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Customer Reviews of The Gaucho

Big, Exciting Film But Thematically Superficial
Film producer-star Douglas Fairbanks Sr. didn't merely craft eye-filling escapist films for audiences of the 1920s. Each film created a world unto itself with its own philosophy. Doug's 1927 hit, THE GAUCHO, came after a long string of swashbuckling epics that began with the relatively modest MARK OF ZORRO in 1920. Each subsequent film was really just a various on the ZORRO theme, some more obvious than others, most notably the sequel, 1925's DON Q, SON OF ZORRO. Bigger than ZORRO yes, but not particularly better.

Stunning audiences with his physical dexterity and acrobatic skill than would make Jackie Chan envious, Fairbanks astutely sensed the dangers of repeating himself. It has been said that he got the idea for making THE GAUCHO while visiting Lourdes in France, the site of a miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Then too, Mary's repeated appearances in Fatima, Portugal only ten years earlier in 1917 was widely known. Fusing the elements of ZORRO with a religious theme, Fairbanks created a wonderful adventure that had more substance than his previous light-hearted adventures.

THE GAUCHO works best when Fairbanks is in his familar action element. For once, he choses a vivacious leading lady with Lupe Valez and they make an energetic team. More surprising is Doug's decision to play a Latin lover type, chain-smoking his way through the film, a decided departure from his earlier roles. Perhaps due to the death the previous year of Rudolph Valentino, the supreme Latin lover of films, Valentino successors began appearing in 1927 - even Ronald Colman was pressed into service in two or three elaborate swashbucklers opposite Valentino's former leading lady, Vilma Banky. THE GAUCHO seems to be Fairbanks' entry into the Valentino sweepstakes.

The opening prologue seems inspired by the Fatima appearance of Mary to a young girl who is unaffectingly played. But moving ahead ten years in the story, the girl, now an adult, seems more Hollywood than Fatima with her pencilled eyebrows and obvious wig. So too is Fairbanks' treatment of the miraculous when he contracts leprosy - but only on his left hand - and is cured surprisingly quickly by short visit to the shrine. Now seeing "the Light," Fairbanks posts the Ten Commandments on the front of the church proclaiming that they are the only law to live by. But his boastful manner suggests that he has not learned the lesson of humility and the film ends ambiguously over whether he has retained his outlaw ways. The treatment implies that Fairbanks' grasp of Christian theology was rather weak with Our Lady appearing a little too conveniently on cue. But, after all, this is a Fairbanks film. If we want true theology, we should watch a DeMille film (just kidding).

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A Fun Fairbanks Film
The Gaucho is a fine Douglas Fairbanks vehicle, which shows his athleticism and charm to good effect. Fairbanks never claimed to be the greatest of actors. The variety of his expressions are somewhat limited. All he really does is laugh at danger. However he had a presence which is irresistible, a quality which draws the viewer to him. As the Gaucho, he plays a South American cowboy/outlaw, who turns into a sort of Zorro like liberator without the mask. He performs any number of great stunts, climbing walls, swinging through the trees like Tarzan and finding all sorts of ways of getting on and off a horse. Fairbanks also has a huge number of party tricks up his sleeve which are wonderfully enjoyable. He never seems to light a cigarette the same way, but performs this simple task with bravado and great skill. The leading lady in The Gaucho is "Mexican Spitfire" Lupe Velez. She grabs Fairbanks at the first opportunity and clings to him with great tenacity, fighting off any other female who comes within reach. She is very fiery, passionate and great fun to watch. One of her best scenes is a tango where she is literally joined to Fairbanks at the hip. The main villain of the piece is Gustav von Seyffertitz. He is always worth watching as he has a very unusual look and a sinister, creepy manner. Unfortunately he doesn't have as much screen time in The Gaucho as he might. It is also worth noting that Mary Pickford appears briefly as a vision of the Virgin Mary. Her cameo only lasts a few seconds, but what she does, she does well.

The black and white print of the Gaucho, on the Kino DVD, is very good. It is clear, sharp and bright and enables all the details of the fine sets to be seen easily. The musical score composed by Sydney Jill Lehman, is highly effective. It consists of South American style tunes which really fit the action. As a bonus the DVD includes an incredible Fairbanks short film from 1916. In The Mystery of the Leaping Fish he plays a detective who is constantly injecting himself with various drugs. He even apprehends the villains by drugging them with narcotics. This is a truly bizarre little film with some jaw dropping scenes which probably would be considered impossible, or at the very least tasteless to film today. This is a really good DVD showcasing one of the biggest of silent film stars. Fans of Fairbanks, or silent films in general, should not hesitate to get it.

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BLACK DOOM IN THE ANDES
Douglas Fairbanks pretty much created and monopolized the dashing, confident, self-effacing movie action hero when movies were still young. In "THE GAUCHO," set high in the Andes, he plays an audacious, romantic, guerilla. He carries a sword, a gun and the Argentine bolos which he hurls with amazing skill. Shot in 1928 and based on an idea that Fairbanks claims he received when he visited the healing shrine at Lourdes, France, the story centers on the robbery of a mountain shrine that houses a young girl who has the power to heal. Fairbanks comes to the rescue and hunts down the bandits. In this lavish and beautiful action-packed comedy adventure, Fairbanks plays a roguish and unlikely hero that's a significant departure from the virtuous screen image he nurtured throughout his career. Here, he's a heavy drinker, carries on a decidedly carnal affair with the tempestuous Lupe Valez and falls victim to the fatal plague known as the Black Doom. A bonus feature on the DVD is the notorious Fairbanks starring 1916 coked-to-the gills cult film "The Mystery of the Leaping Fish."