Reggie Mixes In

"Reggie Mixes In" is a below average vehicle for Douglas Fairbanks. It's one of his earliest comedies, from before his turn to swashbucklers in the 1920s. He plays the wealthy Reggie Van Deuzen, who apparently was born into money since there's no indication in the film that he worked for it. Reggie falls in love with a girl from the slums and so decides to "mix in"; he pretends to be poor, rents a shabby flat and gets a job as a bouncer at a rough nightclub. There, he mixes it up with gang members and ends up fighting a gang boss for the girl. It's not a very good scenario, and the pacing is rather slow and uneventful for a Fairbanks comedy—and it's not funny. Much of the humor is some knockabout between Reggie and his servant, which wasn't Fairbanks's usual style. Christy Cabanne wasn't a good director. Three of my least favorite Fairbanks films ("The Lamb", "Flirting with Fate" and this one) were made by him, and soon after he made them, Triangle fired him. In his other early pictures, Fairbanks was beginning more fruitful collaborations with the likes of Allan Dwan, John Emerson, Victor Fleming and Anita Loos.

The print/transfer I saw was rather poor, but viewable. It may have been missing some footage, as there are some especially abrupt cuts between a couple scenes; otherwise, this was even more of a slipshod production. Additionally, the subplot of the other woman, Lemona, who's after Reggie's money, doesn't really go anywhere in the print I saw and, regardless, should have been dropped. The film ran about 45 minutes. Perhaps, one point of interest in "Reggie Mixes In" for classic cinema fans is Bessie Love as Doug's leading lady; in the silent and early sound eras, she was also a notable star.

Douglas Fairbanks is a well-heeled member of New York society. His manservant, Joseph Singleton, wakes him at lunchtime to ask if he wants breakfast. He gets engaged to Alma Reubens, who loves his money, even though she really cares for another. Aware of this, Fairbanks finds himself over in the precincts of the Gashouse Gang, where he is intrigued by Bessie Love. Her family used to have money, but it vanished with an uncle who went to Australia to trying mining. Now she is the sole support of her mother and a young sister, dancing at a local gang bar. So Fairbanks.... well, his character is named Reggie, so judge from the title what happens.

Fairbanks pulls his usual shenanigans, roughing up his manservant, doing handstands on waking, jumping on chandeliers, and climbing atop cornices. He fights for Miss Love, who really has little to do in this short feature. She's present for Doug to fall in love with, and eventually prove his worthiness. Which, of course, he does.

The Gashouse Gang was a real New York gang. They controlled Third Avenue and environs from the East Village up to around 18th Street from about 1890 through 1910. At their height, they committed about fifty burglaries a night and collected tribute from the merchants. About 1910, they were absorbed into the Five Points Gang.

In this 1916 movie, while still working for Triangle and, essentially, D.W. Griffith, Doug Fairbanks initially plays another idle young man of the upper class, 'FRESH out of college', as the inter-titles point out - but by some small incident, he finds himself in a poor neighborhood one fine day; and falling in love with a poor girl who works as a bar dancer out of necessity (played by young Bessie Love, who soon was to become a big star herself)...

And so, without hesitation, he decides to leave his former surroundings - and, together with his faithful servant 'Pickleface' (wonderfully portrayed by Joseph Singleton), dressed in worker's clothes, goes to that bar to look for the girl he'd fallen for at first sight; and is hired as bouncer there! Which very soon gets him in trouble with the leader of the gas-house gang, who's also got an eye on pretty Agnes...

... And, of course, it gives Doug Fairbanks a LOT of opportunities to show his athletic stunts; that's undoubtedly one big part of the entertainment in this wonderfully unusual movie (especially for the female part of the audience...), another one are the many comical sequences; then there's the element of a very early 'pre-gangster movie' - and, maybe most important of all for the time it was made, the breaking down of the 'barriers' between the 'upper' and the 'lower' class; love conquers all!! In short: this is a GREAT movie and a GREAT time document, not to be missed by any real fan of classic movies by any means!

Douglas Fairbanks started his film career in breezy little comedies that stressed his athleticism. REGGIE MIXES IN in a good example. Here he plays Reggie, a rich young man (he was 33) who oddly gets involved as a bouncer in a beer hall, a gang of thugs, and a love woman (Bessie Love). No much sense to the plot, rather a string of events loosely tied together and all aimed for Reggie to win the girl.

Fairbanks started in films in 1915 and right from the start, refused to play love scenes. So even in this 1916 film, Fairbanks and Love clutch but never kiss. He has a few terrific stunts, however, that keep this film surprising and brisk (at 47 minutes). Co-stars include Alma Rubens (hysterically named Lemona), Joseph Singleton (as the butler Old Pickleface), Lillian Langdon (as the aunt), and Frank Bennett (as Sammy the thug).

Reggie is the perfect character for Fairbanks in these early films because they allow him to polish his acting skills and presage his astonishing career as the swashbuckling superstar of the 20s, a career that combined his great athletic skills with a great sense of fun.