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IMDbPro

The Gaucho

  • 19271927
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
335
YOUR RATING
Douglas Fairbanks and Lupe Velez in The Gaucho (1927)
  • Adventure
  • Romance
A girl is saved by a miracle after she falls from a cliff in the Argentine Andes, and is blessed with healing powers. A shrine is built on the site, and a whole city grows around it, rich wi... Read allA girl is saved by a miracle after she falls from a cliff in the Argentine Andes, and is blessed with healing powers. A shrine is built on the site, and a whole city grows around it, rich with gold from the grateful worshipers. Ruiz, an evil and sadistic general, captures the cit... Read allA girl is saved by a miracle after she falls from a cliff in the Argentine Andes, and is blessed with healing powers. A shrine is built on the site, and a whole city grows around it, rich with gold from the grateful worshipers. Ruiz, an evil and sadistic general, captures the city, confiscates the gold, and closes the shrine. But the Gaucho, the charismatic leader of ... Read all
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
335
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • F. Richard Jones
  • Writer
    • Douglas Fairbanks(story)
  • Stars
    • Douglas Fairbanks
    • Lupe Velez
    • Joan Barclay
Top credits
  • Director
    • F. Richard Jones
  • Writer
    • Douglas Fairbanks(story)
  • Stars
    • Douglas Fairbanks
    • Lupe Velez
    • Joan Barclay
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 14User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos30

    Window Card, 14 x 22 in
    Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho (1927)
    The Gaucho (1927)
    Lupe Velez in The Gaucho (1927)
    Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho (1927)
    Douglas Fairbanks and Lupe Velez in The Gaucho (1927)
    The Gaucho (1927)
    The Gaucho (1927)
    Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho (1927)
    Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho (1927)
    Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho (1927)
    Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho (1927)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Douglas Fairbanks
    Douglas Fairbanks
    • The Gauchoas The Gaucho
    Lupe Velez
    Lupe Velez
    • The Mountain Girlas The Mountain Girl
    Joan Barclay
    Joan Barclay
    • The Girl of the Shrineas The Girl of the Shrine
    • (as Geraine Greear)
    Eve Southern
    Eve Southern
    • The Girl of the Shrineas The Girl of the Shrine
    Gustav von Seyffertitz
    Gustav von Seyffertitz
    • Ruiz - The Usurperas Ruiz - The Usurper
    Michael Vavitch
    Michael Vavitch
    • The Usurper's First Lieutenantas The Usurper's First Lieutenant
    Charles Stevens
    Charles Stevens
    • The Gaucho's First Lieutenantas The Gaucho's First Lieutenant
    Nigel De Brulier
    Nigel De Brulier
    • The Padreas The Padre
    • (as Nigel de Brulier)
    Albert MacQuarrie
    Albert MacQuarrie
    • Victim of the Black Doomas Victim of the Black Doom
    William B. Davidson
    William B. Davidson
    • Undetermined Secondary Roleas Undetermined Secondary Role
    • (uncredited)
    Fred DeSilva
    • Undetermined Secondary Roleas Undetermined Secondary Role
    • (uncredited)
    Chris-Pin Martin
    Chris-Pin Martin
    • Undetermined Secondary Roleas Undetermined Secondary Role
    • (uncredited)
    Mary Pickford
    Mary Pickford
    • Virgin Maryas Virgin Mary
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • F. Richard Jones
    • Writer
      • Douglas Fairbanks(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A new preservation print of the film, created by the Museum of Modern Art, was first shown at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2008. It has subsequently been screened at MoMA (2008), the San Francisco Silent Film Festival (2009), and the National Gallery of Art (2009) to promote the new book "Douglas Fairbanks" (UC Press/Academy Imprints, 2008) with the author introducing the screenings.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story (1999)

    User reviews14

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Amorous Fairbanks Goes Against His Stereotype
    Producer Douglas Fairbanks was getting tired playing the same chaste character who not only respected women in an honorable way, but was barely close enough to his love interests to plant a kiss. All that changed in his November 1927 "The Gaucho."

    Maybe it was for the fact, as a pallbearer for cinema's male sex symbol, Rudolph Valentino, and witnessing the female hysteria of the actor's sudden death, Fairbanks realized there was a void for a Latin lover on the screen. Soon after the near-riots on the streets surrounding Valentino's coffin, he sat down and wrote the scenario for "The Gaucho," set in the mountains of Argentina. His character, The Gaucho, goes after women with abandon, especially with The Mountain Girl (Lupe Velez). He even dances a provocative tango number with Velez, establishing a physical presence with the opposite sex never witnessed in a Fairbanks' movie before.

    Of course, Fairbanks realized he couldn't disappoint his legion of fans by portraying a libidinous character throughout his adventurous motion picture. "The Gaucho" turns on its heels when he becomes infected by some unnamed disease (most likely leprosy). Once he takes his health seriously, he goes to the City of the Miracle, named after an event from a woman's miraculous survival of a fall from a nearby cliff. Fairbanks' wife in real life, Mary Pickford, plays the Madonna, who pays a visit to the city.

    "The Gaucho" was directed by F. Richard Jones, the same person who brought back to Hollywood Mabel Normand, who was battling drug addiction for three years. He also worked with Stan Lauren on 19 films before his pairing with Oliver Hardy. Laurel credited Jones with teaching him everything he learned about cinematic comedy. Jones later directed Ronald Coleman in 1929's "Bulldog Drummond" in his first talkie.

    For The Mountain Girl role, Fairbanks auditioned several soon-to-be famous young actresses, including Myrna Loy, Fay Wray and Loretta Young. He was especially impressed with Lupe Velez, his love interest in "The Gaucho." The movie gave the actress, a former Ziegfeld Follies dancer, visibility after appearing in just a couple of Hal Roach shorts, including "Sailors, Beware!" with Laurel and Hardy. Her private life lived up to her nickname "The Mexican Spitfire," including fiery relationships with Gary Cooper, Johnny Weissmuller, Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable, among others.

    Fairbanks himself was experiencing quite a year in 1927. He was one of the first to imprint his hands and feet into cement next to the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Mel Brooks in his 1974 black comedy 'Blazing Saddles" has one of his characters say after spotting the actor's mold, "How did he do such fantastic stunts ... with such little feet?" The members of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences also voted him to be the first president of that organization. "The Gaucho" was released one month after Hollywood's first talkie "The Jazz Singer." The Latino-flavored movie proved to be Fairbanks' last fully-silent movie; his next one, 1928's "The Iron Mask" contained a musical and sound effects track along with two short speeches by Fairbanks.
    helpful•0
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    • springfieldrental
    • Apr 21, 2022

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 23, 1928 (Denmark)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Douglas Fairbanks as The Gaucho
    • Filming locations
      • Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Elton Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 55 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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