The Gaucho

Unusual but beautifully made and typically enjoyable Douglas Fairbanks vehicle, which finds the star at his most roguish (while still being his dashing and athletic self); with the Argentine pampas for backdrop, the film – whose full official title is DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS AS THE GAUCHO – can be considered a semi-Western. The narrative encompasses romance (supplied by fiery Lupe Velez), religion (via the presence of a miraculous shrine overseen by a saintly shepherdess – we even get a couple of visions of the Madonna herself, played by Fairbanks' own equally popular actress wife, Mary Pickford!) as well as more characteristic action (in the form of The Gaucho's opposition to the rule of tyrannical Gustav von Seyffertitz). A subplot which ties in with the element of faith sees the hero being deliberately contaminated by a carrier of "The Black Doom" whom he had previously slighted, though both are eventually cured. Fairbanks' trademark pioneering spirit in the technical department is also well in evidence here – with matte paintings giving the illusion of a truly elaborate visual design, reversed film for one particularly showy leap by the star onto his faithful steed, and even the wholesale horse-driven transportation of a house at one point!

As Douglas Fairbanks biographer Jeffrey Vance has noted, "The Gaucho" is different from the action star's swashbucklers he'd been making since "The Mark of Zorro" (1920), citing the film's shift from the prior ones' boyish adventurism to more mature themes of sexuality and spirituality. Once again, Doug, this time as the Gaucho, saves a community from a dastardly villain, but this storyline becomes secondary to his religious conversion. Initially, the Gaucho isn't the perfect hero, either, although Doug still seems to perform stunts effortlessly (thanks in part to undercranking the camera and some quick, even sometimes choppy, editing).

And, this time, the girl pursues and tries to rescue him. Lupe Velez, as the easily-jealous, not damsel-y at all Mountain Girl, matches and sometimes exceeds Doug's exuberance. At one point, she tackles a guy and beats him up, and she likewise experiences a religious conversion. Usually, these type of religious pictures, complete with faith healing, a magical fountain and superimposed Virgin Marys would bore the hell out of me. I shudder at the thought of a film where the Girl of the Shrine, with her vacant expressions-supposedly alluding to spiritual superiority-were the protagonist.

But, Doug exudes charisma, his smile is contagious, and the religion, at least, slows his rollicking down for a moment. Otherwise, the guy is non-stop motion; he only sits down to briefly strike a pose and a match for his also-fervent cigarette smoking. Plus, The Gaucho does include the usual fare of Doug as the hero of the oppressed, defeater of dastardly villains. There's no sword fighting, but he does use a whip, performs some horse riding tricks, jumps all over the place and uses his wits to overcome large armies, including the climactic cattle stampede. The sets are also grand, per usual. Doug and his merry band of gauchos even help move one of them.

This is typical 20's Fairbanks, when he was making his grand epic swashbucklers, with typical over-complicated plots. The character reminds me of the first Zorro, but this guy is harder, and nastier (even after his miraculous reform). Fairbanks was also in his mid-forties when he made it, which explains his fined-down, but still very buff, appearance.

The plot is a mythical Argentina (with a tango thrown in to define the place, but it could take place anywhere, including Zorro's Early California. Fairbanks does wear an exotic costume, though.

Lupe Velez' Mountain Girl is the real departure. She is feisty, for one, and swashes every bit of buckle that Fairbanks does. These sort of characters are usually the one who DOESN'T get her man; here, it is with great satisfaction that she does--a woman ahead of her times!

Of the Douglas Fairbanks films I've seen so far, there is not one that came across as bad. The Gaucho may be my least favourite of them, it does get a tad too heavy-handed at times and the religious stuff sometimes bogs it down and give off an odd feel. But what makes Fairbanks' films as good as they are are most definitely present in The Gaucho. The sets are some of the most exotic and lavish of any Fairbanks film, and the same can be said of the costumes. The photography is equally beautiful, and the music score is appropriately rousing which make the stunts and such even more exciting than they already are. There is a strong sense of humour that is as fresh and current now as it was then, the director handles things deftly and the story cannot be called routine, if anything of all the films Fairbanks did The Gaucho is perhaps his least conventional story-wise. It is also very briskly paced and with a constant sense of fun and energy, as well as memorable scenes like the aftermath of the healing miracle. It's not a Fairbanks film without mentioning the stunts and they are spectacularly choreographed and dazzlingly executed. And with real athleticism that has not been matched much by many films today standards. Fairbanks steals the show, as he should as he is the star, he is charisma personified and clearly looks like he's enjoying every moment. His stunts are athletic and youthful and he does show some expressive acting like in the healing miracle scene and its aftermath. He is very well-supported by the rest of the cast, the standouts being Lupe Velez, who plays with a lot of appealing spunk and is sexy without even trying, and Gustav von Seyffertitz, whose suave charm but very twisted malevolence makes for one of the nastiest villains of any Fairbanks film. All in all, while not one of Douglas Fairbanks' best it is still a treat. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Having finally read Jeffrey Vance's marvelous biography DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, it made me realize that roughly half of his 1920s action-adventure films are available in recently restored editions. THE MARK OF ZORRO, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, THE BLACK PIRATE, & THE IRON MASK have been given the deluxe home video treatment they deserve. What about THE THREE MUSKETEERS, ROBIN HOOD, DON Q, SON OF ZORRO, and THE GAUCHO? Concerning the last title only this 2001 Kino release was available for awhile but now it's been withdrawn hence the high price.

According to Vance, the original film was color tinted with two Technicolor sequences featuring Mary Pickford as The Virgin Mary. This Kino version is in pretty good black & white but the speed transfer is a trifle too fast. Nevertheless it's good enough to show that THE GAUCHO, Fairbanks' penultimate silent film, is actually one of his best. It's only 96 minutes long, has the 44 year old Fairbanks in peak athletic form performing some truly marvelous stunts, and features a star making performance from the 17 year old Lupe Velez. It also gives us a darker, more amoral character than Doug ever played before or would play again.

Set in an unspecified time before the turn of the 20th Century, the movie tells the story of "The Gaucho", a devil-may-care bandit who leads a large group of men and who does as he pleases. His story is juxtaposed with the "Girl of the Shrine" who is clearly patterned after Bernadette of Lourdes. She resides in the City of the Miracle where years before she was restored to life by a vision of the Virgin Mary. The Gaucho comes to rob the city but is mystified by the young woman while engaging in a dalliance with a young villager (Velez). A tyrant, Ruiz, seeks the city's gold and sends his troops to conquer the city and dispose of anyone standing in his way. Add a contagious leper, a religious conversion, and a cattle stampede finale and you have the most intriguing movie Fairbanks ever made.

Also on this Kino release is Fairbanks' strangest film ever, the bizarre 1916 comedy THE MYSTERY OF THE LEAPING FISH in which he plays "Coke Ennyday" an outrageous parody of Sherlock Holmes who shoots up constantly and drinks cocktails composed of gin, laudanum & prussic acid! Fairbanks intended it to be a spoof of William Gillette's 1915 feature SHERLOCK HOLMES but that reference is lost on modern audiences. The drug usage is not. This print of FISH is the best I've ever seen even better than the one on the Flicker Alley FAIRBANKS set.

So Flicker Alley, The Cohen Group, Kino Lorber, and whoever else out there who specializes in silent film restorations, take note! It is time that THE GAUCHO be given the deluxe treatment that it deserves so that new generations of silent film aficionados can enjoy the movie the way that Douglas Fairbanks intended. Producer Fairbanks never scrimped on production values and he would be dismayed at the many, cheap public domain copies of his films out there...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.