The following blog was recently written as an essay for my film class.
Since this is an essay, it will be a little bit different from my normal blogs. But, if I
didn’t post it here, it would just be collecting dust on my hard-drive. I have not
actually received a grade for this yet. So, if you like it, comment
and tell my teacher why I should get an “A+”. Thanks. Enjoy.
Mr.Bee
In the 1920s, silent movies were at the peak of their popularity. There were several silent movie stars. Now, today, the only one to come up from the era at a dinner conversation is Charlie Chaplin. However, there were several others. One, in particular, that modern Hollywood owes a debt to, and that man is Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. In his time, he was the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Sylvester Stallone/Bruce Willis of silent movies. And, he had really good looks to go with his action roles. Fairbanks was a pioneer of early cinema with a vast catalogue of films that revolutionized the film industry from its early days to the present.
For over two decades, Douglas Fairbanks helped establish the film industry during its infancy. In 1915, D.W. Griffith debuted the most expensive movie to date, The Birth of a Nation, at the White House, and experts agree that this was the launching point for the film industry as it is today. Griffith also wrote a film, The Lamb, a couple of months later that debuted Fairbanks. However, it wasn’t until 1920 when he achieved fame in as the lead in The Mark of Zorro. This movie was the first, in a very long list, on-screen portrayal of Zorro. At the time, Zorro was a pulp magazine hero that was adapted to film. Two years later, Fairbanks was the first portrayal of Robin Hood. Fairbanks was in The Three Musketeers. In 1924, The Thief of Baghdad, starred Fairbanks and broke the million dollar threshold for movie production. Overall, Douglas Fairbanks is credited with 51 movies in his career during the heyday of cinema.
In the 1920s and ‘30s, Douglas Fairbanks was the face of action movies, but his accomplishments to the industry transcended just being a movie star. For one, Fairbanks did all of his own stunts. Now, that is celebrated in Hollywood. In addition, his films inspired many other films in the genre. For example, The Thief of Baghdad was one of the inspirations for Disney’s Aladdin. His work also inspired many other Mickey Mouse cartoons. Also, Zorro inspired many other action movie serials such as Batman among many others. Also, Fairbanks contributed to pushing up the budgets of Hollywood movies. For example, in 1915, The Birth of the Nation was considered a “blockbuster” and cost $110,000. Less than ten years later, The Thief of Baghdad cost over ten times that ($1.36 million). Also, Fairbanks started the United Artists studio which went on to release the first couple of Rocky movies. He also founded the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Under his leadership in the academy, they held the first Oscars ceremony in 1929. Today, the Oscars have become the most prestigious award in all of Hollywood. Douglas Fairbanks made some significant movies throughout his career, but his legacy goes far beyond that for his accomplishments in the entertainment industry as a whole.
Douglas Fairbanks made many groundbreaking movies in his career as an actor. He founded the whole action/adventure genre of movies. However, that accomplishment pales in comparison to what he did for movies and film. In many respects, movies may have, in fact, died without him continuing to push the industry through his work with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Bibliography
Douglas Fairbanks: extraordinary life of Hollywood founding father | Film | The Guardian
The Douglas Fairbanks Museum - Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Biography
copyright 2017 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.
