In 1926, audiences were coming faster and faster and growing larger and larger. When the art form of film had augmented from Edwin S Porter's triumph "The Great Train Robbery" (1903) and even further back when Louis Lumiere showed the virtual realism of the perambulating train (back in the late 1800's) audiences were reluctant to this new art form. It was considered a form of pantomime, and they would repudiate it as a lowbrow form of entertainment. It was great though as time went on italian epics like "L'inferno" (1911) and "Cabiria" (1913) created epics of biblical proportions, and audiences were soon attached to it. From this to George Melies to D.W Griffith and Victor Sjöström there was something to look forward to and become aspired to.
Douglas Fairbanks had been on the scene during the production of Black Pirate in 1926. He starred in "When the Clouds Roll By" (1919) a debut by Victor Fleming ("Gone with the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz"), which was about Dan, a nondescript man who gets rendered by a mad scientist to become deeply more impaired mentally. It was a great film that showcased the vivid imagination of Fairbank's script. It was also a disorderly story that perpetuates old superstitions in the hope of bringing it together to form a marriage (if you watch it, you'll know what I mean!). Regardless of how off the wall it was, it's a happy and well done story, even with its racial undertones (prevalent back then) and it also showed the evolution of pop culture as there's a scene where the chauffeur is Chaplin-quasi.
Fairbanks became a rogue starring in The Mark of Zorro 1920 Allan Dwan's 1922 Robin Hood, Raoul Walsh's The Thief of Bagdad and many more. He was even married to Mary Pickwalsh, so he was a huge stellar in his day.
"Black Pirate" was nearing the end of Fairbanks' career. He also write the movie, which Albert Parker directed from.
It's about a young avenger who tries to avenge his Father's death. The film chronicles Fairbanks' acrobatic flare, and the sets are lavish. The melancholy of the people forced to work influences us more to see justice prevail. However, if you are accustomed to Fairbanks, this will not be any different to you - he's a pariah and must take matters into his hands. "I shall solemnly swear to avenge you, Father” (paraphrasing), what encapsulates the motivations of Fairbanks. He’s sort of like a picaresque character underneath the undercurrents of being part of a social distinction, but always raging against it.
Parkers connection with the melancholy and swashbuckling elements is, while not subtle, hard to recognise at first because you sort of forget the motives behind it, and you get really totally involved with what's happening on the foreground.
It was made with a simple story arch that Fairbanks then inherited and as he looks and is very iconic, he would of course find a woman near the end of the film.
The film is built with a splendor and it purports to be have been one of the earliest technicolor (with "Star Struck" directed by Allan Dwan, starring Gloria Swanson, which was distributed a year prior). With the Black and White negative that I have (not the Kino fully restored version) it's still as thrilling in my opinion as it never detracts from the iconography and it gives it that authenticity. In 1926, with the technicolor negative, critics were comparing it to the great paintings from centuries. It was starting to entice audiences and you can imagine how unprecedented it must have seemed to certain people at that time to see the film in such a kinetic way.
Fairbanks' adversary is a Captain, who is similar to Captain Nemo or Hook. He's not that indelible or memorable, but he sets the trend for this functional type of antagonist or tyrant. He still feels somewhat lacking in depth for me though, which is saved by the investment we have in Fairbanks, and as it builds on powerful wielding and its closure is similar to "The Mark of Zorro" leaves you with a bittersweet feeling, but as drawn from the experience, enthralling and sumptuous.
