Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks (1931)

With the advent of sound the worlds leading screen idol Douglas Fairbanks experienced a downturn in his fortunes His thin reedy voice was not suited to the talkies his marriage to Mary Pickford was on the outs and his son Douglas Fairbanks Jr had replaced him as a major boxoffice draw Faced with the Hollywood equivalent of a midlife crisis Doug called up three of his best friends director Victor Fleming cinematographer Henry Sharp and production manager Charles Lewis and took them on a sixmonth tour of Asia ostensibly to shoot a travelogue for United Artists of which Fairbanks was still a major shareholder Their first stop is Honolulu followed in quick succession by Japan China Peking Hong Kong Indochina the Philippines Siam and India Fairbanks and company spend time at such noteworthy spots as the Taj Mahal Angkor Wat the Summer Palace and the Sun YatSen Mausoleum