Mr. Robinson Crusoe (United Artists) (1932)

LAST MINUTE PUBLICITY FOR YOUR NEWSPAPERS Douglas Fairbanks' New Picture Captures Clamor of South Sea Romance and High Adventure Laid in Background of Breath-Taking Natural Beauty “Mr. Robinson Crusoe,” the new Douglas Fairbanks picture, comes to the . theatre on.. and thus picture-goers will witness for the first time the new forte of the sprightly Hollywood star, a forte crammed with adventure in far-away places. While “Around the World in Eighty Minutes,” the latest Fair¬ banks picture, was the forerunner of the new idea, it can not rightly be included in it, for the reason that it was more a random photographing of a world tour than the picturiza- tion of a sustained story, such as is “Mr. Robinson Crusoe.” Jazzed Up Crusoe “Mr. Robinson Crusoe” was made in the most adventurous film expe¬ dition ever undertaken by Fairbanks. While in no sense a literal transla¬ tion of the famous Crusoe tale, it contains much that bears the Cru¬ soe flavor, particularly that portion dealing with adventures upon a desert isle. With characteristic enthusiasm, Doug goes Robinson Crusoe one better in all that he does, but, un¬ like Crusoe, he does it with a sense of humor. For example, Doug’s man Friday is Friday the Thir¬ teenth. And the girl who, in the role of dusky tropical maiden, furn¬ ishes the love interest is known as Saturday. And there are cannibals and battles and always high adven¬ ture of the rollicking sort for which Fairbanks is famous. “The theme of the tale,” explained Doug, “is keyed in the purposeful character of a modern Robinson Crusoe who tackles and meets every emergency with this thought: ‘There’s a way out.’ In this is reflected a spirit of hope and opti¬ mism, a concrete truth that ‘happi¬ ness is just around the corner’.” Unlooked for Adventure But all of Doug’s adventures in the region of Tahiti were not of the-, cinematic sort. And some were only - T - eViyM-CAj -vvVtiV There was the occasion, for example, when one of his most important actors disappeared up a tree and stayed there for a whole day. He was a trained monkey. On one occasion fifty natives worked all day and refused to ac¬ cept pay, saying they would be blessed many times, as a new moon appeared late in the afternoon and fishing would be excellent for an¬ other month at least. And then there was the day that the natives held the picture up because they would not work on a feast day. ... Forty Polynesians and Chinese, uncanny artisans, solved the big problem for the company when it came to creating the “props” for this modern Crusoe’s home. In the story Doug lands upon a tropical island with only a tooth-brush and remains to build a pent-house with hot and cold running water. It was for this that natives were gathered from neighboring islands and atolls, and instruments began instantly to materialize from ironwood, bamboo, shells, sawfish, liana twigs (for ropes),- pandanus leaves (for walls and mats) and also from cocoanuts. What the natives cannot make from a cocoanut, the tree and its brandies, is not in a mail-order catalogue, Doug declared. Douglas Fairbanks star of- ‘Mr Robinson Crusoe" 4—One Col. Star Scene (Mat 05c; Cut 30c), also available in Two Col. size. Order 1 — 2 Col. Star Scene (Mat 10c; Cut 50c) Doug Grows a Beard in 15 Minutes and Mystifies Tahitians While filming “Mr. Robin¬ son Crusoe,” now being fea¬ tured at the ., Douglas Fairbanks mystified the na¬ tives by apparently growing a beard in fifteen minutes. This occurred when he made his transformation from street clothes to his Robinson Cru¬ soe make-up. The natives saw him go clean-shaven into a small thatched hut, and come out a few minutes later wearing a full-grown beard. They did not know, of course, that John Pitcairn, make-up artist, was inside the hut and that he created the beard from crepe hair. Being superstitious, the na¬ tives regarded Doug as quite a miracle-worker, especially when they watched him tear the beard off with his hands at the end of the day when work was ended. Located Recluse Doug took a gambler’s chance in the matter of a make-up artist. There was not one available when he departed from San Francisco, but he remembered that a very cap¬ able one, John Pitcairn, had worked on “The Iron Mask” and then had left for the South Seas. The star determined to find him. It took weeks to do it, but he found him in the end, and Pitcairn worked on the picture. Another interesting sidelight de¬ veloped in the Tahitian wedding ceremony of Walter Pahlmann, chief of the Fairbanks technical staff, who married according to tribal custom Simone Terai, which in English means “Grand.” and who is a direct descendant of the most famous chief in the history of Tahiti. More than 500 guests attended in full regalia, and the event consumed two days of feasting, games and revelry. F airbanks D ash Shines Anew in “ Crusoe” Film Romance and Adventure Laid Against Background of South Sea Beauty (Review) Having happened upon a new forte in “Around the World in 80 Minutes,” Douglas Fairbanks demonstrates in “Mr. Robinson Cru¬ soe,” which opened yesterday at the . theatre, what really can be done with this type of picture when one enters seriously into its spirit. For “Mr. Robinson Crusoe” is one of the most charming efforts seen hereabouts in many a moon, besides which it is . shot through with that old Fairbanks elan and dash. It is adventurous in the ex¬ treme, it is highly romantic and it is one of the most beautiful coniT positions ever to come to the screen. Made in South Seas The picture was made in its en¬ tirety in the South Seas, and the star and his company have suc¬ ceeded admirably in catching the mood and flavor of that garden paradise. With the exception of four principal players, natives are seen in most of the action, and these natural actors demonstrate anew that drama is instinctive with them. One would think, in fact, that they had been trained for months for their roles. “Mr. Robinson Crusoe” concerns itself with an adventurous young sportsman who makes a wager that he can subsist upon a desert island with no assistance from civilization. In other words, he can successfully duplicate the life of Defoe’s famous character. Not only does he succeed in winning his bet, but he unearths several other complications, such as a hand-to’-hand conflict with a head¬ hunter, battles with cannibals and the capture of a beautiful native maiden in one of his traps. Fairbanks Great Fairbanks is, of course, the main¬ spring of the picture. In several of the sequences he is better than he ever has been, and this is a very large order. Maria Alba is his lead¬ ing woman, and William Farnum exerts his villainous touch here and there. Edward Sutherland directed, and Tom Geraghty wrote the story. 6—One Col. Star Scene Head (Mat 05c; Cut 30c) Crusoe Picture Doug’s Best in Many Years Star Brings South Sea Beauty, Adventure and Romance to Shut-ins ( Review ) - Adapting his latest story to a for¬ eign locale and journeying to that locale to photograph it, Douglas Fairbanks came to town yesterday in “Mr. Robinson Crusoe,” his new¬ est picture, and in many ways his best in years. The picture is not, as believed, a travelogue. It tells a sustained story, one based upon the celebrated Defoe character. But it goes a. lot farther than the Robinson Crusoe of fiction, and, moreover, it handles its sub¬ ject matter with a sense of humor, an ingredient unknown in the famed classic. There’s a character called Friday the Thirteenth and there’s another called Saturday, which will give you an idea. Journeyed Afar Doug transported an entire com¬ pany to the island of Tahiti in the South Seas to picturize this story from the pen of Tom Geraghty, and Edward Sutherland, one of Holly¬ wood’s best comedy producers, di¬ rected. The result is a beauty seldom seen upon local screens. Scene after scene is laid on a back¬ ground of breath-taking sunsets over atolls and blue lagoons. And, with the exception of the four principal players, the picture is enacted by natives. Superimposed upon this pictorial beauty is a musical obligato based upon the plaintive strains of Poly¬ nesian folk songs, most of it in minor key. The star carries the main burden of the story, of course, and seldom has he been better. The material is made to order for him, being shot through with romance and high ad¬ venture, and he makes the most of it. Maria Alba is his leading woman, and the little Latin catches the dash and elan which motivates Doug. William Farnum is a particularly convincing “heavy.” Story Has Glamor “Mr. Robinson Crusoe” tells the story of a young sportsman who’, upon a wager, goes to an unin¬ habited South Sea island just to prove that he can successfully sub¬ sist upon it, even though he brings with him only a toothbrush and his nondescript dog. How he manages to win that wager provides a gorgeous evening’s entertainment. It concerns itself with cannibals, head-hunters, beauti¬ ful native maidens and all the drama that go with them. Fairbanks in Role of Modern Crusoe Douglas Fairbanks appears as a modern Robinson Crusoe in his new starring vehicle, “Mr. Robinson Cru¬ soe,” which opened yesterday at. This production deals with the expe¬ riences of an adventurous sportsman who isolates himself on a South Seas island to win a bet. With nothing but a toqthbrush and his faithful dog, he comes to grips with nature in the/ rough, encounters cannibals and no end of harrowing experiences, and finishes with a bamboo penthouse and a beautiful South Seas maiden in his hands. The picture abounds in humor and rapid-fire action, and is framed in a gorgeous and hovel tropical set¬ ting. In fact, its rhythm and move¬ ment is reminiscent, in many instances, of “Robin Hood.” Eddie Sutherland, Doug’s Director . Would Retire to the South Seas Islands Are One Grand Movie Setting, Says Man Who Made “Mr. Robinson Crusoe,” and Life Is Idyllic Edward Sutherland, director of Douglas Fairbanks’ “Mr. Robinson Crusoe,” would like nothing better than to spend the remainder of his days in the South Seas, he declared following his return from Tahiti with the Fairbanks company. Some few members of the com¬ pany declared against residence in the South Seas because of the op¬ pressive heat, but Sutherland dif¬ fered. While there, he explains, he gazed upon the waving palms and blue lagoons with the eye of a mo¬ tion picture director and sang: “Aloha be blowed; I’ll be back next month.” A Grand Movie Set ,“ We nia de most of the scenes of Mr. Robinson Crusoe’ on Tahiti ” declared Eddie. “They call it the Pearl of the Pacific,’ but to me it was one glorious movie setting. Plank the camera down anywhere, and you had a pictorial dream. Pick any girl you found in the blue lagoon, or call any native down from a cocoanut tree and you had a wonderful trouper, with a highly developed sense of drama and humor—all for forty cents a day. Some days we had two or three hundred Polynesians working for us. If we told them not to return the next day they would break down and cry. The whole thing was a glorious gambol for them. Once I had 100 natives -working around the yacht. ‘Lunch’ was signalled from the shore, and I ordered out the boats. But before the interpreter could say a word a hundred brown bodies had flashed through the air to swim ashore as a matter of courses. After all, it was only a little more than a mile away. And they swam back after lunch, too. One Picture House “There is one cinema on the island, and the films it shows are five years old. While I was there they ran ‘The Sea Wolf,’ in which I played a cabin boy, was beaten up by Wally Beery and at the end sacrificed my life to save the hero¬ ine. The audience recognized me, and when 1 came but there were more than 500 natives cheering me, and they kept up the demonstra¬ tion until the manager had to call them all in and show the film again. “Was I proud?” TAHITI NATIVES BORN ACTORS, SAYS DOUG Rhythm and Pantomime Natural, Declares Star of "Mr. Robinson Crusoe" One of the principal actors in Douglas Fairbanks’ new picture, “Mr. Robinson Crusoe,” now the feature attraction at the.. is Chief Tupa, of the district of Mahina, Tahiti, who traces his ancestry back to the time when white men were unknown in the South Seas. Chief lupa, an expert fisherman and diver, plays the part of the can¬ nibal chief in the Fairbanks film and demonstrates an histrionic ability that may well be envied by any of Hollywood’s trained character- ac¬ tors. Natural Actors All of the South Seas natives are natural actors,” said Doug "\ou merely tell them what to do, and immediately they perform with the skill of veterans. Rhythm and pantomime seem to be- among their birthrights.” The scene in which the cannibals, under the leadership of Chief Tupa, prepare to make a shore dinner of Doug is so realistic that it makes the jitters jump from vertebra to vertebra like flashes of static. Although Chief Tupa plays a most realistic cannibal, there are no traces of cannibalism in his fam¬ ily, at least not among his ancestors in the Society Islands. If this cus- toni was in vogue before his people migrated- from some more remote South Sea Island, there is no record of it in the family album. Leads Quiet Life In private life, the chief engages in a very orderly though exciting .line of endeavor. He is a n^rl Hi v r and fisherman, and holds the record for time under water. Fie has lifted many valuable pearls from the bottom of the sea, and slit the throat of many a shark and octopus. Fairbanks Finds Make-up Artist Lost for Years in the South Seas Pitcairn Had Worked on “The Iron Mask” and Then Dropped Out of Sight, But Doug Found Him When Douglas Fairbanks sailed away for the South Seas on his yacht, the Invader, he had a full complement of artists, 1 writers and a technical staff, but he lacked one. important cog—a make-up artist for himself and his troupe. The right man was not available when Doug left on his long cruise, but he re¬ membered that a very capable artist, John Pitcairn, had worked with him on “The Iron Mask,” and later had departed and lost himself some¬ where in the South Seas. Doug has played hunches all his life, so in leaving he said, “We’ll find Pitcairn somewhere down there —I feel it in my bones—especially my wish bones.” Started Search Arriving at Tahiti inquiry was made for Pitcairn. Someone volun¬ teered that there was a “Mrs. Pit¬ cairn” who operated a hotel on the outskirts of Papeete, called “The Blue Lagoon” — maybe she would know something about the man they sought. She did. Because she hap¬ pened to be Mrs. John Pitcairn. Doug was happy and thrilled about his hunch coming true. There was only one fly in the ointment—Jack was away on a wild adventure— heaven only knew where. Always an adventurer—like his illustrious forebears, who discovered and settled the Pitcairn Islands in the South Seas—Jack had sailed away two months before, master of his own ship and carrying a cargo of rum to Mexico. When he would get back—and _even if he would ar¬ rive there—no one would venture. A month later Doug was sailing into the small port of a strange island when a lugger came limping in from the opposite side of the bay. The natives divided their curiosity, and interest between Doug’s yacht and the battered old craft putting in for water. A few hours later Doug learned that the other vessel had just returned from a most thrill¬ ing voyage of seventy-two days, had lost most of her sails in storms, and were reduced to slim rations and no water at all. Stirred by the color of the story, and the pluck of the mas¬ ter and crew, he went to make a friendly-and complimentary call. . . . It Was Pitcairn You’re right! It was Jack Pit¬ cairn. He had grown a full beard and Doug did not recognize him at first. But Jack was so delighted to see Doug he fell upon his shoulders. Pitcairn suffered a shock of reaction shortly afterward, explaining that he thought for the moment he was seeing things and that it was all a dream, topping his nightmare of reality in his uneven battle against the tropical storms. Pitcairn joined the Fairbanks staff soon afterward and did all the make¬ up work for Doug, William Farnum, Earle Browne, Maria Alba and other members of the cast. Douglas Fairbanks;/-. *Mr Robinson Crusoe 9—One Col. Scene (Mat 05c; Cut 30c)