The Americano (1916 film)
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.[1] The film was re-released by S.A. Lynch Enterprises on August 21, 1923.[2] Three 16mm prints and one 8mm print of the film still exists.[3] 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.[4]
The Americano | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | John Emerson |
Produced by | Fine Arts Film Company |
Written by | John Emerson (scenario) Anita Loos (scenario and titles) |
Based on | Blaze Derringer by Eugene P. Lyle, Jr. |
Starring | Douglas Fairbanks |
Cinematography | Victor Fleming |
Production company | Fine Arts Film Company |
Distributed by | Triangle Film Corporation (original release) S.A. Lynch Enterprises (re-release) |
Release date |
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Running time | 61 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Cast
- Douglas Fairbanks as Blaze Derringer
- Alma Rubens as Juana de Castille
- Spottiswoode Aitken as Presidente de Castille
- Carl Stockdale as Salsa Espada
- Tote Du Crow as Alberto de Castille
- Charles Stevens as Colonel Gargaras
- Mildred Harris as Stenographer
- Lillian Langdon as Senora de Castille
- Thomas Jefferson
- Tom Wilson as Hartod Armitage White aka Whitey
- Marguerite Marsh
- Alan Hale Sr.
Contract with Triangle Film
Although Fairbanks was receiving $15,000 per week during production of The Americano, making him the third highest-paid actor after Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin, he considered himself underpaid given his films made millions for the studio. He was able to end his contract with Triangle following The Americano by noting that one of its clauses required that Fairbanks' films be supervised by director D. W. Griffith, which Triangle had not done for several of his last films.[5]
References
- Vance, Jeffrey; Maietta, Tony (2008). Cushman, Robert (ed.). Douglas Fairbanks. University of California Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-0-520-25667-5.
- White Munden, Kenneth (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1921-1930. University of California Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-520-20969-9.
- "Progressive Silent Film List: The Americano (1917)". silentera.com. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- Melgosa, A.P. (2012), Cinema and Inter-American Relations: Tracking Transnational Affect, Taylor & Francis, pp. 86–88, ISBN 978-1-136-2569-81CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
- Vance, Jeffrey; Maietta, Tony (2008). Cushman, Robert (ed.). Douglas Fairbanks. University of California Press. pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-0-520-25667-5.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Americano (1916 film). |
- The Americano at IMDb
- Synopsis at AllMovie