American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 38

within the frame, as described at
the time by Nichols and Fairbanks.
He performed in a similar capacity
on

Wings (1927).
As

many

was

the custom of

shooting companies of the

time, Fairbanks always had musi¬
cians on the set to supply the proper

mood. A trio

consisting of an or¬
ganist, violinist and cellist are in
evidence in

one

behind-the-scenes

photograph taken

on the island
beach set. And while the film was

Above: On the

as

"treasure island"
backlot set at the

[linen bed] sheet,

PickfordFairbanks Studio.
Left to right:

cinematographer
Henry Sharp, ASC;
Fairbanks cohort
and stuntman/
actor

Charlie

Stevens (with

headband); Doug
Fairbanks;
unidentified man
with vest and tie;

fencing master/
duel choreogra¬
pher Fred Cavens;
unidentified
"mood musi¬
cians." Right:
Cameraman

Henry
Sharp, ASC, who
also photographed
Fairbanks' Don Q,
Son of Zorro

(1925), The Iron
Mask (1929) and
Around the World
in 80 Minutes

(1931), among
other films.

many

I

in production, Fairbanks once
again commissioned the distin¬
guished composer Mortimer Wil¬
son to create an
original score, as he
had done for The Thief ofBagdad and
Don Q. Original scores were the
| exception before sound: most films
| were given compilation scores with
| perhaps a bit of original material,
g but composed mostly of cues lifted
S from the vast
repertory of pub| lished and unpublished music. It
| also was not common practice for
|T the composer to have the luxury of
g writing his music while the film
was
being shot; usually the work
was a rushed affair done
during or

got to Jack's house with the

after the film

was in editorial.
Fairbanks told Wilson:

we attached it to
the limb of an oak tree about ten feet
from the ground. Jack got a
butcher's knife from the kitchen
and told me to climb up the tree.

"Make your score as artistic as you
and don't feel that you have to

can

jump like

a banderlog from one
mood to another at the expense of
the development of your musical
ideas." Other than the three

[From the limb] I pointed the knife
at the sheet, and took off. The sheet
crashed down, enveloping me like
a deflated
parachute. The knife
flew out of my hand and I landed
on the
ground, still smiling, with a
broken arm."
Two major consultants
worked on The Black Pirate long
before filming began and all during
the shoot. Dwight Franklin, an il¬
lustrator and authority on pirate life
and a disciple of famed illustrator Howard

Fairbanks films, the only music for
motion pictures written by Wilson
was

<

Pyle, was

shot.
was

the

English poet

Robert Nichols, who strangely enough was not in¬
volved in the script, except perhaps for some of the

titles, but worked

36

American

on

Cinematographer

an

original overture

Wagon (1923) which brought the




American Cinematographer - May 1992

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

American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 1
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 2
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 3
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 4
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 5
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 6
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 7
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 8
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 9
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 10
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 11
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 12
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 13
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 14
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 15
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 16
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 17
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 18
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 19
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 20
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 21
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 22
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 23
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 24
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 25
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 26
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 27
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 28
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 29
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 30
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 31
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 32
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 33
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 34
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 35
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 36
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 37
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 38
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 39
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 40
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 41
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 42
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 43
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 44
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 45
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 46
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 47
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 48
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 49
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 50
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 51
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 52
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 53
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 54
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 55
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 56
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 57
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 58
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 59
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 60
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 61
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 62
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 63
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 64
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 65
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 66
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 67
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 68
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 69
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 70
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 71
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 72
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 73
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 74
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 75
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 76
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 77
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 78
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 79
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 80
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 81
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 82
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 83
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 84
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 85
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 86
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 87
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 88
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 89
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 90
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 91
American Cinematographer - May 1992 - 92
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199909
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199907
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199906
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199905
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199904
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199903
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199902
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199901
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199811
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199810
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199807
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199804
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199601
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199504
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199503
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199502
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac199001
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com