After The Fireworks

On the heels of Seattle Theater Group’s Douglas Fairbanks series, accompanist Dennis James appears at two historic Puget Sound venues over the holiday weekend. This year’s anniversary celebration at Bainbridge Island’s Lynwood Theater features two Saturday screenings of King Vidor’s Show People (1928), and Tacoma’s Rialto Theater will present Douglas Fairbanks’ only color feature, The Black Pirate (1926) on Sunday.

Show People (1928)

Saturday July 5, 2:00 & 7:00pm, The Lynwood Theater, Bainbridge Island

Colonel Marmaduke Oldfish Pepper (Dell Henderson) drives his daughter Peggy (Davies) from Georgia to Hollywood to star in the movies.

These two country hicks are unsuspecting fodder for incorrigible Billy Boone (Haines), " – a custard pie artist …" who descends on their cafeteria table in an outrageously funny entrance (watch for the bit with the noodle), and then helps Peggy land a part in his next picture. What she thinks is high drama turns out to be screwball, but a job is a job and Billy convinces her " . . all the stars have to take it on the chin – ". At the preview, Billy and Peggy bump into ….. Charlie Chaplin, who asks for her autograph! She pushes the little fellow aside and a horrified Billy grabs the book and makes her sign. Chaplin climbs in his car and Billy tells Peggy who shes just snubbed, so naturally, she faints. It's so very funny, considering Davies character isn't supposed to recognize this guy! Peggy soon moves on to work at the High Art Studios, changes her name to 'Patricia Pepoire' and leaves poor Billy behind. Davies does a wonderful send-up of a serious actress, with all the prerequisite fluttering eyelashes and quivering lips. Vidor throws in a parade of stars eating lunch in a long tracking shot (and they're all sitting shoulder to shoulder, facing the camera!) that includes Polly Moran (Who's also sensationally funny playing Davies' maid), Louella Parsons (one of the friendly vampires), Estelle Taylor, Claire Windsor Aileen Pringle, the comedy duo of Karl Dane (with his arm in a sling) and George K. Arthur (pretending he's stealing the silverware), Leatrice Joy (amused by Arthur's antics), Renee Adoree, Rod (eating and smoking) La Rocque, Mae Murray, John (in a robe) Gilbert (who also appears driving through the MGM gates early in the picture), Norma (eeeww!) Talmadge (looking bitchy and aloof as usual) and Patricia dressed like Marie Antoinette, sandwiched between Douglas Fairbanks (as he does an amusing trick) and William S. Hart (protecting her from Doug). Billy runs into the High Art crew on location when the comedy troupe disrupts their filming, with predictably nutty results. Vidor even works himself into the final scene as the director of Peggy's current production. Also worth noting are Harry Gribbon as the comedy director doing a great caricature of Eddie Sedgwick, Sidney Bracy as the dramatic director who can't get Peggy to cry for her screen test and then can't stop her once she does, and Paul Ralli as Andre, her dramatic love interest and a hilarious phony. When her character tries to 'act' its as though Davies is poking fun at all the awful dramas she'd been forced into and she's brilliant doing it.

The Black Pirate (1926)

Sunday July 6, 7:00pm, Rialto Theater, Tacoma

The Black Pirate (1926) was lightning in a bottle, set on the high seas with relentless action, energetic humor and the absence of a pointlessly convoluted plot, held to a sensible 88 minutes. Fairbanks developed fantastic stunts while dazzling his audience with two-strip Technicolor throughout the film. The notable absence of women (much to the delight of Fairbanks' target audience there were only two) was largely due to a storyline occupied by bloodthirsty cutthroats, noble mariners and 'Doug', somewhere in the middle. Billie Dove was cast as the love interest and obligatory damsel in distress, Princess Isobel, based on Fairbanks' belief that she photograph well in color. Donald Crisp was memorable as MacTavish, a one-armed Scottish buccaneer and first mate of sorts, while Fairbanks' mascot Charles Stevens played the powder man, who gleefully encircled captive sailors with a trail of black powder before blowing them up with their ship.

The essence of fairytale Hollywood, The Black Pirate was filmed at Fairbanks/Pickford Studios while Mary was making Sparrows (1926). The story is told that Pickford forbade her husband from kissing another woman, including any actress in any of his films. The final scene of The Black Pirate called for Fairbanks to kiss the Princess. Mary was suitably costumed and facing away from the camera, performed the clincher herself. Another well known story, fact or fable, tells of Fairbanks dashing across the lot to unleash a verbal attack on director William Beaudine after hearing he had placed Mary mere feet from the snapping jaws and razor sharp teeth of ferocious alligators. Other sources claim photographer Charles Rosher employed a 'masked' shot to achieve the effect, with the actors and animals separated by a considerable distance. The animals were also tied down, but 'Doug's' tirade is a far better story.