--- name: "Douglas Fairbanks" canonical: "https://film.one/person/douglas-fairbanks" fi1m_id: "douglas-fairbanks" imdb_id: "nm0001196" tmdb_id: 109088 wikidata_id: "Q104127" roles: ["Producer"] born: "22 May 1883" died: "12 December 1939" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_as: "producer" average_over: 0 updated: "2026-09-25T06:10:19.061081+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Douglas Fairbanks ## Identity Douglas Fairbanks - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/douglas-fairbanks - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** douglas-fairbanks - **IMDb ID:** nm0001196 - **TMDB ID:** 109088 - **Wikidata ID:** Q104127 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Fairbanks, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q104127, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001196/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/109088 Producer. Born 22 May 1883 in Denver, Colorado, United States. Died 12 December 1939. ## Details - **Work:** Producer - **Born:** 22 May 1883, Denver, Colorado, United States - **Died:** 12 December 1939 - **Also known as:** Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman, The King of Hollywood, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. - **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1920s 82 (1), 1940s 61 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Fairbanks, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q104127, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001196/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/109088 ## Streaming the US now - **Apple TV:** [*The Thief of Bagdad*](https://film.one/film/the-thief-of-bagdad-1924.md) (82) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Douglas Fairbanks > Douglas Fairbanks the producer knew how to give Douglas Fairbanks the performer room to move. We value the warmth and mischief of his adventures, though his enthusiasm for elaborate spectacle could make the storytelling leisurely. In *The Thief of Bagdad* (1924), Douglas Fairbanks moves through William Cameron Menzies’s immense sets as though their size were an encouragement. We found ourselves grinning because he seemed so cheerfully unintimidated by them. That pleasure helps explain the producer as well as the star: Fairbanks takes both story and producer credits, and the adventure is organised around his physical confidence. We recommend it despite its leisurely stretches, because his evident enjoyment makes the athletic feats feel like something more companionable than a demonstration of fitness. The move from modern comedies to costume adventures gave him larger settings for that performance style. He formed his own production company in 1916–17 and co-founded United Artists in 1919 with Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith, gaining greater control as producer, star and writer. *The Mark of Zorro* (1920) marks the swashbuckling turn; *Robin Hood* (1922), which he produced, makes the scale of those ambitions clear. By *The Black Pirate* (1926), those production ambitions included full-colour Technicolor. The collaborators on Raoul Walsh’s *The Thief of Bagdad* make that enthusiasm for spectacle worthwhile. Menzies’s production design gives Fairbanks buildings large enough to make his freedom of movement funny, while Arthur Edeson’s cinematography lets us appreciate the performer and his surroundings together. We can enjoy what has been built without losing sight of what the star is doing. It is a persuasive example of a star producing for himself: the scenery suits his abilities, and his mischievous lightness keeps it from becoming oppressive. His judgement about how long to keep looking is less reliable. At 149 minutes, *The Thief of Bagdad* asks a thin romance to sustain too much of the evening. Bill Nolan’s editing is more persuasive when movement supplies the momentum than when the story must carry us between setpieces, while Mortimer Wilson’s music makes less impression than Fairbanks’s physical timing. The pleasure of watching him remains reason enough to forgive the pauses. Start with *The Thief of Bagdad*, provided a brisk plot is not the evening’s first requirement. ## Biography Douglas Fairbanks was an American actor, producer and writer. He starred as the title character, produced and wrote the story (credited as Elton Thomas) for the silent fantasy *The Thief of Bagdad* (1924). Born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman in Denver, Colorado, Fairbanks began his career on the stage in New York before entering films in 1915. He became known for athletic swashbuckling roles in silent pictures such as *The Mark of Zorro* (1920), *Robin Hood* (1922) and *The Black Pirate* (1926). He co-founded United Artists and served as the first president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, hosting its initial awards presentation. Fairbanks was married to actress Mary Pickford from 1920 until their divorce in 1936. He died in Santa Monica, California, in 1939. *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, catalog.afi.com, findagrave.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) ### Performed in (1) - *The Thief of Bagdad* (1924), Fi1m 82, as The Thief of Bagdad — [page](https://film.one/film/the-thief-of-bagdad-1924.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Wilson* (1944), Fi1m 61, as Douglas Fairbanks - at WWI Rally (archive footage) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/wilson.md) ## Complete filmography (64) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Image Book* (2018), as (archive footage) - *The Worlds of Mei Lanfang* (2000), Actor - *Solidão: Uma Linda História de Amor* (1989), Actor - *The Big Parade of Comedy* (1964), as Actor Arriving at MGM (archive footage) (uncredited) - *30 Years of Fun* (1963), as (archive footage) - *The Great Chase* (1962), Actor - *The Thief of Baghdad* (1961), Dialogue - *The Bruce Forsyth Show* (1959), series, Actor - *Yesterday and Today* (1953), as (archive footage) - *The Oscars* (1953), series, Actor - *Wilson* (1944), as Douglas Fairbanks - at WWI Rally (archive footage) (uncredited) — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/wilson.md) - *The Private Life of Don Juan* (1934), as Don Juan - *Mr. Robinson Crusoe* (1932), as Steve Drexel · Producer, Story - *Around the World in 80 Minutes with Douglas Fairbanks* (1931), Director - *The House That Shadows Built* (1931), as (archive footage) - *Reaching for the Moon* (1930), as Larry Day · Producer - *Terra Melophon Magazin Nr. 1* (1930), Actor - *The Taming of the Shrew* (1929), as Petruccio - *The Iron Mask* (1929), as D'Artagnan · Producer, Writer - *The Gaucho* (1927), as The Gaucho · Writer - *The Black Pirate* (1926), as The Duke of Arnoldo / The Black Pirate · Story, Producer - *Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ* (1925), as Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited) - *Don Q Son of Zorro* (1925), as Don Cesar de Vega / Zorro · Producer - *The Thief of Bagdad* (1924), as The Thief of Bagdad · Story, Producer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-thief-of-bagdad-1924.md) - *Mary and Doug Visit Stockholm* (1924), Actor - *Hollywood* (1923), as Douglas Fairbanks - *Robin Hood* (1922), as Robin Hood · Producer, Story - *The Three Musketeers* (1921), as D'Artagnan · Producer - *The Nut* (1921), as Charlie Jackson · Writer, Producer - *The Mark of Zorro* (1920), as Don Diego Vega / Señor Zorro · Scenario Writer, Writer - *The Mollycoddle* (1920), as Richard Marshall III / Richard Marshall IV / Richard Marshal V - *When the Clouds Roll By* (1919), as Daniel Boone Brown · Producer, Story - *Our Film Stars* (1919), Actor - *His Majesty, the American* (1919), as William Brooks · Scenario Writer - *The Knickerbocker Buckaroo* (1919), as Teddy Drake · Producer, Story - *Arizona* (1918), as Lt. Denton · Director, Writer - *He Comes Up Smiling* (1918), as Jerry Martin · Producer - *Bound in Morocco* (1918), as George Travelwell · Producer - *Cupid Angling* (1918), Actor - *Say! Young Fellow* (1918), as The Young Fellow · Producer - *Mr. Fix-It* (1918), as Dick Remington · Producer - *Headin' South* (1918), as Headin' South · Producer - *A Modern Musketeer* (1917), as Ned Thacker / D'Artagnan · Producer - *Reaching for the Moon* (1917), as Alexis Caesar Napoleon Brown · Producer - *All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan* (1917), Actor - *The Man from Painted Post* (1917), as 'Fancy Jim' Sherwood · Scenario Writer - *Down to Earth* (1917), as Billy Gaynor · Story - *Wild and Woolly* (1917), as Jeff Hillington · Producer - *In Again, Out Again* (1917), as Teddy Rutherford · Producer - *The Americano* (1916), as Blaze Derringer - *The Matrimaniac* (1916), as Jimmie Conroy - *American Aristocracy* (1916), as Cassius Lee - *Manhattan Madness* (1916), as Steve O'Dare - *Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages* (1916), as Man on White Horse (uncredited) — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/intolerance-loves-struggle-throughout-the-ages.md) - *The Half-Breed* (1916), as Lo Dorman - *The Mystery of the Leaping Fish* (1916), as Coke Ennyday / Douglas Fairbanks - *Reggie Mixes In* (1916), as Reggie Van Deuzen - *The Good Bad-Man* (1916), as Passin' Through · Writer, Producer - *The Habit of Happiness* (1916), as Sunny Wiggins - *His Picture in the Papers* (1916), as Pete Prindle - *Flirting with Fate* (1916), as Augy Holliday - *Double Trouble* (1915), as Florian Amidon / Eugene Brassfield - *Martyrs of the Alamo* (1915), as Joe / Texas soldier - *The Lamb* (1915), as Gerald ## Gallery - ![Douglas Fairbanks](https://film.one/media/person/1234800/gallery-08ee1982c0f2.jpg) Douglas Fairbanks — Harris & Ewing, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Douglas_Fairbanks_cropped.jpg/1280px-Douglas_Fairbanks_cropped.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Title: FAIRBANKS, DOUGLAS Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller](https://film.one/media/person/1234800/gallery-ae19364d4953.jpg) Title: FAIRBANKS, DOUGLAS Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller — Harris & Ewing, photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/FAIRBANKS%2C_DOUGLAS_LCCN2016857681.jpg/1280px-FAIRBANKS%2C_DOUGLAS_LCCN2016857681.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Publicity photo of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. for film The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)](https://film.one/media/person/1234800/gallery-e0f7e572b62e.jpg) Publicity photo of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. for film The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) — Studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Douglas_Fairbanks_Sr._-_Private_Life_of_Don_Juan.jpg/1280px-Douglas_Fairbanks_Sr._-_Private_Life_of_Don_Juan.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Douglas Fairbanks & Maria Alba in Mr. Robinson Crusoe - publicity still (cropped) (1932)](https://film.one/media/person/1234800/gallery-af792fa7ede5.jpg) Douglas Fairbanks & Maria Alba in Mr. Robinson Crusoe - publicity still (cropped) (1932) — unknown (United Artists), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Mr._Robinson_Crusoe_%281932%29_still_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Douglas Fairbanks](https://film.one/media/person/1234800/gallery-013451bf32a5.jpg) Douglas Fairbanks — Image via TMDB - ![Douglas Fairbanks](https://film.one/media/person/1234800/gallery-0d023fbd5007.jpg) Douglas Fairbanks — Image via TMDB - ![Douglas Fairbanks](https://film.one/media/person/1234800/gallery-a9d94903e23b.jpg) Douglas Fairbanks — Image via TMDB - ![Title: Douglas Fairbanks / White Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.](https://film.one/media/person/1234800/gallery-3dd14eef0ca2.jpg) Title: Douglas Fairbanks / White Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. — Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Douglas_Fairbanks_-_White_LCCN2014682664.jpg/1280px-Douglas_Fairbanks_-_White_LCCN2014682664.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) ## Awards ### Other awards — 1 won - Academy Honorary Award 1939: Academy Honorary Award (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/douglas-fairbanks