Three years ago, when Virginie of The Wonderful World of Cinema and Crystal of In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood hosted the first ever Marathon Stars Blogathon, I struggled to think of movie stars that I had seen less than three films in. There were of course a few stars that I, at the time, had no interest in that I could have chosen, but I wanted my marathon to be enjoyable and not a chore. And so, as a Classic Movie Fan who hadn't yet seen Gone With the Wind in its entirety, I chose Vivien Leigh.
The blogathon however had started me thinking and I made as thorough a list as possible of stars I had seen only three films are less. This is what I came up with in 2016:
Since then I have crossed off many names as well as added more stars as they came to my attention. You may notice there are few stars known primarily for Silent Movies. However, they are mostly the big name ones that have remained in the public's mind for close to a century. There are of course many more that I have never heard of but, at some point and time, surely will whenever I begin to delve more deeply into that period of filmmaking (which may be soon as I've discovered several of William Powell's and Ronald Colman's silent films online). And so, here is the list as it appears today:
When Virginie and Crystal announced the Second Annual Marathon Stars Blogathon, now also joined by Samantha of Musings of a Classic Film Addict, I pulled out my handy chart and decided who it was that I wanted to explore and whose films I had fast access too. Since I already had one Douglas Fairbanks Jr. film in my TCM queue, and since I was planning on checking out The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) for my current Ronald Colman obsession (sadly/not sadly I had already seen 4+ films of Colmans), I knew who my subject would be.
"Oh I think you'll discover that I'm much more than a pretty face!"
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was under the 2 Films category: the classic Gunga Din (1939) and Having Wonderful Time (1938). I love Gunga Din but it is definitely Cary Grant's movie. I watched Having Wonderful Time last year and enjoyed it but it didn't make any kind of impression on me. However, from the first two films I watched for this marathon, I immediately came to appreciate the acting ability of DFJ (as I will refer to him for the rest of the post), and see him in a variety of genre's and roles. Here are the films in the order I viewed them in (I'm focusing on DFJ's performance rather than the plots):
Morning Glory (1933) - This film is really about Katharine Hepburn (she won her first Oscar for her performance) but DFJ holds his own against the new star with his tender, quiet, and thoughtful performance.
Here are some DFJ's memories of the film (from I Know Where I'm Going: Katharine Hepburn, a Personal Biography by Charlotte Chandler):
"They showed me some photos of her [Hepburn], saying she had very unconventional looks. They said it rather apologetically, because she certainly didn't look like everyone else, or even anyone else. I thought she was beautiful. I hoped it wouldn't just be an example of those touched-up pictures the studio specialized in. I hoped she would look just like those pictures when I met her. Well, she didn't look just like them. She was even more beautiful.
"The moment I met Kate, I fell madly in love with her. In those days I fell madly in love rather easily. I found her adorable and I adored her.
"There were some people who said she wasn't beautiful. Well, they needed vision tests and new glasses.
"Adolphe Menjou and I were with her in the film, and we were asked to help her out as much as we could. She won the Oscar.
"The original script for Morning Glory, included the fantasy dream sequence in which Miss Hepburn and I would play at least two scenes, and possibly a third, of the greatest scenes between Romeo and Juliet. That certainly intrigued and tempted me. It seemed a unique opportunity for me to play Romeo, a dream part.
"She was wonderful to play with in our Romeo and Juliet scenes. Every time I tried to work my thin frame into my tights, I wasn't certain I'd make it. I tried to stop eating much. Then, I tried to stop eating at all. Unfortunately, the more I tried to stop eating, the hungrier I felt and the more I thought about not eating, the more I ate and the tighter my tights got. I tried every position to enter them, including lying on the floor with my legs in the air. There was no lock on the door, and I got caught once. Someone opened the door, but I was too busy trying to extricate myself from one leg of the tights to see who it was. The person was too embarrassed by the sight to linger.
"We did the scenes from Romeo and Juliet for small invited audiences, and we both felt we were 'of the theater.' "
"a great scene in the film which no one saw because it was cut out. It's my favorite and it's Douglas's too. It was from Romeo and Juliet. Douglas was Romeo and one guess who was Juliet.
"It was done like a dream. We were both very good, but Douglas was better than I. He looked more like Romeo than I looked like Juliet.
"I like the picture, but the most wonderful thing I got out of it was Douglas, a dear, dear friend throughout my life."
I certainly wish that scene had been left in the picture! There was a scene where the two recite a few lines and it was one of the best parts of the film (see a snippet above). And the fact that DFJ was in love with Hepburn but she didn't really love him back in the same way, really came across in their scenes together in the film. My favorite moment is when Hepburn's character touches his hand and walks away, and he tenderly touches his hand where hers had been. You can watch it below.
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) - I've already seen the shot-for-shot 1952 remake starring Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, and James Mason (I've never understood the appeal of Granger - most of his films I've seen were viewed for his leading ladies). While it was very good I enjoyed this one, starring Ronald Colman and Madeleine Carroll, much more.
DFJ was absolutely perfect for the role of the swashbuckling villain. He wasn't sure he wanted to be a supporting player to Colman so he sought out his famous father's advise. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. told him that ""not only is The Prisoner of Zenda one of the best romances written in a hundred years and always a success, but Rupert of Hentzau is probably one of the best villains ever written" (The Salad Days: An Autobiography, DFJ). DFJ's devil-may-care approach to the character makes his the showiest part of the film. See all my screenshots on my blog facebook page.
The Power of the Press (1928) - I wanted to make sure I covered a wider selection of DFJ's filmography so I was happy to find The Power of the Press (1928) directed by Frank Capra online. It shouldn't surprise anyone that a Capra film is set at a newspaper office. DFJ writes the weather for the paper but wants to do more. There's a humorous scene where he writes a flowery description of the weather and shows it to the editor saying, "If you change a word of it you'll ruin it." The editor then proceeds to cross out everything but the initial forecast.
DFJ's chance comes when the paper gets a call about the murder of the District Attorney and there are no other reporters in the office to send to the scene of the crime. DFJ gets a scoop and is a big man at the office until it is proven wrong. He is fired but doesn't let that stop him from solving the crime himself.
There's a fascinating sequence that shows how the front page is changed when a scoop comes through, from typewriter to printed paper. It is very Capra (as well as his last silent film). In Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success by Joseph McBride, it mentions that "former paperboy and Los Angeles Times stuffer" DFJ was able to "indulge vicariously his fleeting youthful ambition of becoming a reporter (201)."
A brief biography:
Born Dec. 9, 1909. Son of famous actor Douglas Fairbanks (he added narration to one of father's silent films). His stepmother was famous silent actress Mary Pickford. Pickford and Fairbanks instituted the Academy Awards. Married to Joan Crawford from 1929-1934 (divorce, no children). He held the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit with V for valor in combat device from the U.S. government for his combat service in PT boats and gunboats. Was awarded the British Distinguished Service Cross, the French Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre with Palm for his services during World War II. Created an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1949. Has 100 acting credits. Died May 7, 2000 of a heart attack.
