“The Artist” : a Silent Film Revival

What a marvelous movie! I saw “The Artist” at a theater yesterday and was thoroughly entertained. I suspect this will lead to a lot more interest in the large number of genuine silent movies that still exist. I’ve watched several myself through Netflix and see one occasionally on television. 

Do see “The Artist” if you haven’t yet. The acting is great fun–the laughs and gasps of surprise are there too.

The story is simple, a romance where one character’s career is rising and the other’s is falling. The main character, George Valentin, is Hollywood’s most popular leading man who, when talkies come, plummets from riches to rags. As his career tanks, that of young Peppy Miller skyrockets, turning her from aspiring extra to leading lady.

It will be instantly obvious to those who know about Hollywood in the Twenties that Valentin’s character is based on Douglas Fairbanks. First of all, he looks exactly like Fairbanks. He performs exactly the same sort of roles, and at one point, when the date says 1931, Valentin is shown reminiscing with his own old movies and the scenes they show come from Fairbanks’ 1920 movie, “Mark of Zorro.” (I recognized those scenes right away–the jump over the wall followed by a swarm of soldiers, the leaping somersault over the fence, and the jumps from rooftop to rooftop.) Fairbanks, too, failed to make the change from silents to talkies, although in his case it was more because of his age than ability. Valentin’s story also mirrors Fairbanks’ struggle with alcohol as his popularity wanes.

 The character of Peppy Miller, enthusiastically played by Berenice Bejo, could be any one of several actresses who rose from obscurity to fame due to their looks, talent, and silver screen charisma.  And I’d be remiss if I didn’t praise the superb acting skills of the little dog! I guess he won’t be nominated for an Oscar. 

The Smithsonian website carried an interesting article about this film.  See www.smithsonian.com/silentfilm

America’s First Action Hero: Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks was America’s first action hero. He invented the role with his 1921 silent film, The Mark of Zorro, an experimental movie that was so successful he embarked on a string of similar productions: in 1921, The Three Musketeers; in 1922, Robin Hood; in 1924, The Thief of Bagdad; in 1925, Don Q: Son of Zorro; and in 1926, The Black Pirate. He swashbuckled his way through these films, swinging from chandeliers, leaping from castle walls, fighting furiously with whips, swords, knives . . . and all while romancing the fair maiden. Watch this three-minute clip for an example of his acrobatic, action-packed adventures. His stunts seem somewhat cliche-ish today, but that’s only because everyone copied him and turned his innovative stunts into cliches. Note the delightful way he mixes humor with his stunts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaBud6ii5Wk

And speaking of special effects, watch this one-minute clip at the end of the Thief of Bagdad and see what wowed audiences in the Roaring Twenties. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvFYcV84xv4 

Interestingly, his son, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., carried on Dad’s legacy with similarly dashing roles. He was very popular, although he never gained the unprecedented level of international fame and adoration that his father had. 

“Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright . . .”

      The story of Zorro existed before Douglas Fairbanks’ two movies (1921 and 1925), but it was the movies that made the character a household name. Just two years before the first film, a serial called “The Curse of Capistrano” appeared in a “pulp magazine”—that’s the term for the cheap fiction magazines that were distributed in the first half of the 20th century and were usually sold for 10 cents. It’s author was Johnston McCulley.

         Douglas Fairbanks, through his two films, helped create the image of Zorro that persists to this day. For instance, Fairbanks was an amateur magician and he gave Zorro that ability. It was Fairbanks who created the black outfit, black mask, and round black hat that figure in all subsequent versions. And Fairbanks’ acrobatic abilities—think swinging from the chandelier and leaping from rooftop to rooftop—were transferred to Zorro.  Watch this fabulous clip (it’s only 3 ½ minutes) to the end and you’ll see the leap across wide space between buildings that Mary Pickford couldn’t bear to watch.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaBud6ii5Wk&feature=PlayList&p=54B8576AB5117C0D&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=7

         Or watch the clip where Don Diego (Zorro) performs several foppish tricks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZazIILRVRw&NR=1 (start at minute 4:40 and you’ll see him play the bored, uninterested suitor who does a magic trick for his intended).

         “The Mark of Zorro” was released by United Artists (a corporation founded in 1919 by Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith) in 1921. The film was hugely popular, so he reprised the role in 1925 in “Don Q: Son of Zorro,” which was, incidentally, one of the first sequels in Hollywood history.  If you want to see the whole feature-length film (and it’s very entertaining!) click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH5C45FKv6M

       The Zorro character was very important to Douglas Fairbanks—he and Mary even named their little dog Zorro.