When the Clouds Roll by

Daniel Boone Brown, who works for his uncle's investment firm, is the unwitting subject of a psychological experiment by an unscrupulous doctor. Brown has nightmares, phobias, and generally is a nervous wreck. He meets a girl and falls in love, but the town's Mayor, who is also a rat, becomes his romantic rival. Eventually, the doctor's real identity is revealed, Daniel grows a pair, and all ends happily.

Fairbanks is in good form, performing plenty of stunts, including one in slow motion. It is a bit jarring to see him play an insecure character, when one is used to seeing him acting with bravado and confidence. But there are some very funny scenes and plenty of clever photographic effects. The climax involves a flood, which is convincingly filmed. However, the sequence actually seems unnecessary to the plot, except to suggest the film's title and also Fairbanks' recovery from his insecurities.

This was the second film Fairbanks made under the "Big Four" banner (the forerunner of United Artists).

In the early 20th century of film there was a monopoly going on with the producers of movies out of the New York City area. The northeast is where movies began in America and many of the brightest talented stars were feeling their wallets and their creative talents limited by the studio system of the time. In 1919, Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford and the star of this film, Douglas Fairbanks, the biggest of their time, launched United Artists Corporation and Hollywood was born.

United Artists released three films in 1919. One was actually a carry-over purchase from another studio that they released first, Broken Blossoms (1919), which is one of Griffith's finest. This film was released third, but seems to be the better of the two (the other one being His Majesty, the American (1919). The interesting thing about seeing that second UA release, is the announcement in the very beginning of the credits, when Chaplin, Griffith, Pickford, and Fairbanks announce the start of their new film-making endeavor, with Fairbanks crashing through the curtain with a big hello to the audience. He says, "They made me start the ball rolling". That is what he did. He was the one who launched United Artists Corporation into the future. His first two films for the company in 1919 made a lot of money and started things off.

When the Clouds Roll By (1919), came out later that year in December. It entertained millions, with that classic Fairbanks acrobatic style. My exposure to Fairbanks is still limited. I have seen his drug-induced, wacky short, the Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916), his romantic adventure, at the height of his popularity, the Gaucho (1927) and there's also that section of Intolerance (1916), that he is in. I knew Fairbanks was a very acrobatic, agile, dancer of an actor (as witnessed by Kevin Kline, as Fairbanks, in the Robert Downey JR. Biopic, Chaplin (1992), but I didn't know he was this good.

The film is also, mostly driven by comedy, as it tries to tackle the life of a man, who is a paranoid, superstitious type. It also tries to delve a little bit into the frights, by opening up the film to a scientist explaining to his fellow professors, that they should consider using a real human being, instead of animals, for their scientific experiments. A ghastly notion, that harbors on the horrors of mad-scientists and science playing with God. However, the approach the doctor decides to take reverts to a more psychological one, where he tries to ruin a man, to the point, that he takes his own life.

He already has a subject he has been working on. A nice, energetic young man, who also is clueless sometimes and can't keep his job, that his Uncle (Ralph Lewis), keeps firing him from, named, Daniel Boone Brown (Fairbanks). The doctor uses Boone's fear of superstitions by using the superstitions to push him towards complete destruction. What the doctor wasn't counting on was Boone running into the woman of his dreams, Lucette (Kathleen Clifford). This however, creates a new set of troubles the doctor can send after Boone to make his life miserable.

United Artists held no money back for this film. You can tell that they hired some of the best filmmaking magicians that they had in 1919. Film was barely 20 years old, but the special effects masters of the time threw everything they could at you, creating images and scenes that have been imitated and inspired by many other auteurs since. As the plot feeds you tiny bits of information about what is about to transpire for the next 80 minutes, they let you into Boone's body, by creating a comedic image of his costumed breakfast, running around in his stomach, creating chaos. Director, Victor Fleming, then goes into Boone's mind to show us his personal terror and emotions combating against each other, as he tries to grasp what his love for Lucette really means.

Fairbanks achieves Buster Keaton levels in this film. Fairbanks gives us some amazing moments of acrobatic joy. Stuff that would be totally CGI today, is done completely with stunts and a talented human being. He also produces some pretty good laughs and one-lined jokes. All of this culminates in a climactic flood that rushes through the town. This film is what is was. An example of what the first blockbuster motion picture, produced by a Hollywood studio, would look like. The one irony of all of this is, the filmmakers wanted so much to be part of Hollywood, California, but the setting for the story still couldn't get away from its roots, being New York City.

6.9 (C MyGrade) = 7 IMDB.

A superstitious young man does not realize his shrink is trying to drive him to suicide as part of an experiment. This sounds like it could be made into some oddball indie comedy today, but it's the plot of a Douglas Fairbanks vehicle from 1919! That's insane! This movie is as close as Fairbanks got to dabbling in surrealism. The comedy is dark and the visuals get strange-- truly something to be seen to be believed. The best scene is a dream sequence in which the editing blatantly evokes the changing scenery of dreams (touches of the later Sherlock Jr).

What a miracle this film is! Designed as a "cheer 'em up film" following the dark days of World War 1, this is a wildly energetic and fanciful comedy, that is truly life-affirming.

Doug is his usual cheerful self, performing some amazing stunts, and lighting up the screen with his ebullient personality. Under the sure direction of Victor Fleming - making his debut as a director - the film never misses a beat, and is full of surprises.

There are a couple of moments of pure fantasy, including an insane dream sequence, and scenes set in Doug's brain and in his stomach! And the whole thing comes to a wild special effects climax when a dam bursts!

This gem is truly a neglected classic and deserves to be restored and released on DVD, so that we may all enjoy the cyclone of energy that was Douglas Fairbanks. 10 out of 10.

Victor Fleming's resume as a director is one of the most stellar in Hollywood history. In 1939 alone, he directed two of the top classics in all of cinema, 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Gone With The Wind.' As a cinematographer in Tinseltown after his World War One photography service, Fleming rose through the ranks until he earned the head director position in a Douglas Fairbanks vehicle. His talents behind the camera is readily seen in his debut movie, December 1919's comedy "When Clouds Go By." Cited as one of Fairbanks' best early farces, the movie contains a brilliant fantasy-ridden nightmare sequence using all the latest technological tricks up to that time, including the actor walking on walls, floors and ceilings of a room. Fred Astaire's similar trick in 1951's 'Royal Wedding' wowed audiences not familiar with Fairbanks' same trick 32 years before.

"When Clouds Roll By" is a satire on human experiments where a doctor wants to drive Fairbanks so insane he would end his life, verifying his hypothesis that stress, bad eating habits and romantic jealousies put people over the edge. Fairbanks' character unknowingly is a perfect candidate since he's one of the most superstitious individuals in the world--except for the gal he meets in a park, who's just the same. Film historians claim this is one of Fairbanks' most intelligent, funniest comedies in his body of work.

"Executed at a breathless pace, 'When the Clouds Roll By' is a masterful showpiece for the whirling cyclone of energy that was Douglas Fairbanks," wrote the actor's biographer, Jeffrey Vance.

"When Clouds Roll By" had been nominated in American Film Institute's 100 Most Passionate Films Ever Made. This was Fairbanks' second movie released by United Artist Corp., formed earlier in the year by cinema's four top movie makers, Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and D. W. Griffith.

Fairbanks was the first of the four to actual have UA money produce and distribute the corporation's first movie, September 1919's "His Majesty, The American." (Griffith's 'Broken Blossom' was UA's first distributed movie earlier in the summer.)The actor displays his athletic prowess as he becomes mixed up in a small European country's political intrigue.

UA's first produced film also marked actor Boris Karloff's debut in a feature film, here as a spy. Known as William Pratt growing up in England, he journeyed to Canada in 1911 to pursue a stage acting career, changing his name to Boris Karloff. Working in theater throughout Canada and the United States, he became an extra and a small bit player in short and serial silent movies in 1918, before his largest role yet in the Fairbanks film.