Douglas Fairbanks: In His Own Words [Paperback]

The Douglas Fairbanks Museum (Author), Keri Leigh (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2006

Several biographies of Douglas Fairbanks have been published through the years, but who can tell the story better than the man himself?

The Douglas Fairbanks Museum has assembled an engaging collection of the writings of Douglas Fairbanks with In His Own Words. These selected stories make for a fascinating read; especially considering that most of them have not been seen since their initial publication nearly a century ago.

Starting with his first short story in 1912, this new book features autobiographical accounts, interviews, and rare personal correspondence, as well as the original story treatments for his classic films The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, The Thief of Bagdad, and The Black Pirate. In His Own Words reveals Fairbanks to be a writer of great sincerity, versatility, humor and appeal.

While this talent is too often obscured by his fame as an actor, producer, and Hollywood visionary, reading the words of Douglas Fairbanks all these many decades later brings us a fresh perspective on the man that no other biography can quite capture.

Douglas Fairbanks: In His Own Words also features rare photographs, original documents, autographs, and vintage memorabilia from the museum’s archives. Includes a Foreword by Keri Leigh, Curator of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Douglas Fairbanks (1883–1939) was the first king of Hollywood during the silent era. In addition to writing, producing, and starring in his own legendary films, Fairbanks also co-founded United Artists, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the nation’s first film school at the University of Southern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059539776X
• ISBN-13: 978-0595397761
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,680,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than a Biography, and not just for his fans!, July 7, 2006

By 

Barbara (Burkowsky) Underwood (Tumut, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Douglas Fairbanks: In His Own Words (Paperback)

This is a beautiful and unique book which I'm sure would appeal not only to fans of silent screen legend, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., but also to the general reader with various interests. Fairbanks himself had many interests, skills and talents reaching far beyond those of his acting and film-making career, and this charming book reveals some of these other facets of the Fairbanks personality. This book is, in fact, a collection of written works by Douglas Fairbanks which were first published in the period 1912 to the mid 1930s, ranging from a short story, magazine articles on various topics, interviews and even a few personal notes and letters; even lyrics for a song. All these items are from the Douglas Fairbanks Sr Museum in Austin, Texas, and the museum's curator, Keri Leigh, along with other dedicated Fairbanks fans who have volunteered their time and efforts, have put together this miscellany of Fairbanks' written work to show today's public that Fairbanks was far more than the action-adventure screen hero of the 1920s.

This book begins by revealing Fairbanks' interest in storytelling and writing, with his 1912 short story which is a light-hearted adventure-comedy not unlike many of the films he would star in just a few years later. But his popularity as a screen hero from 1915 onwards did not curb his passion for writing, as the remaining articles in this book reveal. Not only did he enjoy sharing with the public his behind-the-scenes adventures and ideas about the growing film industry in Hollywood, but he generously revealed his deeper thoughts and feelings, such as life style and personal development philosophies which have only become fashionable in recent years of our time. Reading his thoughts penned in the late 1910s and 1920s, it becomes obvious that Fairbanks was a pioneer and visionary, not only in his career as actor and film producer, but also in his personal life with an outlook and wisdom far beyond his time. Furthermore, his writing retains a certain old-fashioned elegance and tone, while also revealing his energetic, positive mentality and sense of humour, making each item - long or short - a pleasure to read and like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, they come together to make a more complete picture of the real Doug Fairbanks. The layout and presentation of "In His Own Words" are also a pleasure to behold, and rare photos and further information on Fairbanks and his work are also included. As an introduction and guide throughout the book, Museum Curator Keri Leigh has penned an excellent foreword which helps to appreciate the contents even more, and further in-depth information is available at the Douglas Fairbanks Sr Museum's website. As a complement to other Fairbanks-authored books still popular today (such as "Laugh and Live" 1917) or on its own as a special compilation, this book reveals Douglas Fairbanks better than any biography could, and is definitely a must-have for fans, as well as a worthwhile read for many others.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book, March 6, 2007

By 

Mary Husk (Oklahoma City,OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Douglas Fairbanks: In His Own Words (Paperback)

I have loved reading biographys for as long as I can remember, they were my first introduction to serious reading. I had heard of Douglas Fairbans Sr.since my childhood days but all I really knew about him was that he was a famous actor who got his start in silent films. A very dear friend of mine got me interested in silent movies several years ago and had some of Dougs' movies, most of them were silent movies but she also had some of his later sound movies. I bought this book mainly out of curiosity and I'm so glad I did because I enjoyed it from the very first page to the last, it was never boring and I was sorry when I reached the last page, I wanted it go on and on. I found it far more interesting than any biography or autobiography I have ever read . I was amazed at the versatility of the man, he was so much more than just a "movie actor". He loved writing as much as he did acting and started writing short stories while still in his teens. His love of writing continued right up until his death. and his stories were published in various popular magazines. Doug got his acting start on Broadway and after appearing in many flops finally became a star on Broadway. From there he went into movies and soon learned that he preferred making movies to performing on the stage because he could do more and reach a much larger audience with movies. He wasn't satisfied in merely starring in movies, he had to learn everything about the making of them, and later wrote most of his own scripts and formed a movie studio in partnership with his wife Mary Pickford, his good friend Charlie Chaplain, and the legendery D.W. Griffith, they named the studio United Artists. He was a great believer in physical fitness and wrote many articles on the subject for various publications. His atheletic prowess was unsurpassed by any other film actor, he could do things others would never even think of doing, he was truly a superb athelete. In spite of his healthy lifestyle Fairbanks had one bad habit that probably contributed to his early death from a heart attack. This was back in the days before the dangers of cigarette smoking was known by the general public, and Doug was a very heavy smoker, on the average of two to three packs a day. I could go on and on about the man and about this fascinating and unique book. It was brilliantly put together by the curator of the Douglas Fairbanks Museum in Austin, Texas, Keri Leigh. She and the museum staff obviously put many long hours into finding, selecting and compiling the very best of Fairbanks' written works, and I recommend it very highly to anyone who likes biography, or is just interested in movie history.