Down to Earth | |
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Directed by | John Emerson |
Written by | Douglas Fairbanks (story) Anita Loos (scenario) John Emerson (scenario) Anita Loos (intertitles) |
Produced by | Douglas Fairbanks |
Starring | Douglas Fairbanks |
Cinematography | Victor Fleming Harry Thorpe |
Distributed by | Artcraft Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 5 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Down to Earth, also known as The Optimist, is a 1917 American comedy romance film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Eileen Percy, and directed by John Emerson. Most of the principal photography was filmed in Yosemite National Park. [1]
Bill Gaynor follows Ethel, the girl he loves, to a sanitarium she is staying to recuperate from a nervous break down. Ethel had previously refused his proposal in favor of a socialite, Charles Riddles. Bill hatches up a plan to save Ethel and the other hypochondriacs from the sanitarium, taking them on his yacht through the ruse of a smallpox scare. The yacht crashes onto an island, where Bill makes the invalids work for their own food and where they all overcome their illnesses. Two months later, Charles discovers that Palm Beach is actually in the valley below them, and he escapes the camp. Charles meets up with a friend to complain about his ordeal and with his friend's encouragement, they return to the camp and try to "kidnap" Ethel. Bill catches them in the act and neutralises them. Bill admits to Ethel that they are not on an actual desert island, but she tells him that she has known that for a month. As the two float away in a row boat, the other patients comment that they should return to their siestas because the story is over. [2] [3]
A DVD version was released in 2007. [4]
In his biography of Fairbanks, Jeffrey Vance writes that "some minor charm redolent of (Fairbanks's) earlier comedies" can be found "particularly (in) Down to Earth (...) with its celebration of the natural life." [5]
The Black Pirate is a 1926 American silent action adventure film shot entirely in two-color Technicolor about an adventurer and a "company" of pirates. Directed by Albert Parker, it stars Douglas Fairbanks, Donald Crisp, Sam De Grasse, and Billie Dove. In 1993, The Black Pirate was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures to be added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1924 American silent swashbuckler film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairbanks, and written by Achmed Abdullah and Lotta Woods. Freely adapted from One Thousand and One Nights, it tells the story of a thief who falls in love with the daughter of the Caliph of Baghdad. In 1996, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Wild and Woolly is a 1917 American silent Western comedy film which tells the story of one man's personal odyssey from cowboy-obsessed Easterner to Western tough guy. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Walter Bytell and Sam De Grasse. The film was adapted by Anita Loos from a story by Horace B. Carpenter and was directed by John Emerson.
The Three Musketeers is a 1921 American silent film based on the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by Fred Niblo and stars Douglas Fairbanks as d'Artagnan. The film originally had scenes filmed in the Handschiegl Color Process. The film had a sequel, The Iron Mask (1929), also starring Fairbanks as d'Artagnan and DeBrulier as Cardinal Richelieu.
The Mark of Zorro is a 1920 American silent Western romance film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Noah Beery. This genre-defining swashbuckler adventure was the first movie version of The Mark of Zorro. Based on the 1919 story The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley, which introduced the masked hero, Zorro, the screenplay was adapted by Fairbanks and Eugene Miller.
When the Clouds Roll By is a 1919 American comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks and directed by Victor Fleming and Theodore Reed. After decades of not being seen by the public, the film was finally released in 2010 on DVD by Alpha Video with an original score by Don Kinnier.
The Mollycoddle is a 1920 American film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery, and directed by Victor Fleming. Beery plays an ice-cold villain brawling with Fairbanks' character all the way down the side of a steep mountain in one sequence. A copy of the film is in the Museum of Modern Art and in other film collections.
The Young in Heart is a 1938 American comedy film produced by David O. Selznick, directed by Richard Wallace, and starring Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Paulette Goddard. The supporting cast features Roland Young and Billie Burke. This was Richard Carlson's feature film debut, preceding The Duke of West Point by a month.
Small Town Girl is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor, and James Stewart. The supporting cast features Binnie Barnes, Andy Devine, Lewis Stone and Edgar Kennedy.
Mr. Robinson Crusoe is a 1932 Pre-Code American film. It is one of the few "talkie" films starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., in his penultimate film role; Fairbanks also produced the film and provided the story during the Great Depression. The film was directed by A. Edward Sutherland, a veteran silent film director, for Fairbanks's Elton Productions, and released by United Artists. Steve Drexel shows a fiery optimism and can-do spirit that matches the Fairbanks screen persona that appears in his most popular films.
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish is a 1916 American short silent comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love, and Alma Rubens. Directed by John Emerson, the story was written by Tod Browning with intertitles by Anita Loos. A parody of Sherlock Holmes fiction, the film adresses the topic of narcotics in a very light comedic way.
The Americano is a 1916 American silent adventure / romantic comedy film directed by John Emerson and stars Douglas Fairbanks in his last production for Triangle Film Corporation. Based on the novel Blaze Derringer, by Eugene P. Lyle, Jr., the scenario was written by John Emerson and Anita Loos who also wrote the film's intertitles. The film was re-released by S.A. Lynch Enterprises on August 21, 1923. Three 16mm prints and one 8mm print of the film still exists. Set in a fictional South American country of Paragonia, it has been described as one of a group of films that supported United States imperialism by providing support to the idea of manifest destiny.
The Nut is a 1921 American silent film comedy directed by Theodore Reed.
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. was an American actor and filmmaker. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films, including The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro, but spent the early part of his career making comedies.
Skinner's Dress Suit is a 1926 American silent comedy film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures and starring Reginald Denny. William Seiter was the director of the film which was based on the 1916 novel of the name by Henry Irving Dodge. Laura La Plante and Hedda Hopper co-star in this comedy which has seen video and DVD releases.
The Taming of the Shrew is a 1929 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Sam Taylor and starring Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks. It was the first sound film adaptation of the Shakespearean play of the same name. The film was adapted by Taylor from William Shakespeare's play.
Mr. Fix-It is a 1918 American silent comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Marjorie Daw, and Wanda Hawley, directed by Allan Dwan.
A Modern Musketeer is a 1917 American silent adventure comedy film directed and written by Allan Dwan. Based on the short story, "D'Artagnan of Kansas" by E. P. Lyle, Jr., the film was produced by and stars Douglas Fairbanks. A now complete and restored print of the film still exists and is currently in the public domain.
Reaching for the Moon is a 1917 American silent adventure film directed by John Emerson and written by John Emerson, Joseph Henabery, and Anita Loos. The film stars Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Richard Henry Cummings, Millard Webb, Eugene Ormonde, and Frank Campeau. The film was released on November 17, 1917, by Paramount Pictures. It has been released on DVD.
...One Third of a Nation... is a 1939 American drama film directed by Dudley Murphy and written by Oliver H.P. Garrett and Dudley Murphy. The film stars Sylvia Sidney, Leif Erickson, Myron McCormick, Hiram Sherman, the future director Sidney Lumet and Muriel Hutchison. The film was released on February 10, 1939, by Paramount Pictures.