The Thief of Bagdad (United Artists, 1924). Fine/Very Fine on Paper. Window Card (14" X 22").. ...

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The Thief of Bagdad (United Artists, 1924). Fine/Very Fine on Paper. Window Card (14" X 22").
After Douglas Fairbanks co-founded United Artists in 1919, he had more creative control over his films, and he used that control to steer his career away from genial comedies towards awe-inspiring adventure films (even though he was 37 in 1920, and 41 in 1924)! He found great success in The Mark of Zorro, The Three Musketeers, and Robin Hood, and he continued here with The Thief of Bagdad, based on One Thousand and One Nights. The film would break new ground as a spectacular fantasy epic that put everything into the visuals, from the opulent sets to the dazzling costumes. Most revolutionary of all were the special effects, which were the astonishing and innovative for the time. The film required such fairy-tale elements as a fire-breathing dragon, an underwater spider, a flying Pegasus, and a magic carpet soaring high above the city, made possible by a 3/4 inch piece of steel suspended by sixteen piano wires held by a 100-foot crane. All of Fairbank's meticulous attention to detail made The Thief of Bagdad the triumph of his career and it is now considered to be one of the greatest silent masterpieces. Note that Douglas Fairbanks Sr (his son, Douglas Jr was also a very accomplished actor) was a Broadway stage actor who did not move to Hollywood until 1915, when he was 32, and his son was 6. Even though Fairbanks seemed on the older side to be an "action hero", his great physical skills made his movies major successes, and by 1918 he was Hollywood's most popular and highest paid actor. He started an affair with Mary Pickford (then the highest paid actress) and in 1918 he was divorced, and he married Pickford in 1920! Offered here is a window card, one of the few surviving copies. It displays some minute chips, minor tears, a few pinholes, and some slight creases, The borders and interior background have been airbrushed and touchups and airbrushing have been applied to the title. The window card is separating slightly from the paper.


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