The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish is a 1916 American short silent comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love, and Alma Rubens. Directed by John Emerson, the story was written by Tod Browning with intertitles by Anita Loos. A parody of Sherlock Holmes fiction, the film addresses the topic of narcotics in a very light comedic way.
Reissue theatrical poster
Inane (Bessie Love) while she is being kept prisoner in the laundry shop run by the opium smugglers (still from the film)
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