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His Majesty, the American

  • 1919
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
99
YOUR RATING
His Majesty, the American (1919)
AdventureComedyRomance

A man goes to Mexico and tangles with bandits. His then called to a tiny European country where a revolution is going on. It turns out that he is heir to the throne and he manages to squelch... Read allA man goes to Mexico and tangles with bandits. His then called to a tiny European country where a revolution is going on. It turns out that he is heir to the throne and he manages to squelch the plotters and win the girl in short order.A man goes to Mexico and tangles with bandits. His then called to a tiny European country where a revolution is going on. It turns out that he is heir to the throne and he manages to squelch the plotters and win the girl in short order.

  • Director
    • Joseph Henabery
  • Writers
    • Joseph Henabery
    • Douglas Fairbanks
  • Stars
    • Douglas Fairbanks
    • Marjorie Daw
    • Frank Campeau
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    99
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joseph Henabery
    • Writers
      • Joseph Henabery
      • Douglas Fairbanks
    • Stars
      • Douglas Fairbanks
      • Marjorie Daw
      • Frank Campeau
    • 6User reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos11

    Douglas Fairbanks, HIS MAJESTY, THE AMERICAN, United Artists, 1919, **I.V.
    Douglas Fairbanks and Marjorie Daw in His Majesty, the American (1919)
    His Majesty, the American (1919)
    His Majesty, the American (1919)
    His Majesty, the American (1919)
    His Majesty, the American (1919)
    His Majesty, the American (1919)
    His Majesty, the American (1919)
    His Majesty, the American (1919)
    His Majesty, the American (1919)

    Top cast

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    Douglas Fairbanks
    Douglas Fairbanks
    • William Brooks
    Marjorie Daw
    Marjorie Daw
    • Felice, Countess of Montenac
    Frank Campeau
    Frank Campeau
    • Grand Duke Sarzeau
    Sam Sothern
    • King Phillipe IV
    Jay Dwiggins
    Jay Dwiggins
    • Emile Metz
    Lillian Langdon
    • Princess Marguerite
    Albert MacQuarrie
    Albert MacQuarrie
    • Undetermined Role
    • (as Albert McQuarrie)
    Bull Montana
    Bull Montana
    • Undetermined Role
    William Gillis
    • Undetermined Role
    • (as Will Gillis)
    Phil Gastrock
    • Undetermined Role
    • (as Phil Gastrox)
    Boris Karloff
    Boris Karloff
    • Henchman in cloth cap
    • (uncredited)
    Karla Schramm
      Charles Stevens
      Charles Stevens
      • Officer
      • (uncredited)
      • Director
        • Joseph Henabery
      • Writers
        • Joseph Henabery
        • Douglas Fairbanks
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

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      Did you know

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      • Trivia
        This film provided Boris Karloff with one of his first acting jobs in Hollywood. He worked as an extra, and can be spotted in the sequence where several of Sarzeau's men storm the inn where William Brooks (Douglas Fairbanks) is staying. Karloff is at the front of the crowd, sporting a dark mustache and wearing a cloth cap. He can also be seen on the staircase as the men race up the stairs to Brooks's room.
      • Connections
        Edited into When the Clouds Roll by (1919)

      User reviews6

      Review
      Review
      Featured review
      5/10
      Loses Steam, Overly Long
      A century ago on February 5, United Artists, a studio devoted to empowering filmmakers to make artistic films, was founded. Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith, and Mary Pickford agreed to finance their own films and distribute them. It served to prevent the merger of the top studio conglomerates in their attempt to control booking and exhibition. Newspapers reported that, "The inmates have taken over the asylum." In truth, it was the culmination of power that these big celebrities had been building for years through their favorable reputations with the public. This translated into big box office and rising salaries which they shrewdly negotiated, proving their business acumen. HIS MAJESTY, THE AMERICAN was the first film released by UA. Only Fairbanks was available to make a film for the new company, because the others still owed films to their former studios under their contracts.

      HIS MAJESTY, THE AMERICAN opens with Fairbanks greeting the audience directly, saying "Gee whiz, I hope you'll like it!" It is very similar in plot to a stage play he appeared in in 1912 called HAWTHORNE OF THE USA. Bill Brooks is a kidnapped prince, unaware of his royal status, who was raised in luxury in America. He does whatever his heart desires, which has him popping around to various locations. Art director Max Parker was kept busy with the many sets. Fairbanks saves a family from a burning tenement building, tangles with spies in a scene with a cut-away set exposing six rooms and the criminal activities within, and lights a cigarette on the hot ground in Mexico where he has a run-in with Pancho Villa.

      HIS MAJESTY, THE AMERICAN is 8 reels, longer than most films released at that time, and lengthier than any other Fairbanks film to date. It was originally even longer before an elaborate nightmare sequence was cut, later to be used in the next Fairbanks movie WHEN THE CLOUDS ROLL BY. (It utilized a revolving room trick that allowed Fred Astaire to dance on the ceiling in ROYAL WEDDING decades later.)

      Fairbanks encouraged his co-writer and director Joseph Henabery to write a story that would depict President Wilson's League of Nations idea in a favorable light. The government wanted each of the Fourteen Points included. "The danger was that propaganda could easily overburden the story, unless great care was taken to weave it in subtly," Henabery wrote in his memoirs. It took eight weeks to write and receive approval from Uncle Sam. Unfortunately for the government, much of the political propaganda ended up on the cutting room floor because the Senate voted down America's involvement in the League of Nations before the film was released.

      Henabery and cameraman Victor Fleming had only recently returned from WWI when it went into production. Henabery had directed Fairbanks in two features previously, SAY! YOUNG FELLOW and THE MAN FROM PAINTED POST, and had worked as an actor under Griffith before he became a director. Three separate crews worked simultaneously at the Douglas Fairbanks Studios on the W. H. Clune lot, with Henabery directing the first, Arthur Rosen the second and Fleming the third. Shooting completed in August and editing pushed the release date to September 1st.

      Albert von Tilzer wrote a song with the same title as the film and advertised it in conjunction with the release, but the song was not written for the film.

      This movie was heavily booked even with theaters in close proximity of each other. In New York City, all the Fox and Loews theaters booked HIS MAJESTY, THE AMERICAN. Producer Messmore Kendall chose this film to open the Capitol Theater in New York. The event attracted a packed house filling 4,700 seats on October 24, 1919.

      Staff at the Odeon Theater in Hardin, Missouri reported to "Exhibitor's Herald," "Played this picture to capacity house, and everyone more than pleased. Ministers who witnessed it gave their hearty endorsement. It is in class 'A'."

      Henabery said, "My feeling about that thing was always that it was a bunch of hash."

      Harry Dunn Cabot, movie reviewer for "Picture-Play Magazine" wrote, "The plot is frequently lost, strayed, or stolen, but nobody cares, because its hero has such a good time doing his favorite stunts. It will not make new recruits to the Fairbanks' forces, but it will gain anew the admiration of the old ones."

      S.A. Hayman of the Lyda Theater in Grand Island, Nebraska wrote, "If all United Artists productions are as good as this one, my hat is in the ring."

      "The polish and confidence of the Fairbanks comedies reached its peak with the release of HIS MAJESTY, THE AMERICAN," Jeanine Basinger wrote in Silent Stars. "It's a perfect title for the Fairbanks franchise: the elevation of an ordinary American go-get-em guy to royal status."

      This film was screened at Cinevent in 2019.
      helpful•1
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      • Maliejandra
      • Oct 22, 2019

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      Details

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      • Release date
        • September 1, 1919 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • United States
      • Language
        • English
      • Also known as
        • One of the Blood
      • Production company
        • Douglas Fairbanks Pictures
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

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      • Budget
        • $300,000 (estimated)
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Technical specs

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      • Runtime
        1 hour 55 minutes
      • Color
        • Black and White
      • Sound mix
        • Silent
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.33 : 1

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