“See how he apes his father” was a saying long associated with contemporary enemies of John Quincy Adams as a complaint about how the younger Adams was as stubborn and single-minded as his father John Adams. He pursued his own ends regardless of political consequences.
On a lighter note, I have always used those words as a compliment to jokingly describe the fun, high-spirited swashbuckler films of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. – especially those moments that were homages to specific scenes from his father’s silent film classics. Here’s a look at Junior’s sword-wielding spectacles.
THE CORSICAN BROTHERS (1941) – Another of the many adaptations of the Alexandre Dumas novel that have very little to do with the original storyline. In this case the tale was transformed into an action-packed sword-fighting, gun blazing, hell-for-leather chase vehicle for Doug Jr.
That’s not a complaint, I’m just letting Dumas purists know in advance. In this movie set in the early 1800s the twin brothers from Corsica are Lucien and Mario Franchi. Due to family vendettas in Corsica the brothers are the sole survivors of their bloodline and as infants are hidden by family friends – Mario in France and Lucien in the Corsican hills.
Each grows into a man of action, Lucien as a bandit chief and Mario as a dueling, gambling ladies’ man. When they are reunited they set out to bring down the man who massacred their family – Baron Colonna (Akim Tamiroff), now the tyrannical ruler of Corsica.
The brothers, with Lucien’s outlaw gang behind them, strike at Colonna and his forces again and again in their quest to free Corsica while avenging their family. Tragically, they both fall in love with the same woman (Ruth Warrick), leading to a bittersweet ending. 111 minutes. Continue reading
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