"His Majesty, the American" is historically noteworthy as the first film distributed by United Artists. It begins with an introductory title acknowledging this precedent, followed by Douglas Fairbanks performing a somersault while tearing through the title and, then, winking at the camera. Fortunately, the movie that follows this historical recognition is one of Fairbanks's best comedies. The following year, with "The Mark of Zorro", he would begin his transformation to swashbuckling action hero, but in the first part of his career, he made modern comedies such as this one.
The film follows the common formula of Fairbanks's vehicles: introduced as restlessly exuberant, his character finds New York City to be stifling his insatiable need for adventure and action. In this one, he begins by assisting the New York fire and police departments. He rescues a family from a burning tenement by scaling the adjacent building and swinging across it-a good scene early on for Fairbanks's stunts and the mechanical effects, including smoke, for the fire. He also aids in a police raid-a scene that includes a removed-wall-shot to reveal a view of multiple rooms. After New York proves to be no longer exciting, he travels southwest for excitement, which was a common direction in these vehicles, such as in "Wild and Woolly" (1917). (Amusingly, one title card uses the phrase "wild and woolly" and another uses "hell's hinges", the latter of which was the title of a William S. Hart Western.) He goes to Mexico where he chases down Pancho Villa (not the first time Fairbanks and his collaborators took sides on current events and exploited them for humor). Meanwhile, the film crosscuts Doug's scenes with those of intrigue over succession to the thrown in a fictional European state, which our hero soon becomes involved in. Fairbanks has similar narratives of royalty and battle over monarchial succession in "The Americano" (1916) and "Reaching for the Moon" (1917), which anticipate the plots of his historical/costume swashbucklers such as "Robin Hood" (1922).
There's so much intrigue and many twists going on in this scenario that Doug doesn't meet the girl until the picture is already an hour in. Regardless, this film is a lot of fun, including some especially elaborate chases where Doug uses his wit and athleticism to avoid capture. It doesn't even seem to matter that not everything seems to make sense-such as the details as to how Doug became an estranged son, where and why he was getting money in America and why someone supposedly loyal to the King would keep such a secret until after his death. According to director Joseph Henabery, much of the film had to be rearranged after the US didn't join the League of Nations, as originally the picture was built around supporting President Woodrow Wilson's vision (Jeffrey Vance, "Douglas Fairbanks").
Vance reports that this was Fairbanks's most expensive production up to then, costing nearly $175,000. Not much by today's standards, but it was a considerable sum back then, especially considering that much of it came out of Doug's pockets and for a film distributed under a new company. The added budget shows in the many extras used and the sets built within the studio. It was Fairbanks's continued ambition to create bigger films-that restless exuberance-, as displayed here, which eventually led him in the direction of the swashbucklers of the 1920s that he is best remembered for today. In a way, however, these more intimate comedies better displayed Fairbanks's contagious good humor and charm, while still allowing him adventures for his seemingly effortless stunts.
(Note: I saw a poor but viewable, contrasty reduction print/home video transfer, which included bleached faces. It had a nice musical score, surprisingly, though.)
The film follows the common formula of Fairbanks's vehicles: introduced as restlessly exuberant, his character finds New York City to be stifling his insatiable need for adventure and action. In this one, he begins by assisting the New York fire and police departments. He rescues a family from a burning tenement by scaling the adjacent building and swinging across it-a good scene early on for Fairbanks's stunts and the mechanical effects, including smoke, for the fire. He also aids in a police raid-a scene that includes a removed-wall-shot to reveal a view of multiple rooms. After New York proves to be no longer exciting, he travels southwest for excitement, which was a common direction in these vehicles, such as in "Wild and Woolly" (1917). (Amusingly, one title card uses the phrase "wild and woolly" and another uses "hell's hinges", the latter of which was the title of a William S. Hart Western.) He goes to Mexico where he chases down Pancho Villa (not the first time Fairbanks and his collaborators took sides on current events and exploited them for humor). Meanwhile, the film crosscuts Doug's scenes with those of intrigue over succession to the thrown in a fictional European state, which our hero soon becomes involved in. Fairbanks has similar narratives of royalty and battle over monarchial succession in "The Americano" (1916) and "Reaching for the Moon" (1917), which anticipate the plots of his historical/costume swashbucklers such as "Robin Hood" (1922).
There's so much intrigue and many twists going on in this scenario that Doug doesn't meet the girl until the picture is already an hour in. Regardless, this film is a lot of fun, including some especially elaborate chases where Doug uses his wit and athleticism to avoid capture. It doesn't even seem to matter that not everything seems to make sense-such as the details as to how Doug became an estranged son, where and why he was getting money in America and why someone supposedly loyal to the King would keep such a secret until after his death. According to director Joseph Henabery, much of the film had to be rearranged after the US didn't join the League of Nations, as originally the picture was built around supporting President Woodrow Wilson's vision (Jeffrey Vance, "Douglas Fairbanks").
Vance reports that this was Fairbanks's most expensive production up to then, costing nearly $175,000. Not much by today's standards, but it was a considerable sum back then, especially considering that much of it came out of Doug's pockets and for a film distributed under a new company. The added budget shows in the many extras used and the sets built within the studio. It was Fairbanks's continued ambition to create bigger films-that restless exuberance-, as displayed here, which eventually led him in the direction of the swashbucklers of the 1920s that he is best remembered for today. In a way, however, these more intimate comedies better displayed Fairbanks's contagious good humor and charm, while still allowing him adventures for his seemingly effortless stunts.
(Note: I saw a poor but viewable, contrasty reduction print/home video transfer, which included bleached faces. It had a nice musical score, surprisingly, though.)