cinematography by: William Fildew - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, W.E. Laurence, Jewel Carmen, Dorothy Haydel, George Beranger - Produced by: Triangle Film Corp. - Premiere: 25.6.1916
The Matrimaniac - USA 1916 - Directed by: Paul Powell - Written by: Anita Loos - Cinematography by: Victor Fleming - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Constance Talmadge, Wilbur Higby, Fred Warren, Clyde E. Hopkins - Produced by: Triangle Film Corp. - Premiere: 16.12.1916
Wild and Woolly - USA 1917 - Directed by: John Emerson - Written by: Anita Loos, John Emerson - Cinematography by: Victor Fleming - Cinematography by: Arthur Edeson - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Walter Bytell, Joseph Singleton, Calvert Carter - Produced by: Douglas Fairbanks Pictures - Premiere: 24.6.1917
Reaching for the Moon - USA 1917 - Directed by: John Emerson - Written by: Anita Loos, John Emerson - Cinematography by: Victor Fleming, Sam Landers - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Richard Cummings, Millard Webb, Eugene Ormonde - Produced by: Douglas Fairbanks Pictures - Premiere: 17.11.1917
A Modern Musketeer - USA 1917 - Written by und Directed by: Allan Dwan - Cinematography by: Hugh McClung, Harry Thorpe - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Majorie Daw, Kathleen Kirkham, Eugene Ormonde, Edythe Chapman - Produced by: Douglas Fairbanks Pictures - Premiere: 30.12.1917
When the Clouds Roll by - USA 1919 - Directed by: Victor Fleming - Written by: Thomas J. Geraghty - Cinematography by: William McGann, Harry Thorpe - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Kathleen Clifford, Frank Campeau, Ralph Lewis, Bull Montana - Produced by: Douglas Fairbanks Pictures - Premiere: 28.12.1919
The Mollycoddle - USA 1920 - Directed by: Victor Fleming - Written by: Thomas J. Geraghty - Cinematography by: William McGann, Harry Thorpe - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Wallace Beery, Ruth Renick, Morris Hughes, Paul Burns - Produced by: Douglas Fairbanks Pictures - Premiere: 13.6.1920
The Mark of Zorro - USA 1920 - Directed by: Fred Niblo - Written by: Johnston McCulley - Cinematography by: William McGann, Harry Thorpe - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, Robert McKim, Noah Beery, Charles Hill Mailes - Produced by: Douglas Fairbanks Pictures - Premiere: 27.11.1920
The Nut - USA 1921 - Directed by: Ted Reed - Written by: William Parker, Lotta Woods -Cinematography by: William McGann, Harry Thorpe, Charles Warrington - Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, William Lowery, Gerald Pring, Morris Hughes - Produced by: Douglas Fairbanks Pictures - Premiere: 6.3.1921
DVD features
DVD 1
- His Pictures in the Papers (tinted) USA 1916, 63'
- Score by Frederick Hodges
- Chapter selection
- The Mystery of the Leaping Fish USA 1916, 27'
- Score by Robert Israel
- Chapter selection
- Flirting With Fate USA 1916, 57'
- Score by Pilip Carli
- Chapter selection
DVD 2
- The Matrimaniac USA 1916, 46'
- Score by Philip Carli
- Chapter selection
- Wild and Woolly (tinted) USA 1917, 71'
- Score by Robert Israel
- Chapter selection
DVD 3
- Reaching for the Moon (tinted) USA 1917, 69'
- Score by Eric Beheim
- Chapter selection
- A Modern Musketeer (tinted) USA 1917, 69'
- Score by Rodney Sauer
- Chapter selection
DVD 4
- When the Clouds Roll by (tinted) USA 1919, 85'
- Score by Franklin Stover
- Chapter selection
- The Mollycoddle (tinted) USA 1920, 86'
- Score by Philip Carli
- Chapter selection
- Press book, lobby cards and production stills
DVD 5
- The Mark of Zorro (tinted) USA 1920, 107'
- Score by Rodney Sauer
- Chapter selection
- The Nut USA 1921, 75'
- Score by Philip Carli
- Chapter selection
- Press book, lobby cards and production stills
- 32 page booklet with essays by Jeffrey Vance and Tony Maietta
Edited by: Flicker Alley
DVD authoring: Brian Peterson
DVD supervision: David Shepard, Jeffery Masino
