American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 37

sented, with

one

slate marked "US." and the other

having no designation. Interestingly, in no case is there
evidence of camera two being used to cover a differ¬
ent angle or for closer isolated coverage of the scene
photographed by camera one. Flying rigs, wires and
reverse-action shots are quite obvious. In some of the
sail slitting shots, as in other stunts in the sequence,
there seems to be no question that it is Fairbanks; in

by Fairbanks. Talmadge probably did a few of the
more
dangerous stunts, and rehearsed some of the
others while Fairbanks watched and analyzed.
Theodore Reed, who in addition to serving as
Fairbanks' production manager for years had been
second-unit director on The Mark of Zorro (1920), said
in 1956 that Doug "didn't use any doubles until The
Gaucho [1927], and then only because he failed to show
up and Chuck Lewis substituted for him to keep from
wasting time."
All-around stunt man and stunt choreogra¬
pher David Sharpe, who grew up in Hollywood and
worked as a youthful extra on Fairbanks' Thief of
Bagdad and other films, said in a 1952 interview in the
Los Angeles Mirror that Fairbanks "always had a swarm
of fighters, wrestlers, knife throwers, and stunt men
around him. The entire studio was rigged up like a
gymnasium. There were trampolines, swings, hori¬
zontal bars, ropes, hand rings, punching bags, even a
dirt track for sprints out at the back. Fairbanks had a
frightening energy. It was a constant hassle around
him from morning to night. All of his acrobatics were
genuine."
Child actor/film editor/director Robert

others it is hard to determine.

Throughout his picture career, Fairbanks
performed the majority of his own stunts, and was
certainly capable of doing them all. For a 2 1 /2 year
period (1919-1922), Richard Talmadge was employed

Parrish, in his book "Growing Up in Hollywood,"
recalled seeing The Black Pirate as a boy of seven. "I
remember trying the knife [in the sail] stunt that after¬
noon in [my friend] Jack Dimon's back yard. As soon

Opposite: One of
the many
illustrations of

pirate lore by
famed artist
Howard Pyle
that served as

inspiration for
the visual style
ofThe Black
Pirate. This
page, above:
One of the most

famous of
Fairbanks'
stunts:

the

slitting

canvas

with

a

sail

dagger.

The stunt

was

accomplished
with the aid of a

pre-scored sail
that leaned

backward,
hidden pulleys,

counterweights,
angled

and an

camera.

Bottom: In the
truest tradition

of pirate
punishment,

SMAOrtcAihl/Fivsme

Fairbanks is

prodded along
the plank by
Sam De Grasse
on the backlot of
the Pickford-

Courtesy

Fairbanks

Studio.

May 1992

American

Cinematographer

35



American Cinematographer - May 1992

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 1992

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