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Five years is a long time, but Doug Fairbanks Jr. found it was not too long
BY RALPH CARSON
WHEN Douglas Fairbanks Jr. returned to the States after five years of Naval Service abroad, he wondered about his reception. In uniform overseas he created no more excitement than any other officer with his rank. “But how will it be at home,” he wondered. “Will people still remember me? Five years is a long time and the public is fickle.”
His first role — that of Sinbad the Sailor — waited on the shelf at RKO until Doug was free. And then he had to be talked into taking the part. When the Navy was ready to release him, Fairbanks wanted rest. He wanted to spend all his time with his wife and two daughters.
But RKO wouldn’t be denied. The colorful fiction Sinbad who roamed the Mediterranean in 800 A.D. needed a Fairbanks to breathe life into the screen version. So John Twist, who wrote the original screen story, was dispatched to Washington with orders to live with Doug if necessary in order to sell him the idea. Like all good salesmen, John “sold” the story first to Mrs. Fairbanks, pretty little Mary Lee.
So on this occasion when she added her vote to the studio’s, Doug
Mary Lee and Doug Jr. He stars in “The Exile”
was convinced. He would not only play Sinbad, but his would be the final say-so on script and cast. Back in Hollywood, Doug went to work on a job he knew and loved. He moved into a tiny office on the RKO lot. At home he built an outdoor gymnasium on the tennis court. In the early morning he trained there with exArmy Captain Dave Sharp. Like his father before him he never uses a stunt mail.
On one particular occasion this training stood Iiim in good stead. It happened on an island near Capri, early in 1943. Doug and six other American officers were sent on a pre-invasion check of the situation. Creeping noiselessly around the small island they happened upon an estate housing some Nazi bigwigs. The front of the house was protected by a heavy oaken "door.
So they stealthily made their way around the back. There a twelvefoot wall separated them from the house. The group drew back into the shadows to consider the possibilities. One of the officers kept looking at Doug. Finally he spoke up: “I’ve seen you do it a hundred times in the movies. Come on, boy, upsadaisy.” ( Continued on page 121)
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