Niblo, Fred

The Mark of Zorro

Douglas Fairbanks, the most famous of the Zorros, made this mix of comedy and derring-do reluctantly, as a change-of-pace from his modern-dress playboy roles. The Old California adventure fared so well at the box office it caused the athletic superstar to rethink his image and don period finery for his best later vehicles, including The Thief of Baghdad.

Here, Doug has a ball playing dual roles, as hopeless fop Don Diego and as masked caballero Zorro, sworn enemy of all oppressors. When he isn't dueling with the evil Capt. Ramon (Robert McKim) or rescuing peasants, Don Diego/Zorro courts the lovely Lolita (Marguerite de la Motte) with bad magic tricks and worse manners. In the end, when Lolita's family is jailed, our hero throws off his masquerade, whips out his rapier, and wins the leading lady's hand.

Full of fun plot twists, secret passageways, and Fairbanks's signature arms-akimbo bravado, this silent classic (with restored sepia interiors) became the model for all the Errol Flynn-Tyrone Power swashbucklers to come. --Glenn Lovell

The Mark of Zorro is the swashbuckling story of a nineteenth century Robin Hood intent on freeing his beloved San Juan Capistrano from an evil Governor and his lecherous Captain. Don Diego Vega (Douglas Fairbanks) must assume the masked identity of Zorro to convince the Caballeros to join him in his quest to save the city from certain ruin.

Sex

Theda Bara was the first of the great vamps, but by the late 1910s she was being eclipsed by a new breed of screen temptresses. The best-remembered of these was Louise Glaum, whose first claim to fame was as the perennial bad-girl dance-hall queen in William S. Hart's westerns. From there, she took leading roles in a string of torrid melodramas: lurid films bearing titles like "A Law Unto Herself" and "Sweetheart of the Doomed." She topped herself with "Sex" in 1920, just as the age of the vamp was coming to a close. Here she plays a cabaret star who lures married men to amorous disaster. Her spiderweb costume is a treat in itself: the symbolism may not be subtle but it certainly is apt! Organ score by Bob Vaughn.

Supplemental material: An eye-opening photo gallery of unclad and under-clad film stars from throughout the silent era and into the early 1930s. Included are rare and risque photos of Louise Brooks, Clara Bow, Douglas Fairbanks, Mae West, Bessie Love and many more.

The Three Musketeers

Douglas Fairbanks established himself as the first action hero in a series of lavish, action-packed adventures beginning with The Mark of Zorro in 1920. The next year Fairbanks called on the director of that success, Fred Niblo, to direct him in the even more ambitious The Three Musketeers, a swashbuckling costume classic packed with romance, knockabout humor, and Fairbanks's patented brand of gymnastic action. In a perfect match with his exuberantly cocky personality, Fairbanks plays the naive but gifted son of an impoverished nobleman who goes to Paris to seek his fame in the legendary king's guards, known as the Musketeers. The quick-tempered hick is easy to rile and immediately secures duels with the best swordsmen in France, the infamous Three Musketeers, before bonding with them in a brawling fight with the Cardinal's men. Meanwhile, the conniving Cardinal plots to humiliate the Queen and gain the ear of the foppish, easily manipulated King (Adolphe Menjou). The complicated plot introduces more characters than one can easily keep track of and Niblo tends toward static, airy setups that show off the spectacular sets, relying on the bounding energy of human dynamo Fairbanks to create the energy, which he does with cocksure confidence and a smile simultaneously generous, genuine, and just a little smug. Fairbank's version is a veritable blueprint for Richard Lester's excellent 1974 remake. --Sean Axmaker

Mark Of Zorro

Douglas Fairbanks thrills audiences with his skilled swordplay as the Robin Hood figure of old southern California in this action-adventure classic -- his first swashbuckler and perhaps his best film. He portrays a foppish son of a wealthy California rancher, but then puts on a disguise in order to fight the evil tyrant Captain.

Non-stop fun. Enormous sets gave him plenty of room to swash and buckle in.

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Blood And Sand

Young, poor Juan Gallarde (Valentino) from a small town quickly becomes the greatest bullfighter in Spain with his firy passion and courageous actions. After gaining fame and fortune, he marries his childhood sweetheart Carmen (Lee), but is soon seduced by the vampish Marquis' daughter Dona Sol (Naldi). However, his mistress deserts him after Juan is viciously gored by a bull, and Carmen returns to nurse him back to health. After a long recovery, Juan returns to the bullring with Carmen's love and support, but tragedy strikes for a final time. Another Valentino classic!

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

The Three Musketeers

Douglas Fairbanks established himself as the first action hero in a series of lavish, action-packed adventures beginning with The Mark of Zorro in 1920. The next year Fairbanks called on the director of that success, Fred Niblo, to direct him in the even more ambitious The Three Musketeers, a swashbuckling costume classic packed with romance, knockabout humor, and Fairbanks's patented brand of gymnastic action. In a perfect match with his exuberantly cocky personality, Fairbanks plays the naive but gifted son of an impoverished nobleman who goes to Paris to seek his fame in the legendary king's guards, known as the Musketeers. The quick-tempered hick is easy to rile and immediately secures duels with the best swordsmen in France, the infamous Three Musketeers, before bonding with them in a brawling fight with the Cardinal's men. Meanwhile, the conniving Cardinal plots to humiliate the Queen and gain the ear of the foppish, easily manipulated King (Adolphe Menjou). The complicated plot introduces more characters than one can easily keep track of and Niblo tends toward static, airy setups that show off the spectacular sets, relying on the bounding energy of human dynamo Fairbanks to create the energy, which he does with cocksure confidence and a smile simultaneously generous, genuine, and just a little smug. Fairbank's version is a veritable blueprint for Richard Lester's excellent 1974 remake. --Sean Axmaker

In no other role is Douglas Fairbanks' boyish vigor as irresistibly engaging than as D'Artagnan in director Fred Niblo's "The Three Musketeers." More than just a thrilling adventure, the film is a handsomely produced, emotionally sensitive telling of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, buoyed by Fairbanks' electrifying presence.

Blood and Sand [Region 2]

Rudolph Valentino's star power burns through this adaptation of Vicente Blasco Ibanez's exotic melodrama of an Andalusian peasant boy who becomes the greatest matador in all of Spain. The swaggering but sincere Valentino marries good Catholic girl Lila Lee, a coy innocent with bow-tie lips, but is seduced by voracious vamp Nita Naldi, a high-society man-eater who decides to add a bullfighter to her list of conquests. Journeyman director Fred Niblo (the 1925 version of Ben-Hur) mounts this grand piece of romantic nonsense with little subtlety but plenty of spectacle, and in the best Hollywood tradition celebrates the macho glamour of the sport while decrying its cruelty. While it lacks the grace or style of Rouben Mamoulian's 1941 color remake, Valentino's charisma and confidence and smoldering eyes give the film a simmering, sultry life that no remake has been able to capture. --Sean Axmaker

Blood and Sand