Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. was an American actor and filmmaker, best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films. One of the biggest stars of the silent era, Fairbanks was referred to as "The King of Hollywood",. He was also a founding member of United Artists as well as the Motion Picture Academy and hosted the 1st Academy Awards in 1929.
Fairbanks, late 1910s
D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin (seated) and Fairbanks at the signing of the contract establishing United Artists in 1919
Fairbanks speaking in front of a crowd at a 1918 war bond drive in New York City
The Mark of Zorro
Swashbuckler films are a subgenre of the action film genre, characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, known as swashbucklers. While morality is typically clear-cut, heroes and villains alike often follow a code of honour. Some swashbuckler films have romantic elements, most frequently a damsel in distress. Both real and fictional historical events often feature prominently in the plot.
Douglas Fairbanks as Robin Hood, 1922