Francis X. Bushman is a forgotten star even for many film buffs. He was one of the first superstars in the early years of Hollywood, during the era when short films dominated the industry, but his career continued long after his fame faded. Lon Davis, who wrote a biography of Bushman with his wife Debra Davis, directs this interesting but perfunctory hour-long documentary that chronicles his career and accomplishments but offers little insight into the man behind the roles. Bushman was a model and bodybuilder before he turned to acting and the stage. He made his first films in 1911 and quickly became one of the first screen superstars in over a hundred short films and then in the initial American feature films.
By 1914, he was the most popular male star in the movies, and in 1915 he became the highest-paid male movie star in the world. He is most famous today for playing Messala in the 1925 Ben-Hur, the villain to the dashing hero played by Ramon Navarro in the most expensive American film made up to that time, and he famously did all his own stunts including the chariot race. His star faded soon after but his career continued on, playing smaller roles in movies and TV and doing radio for decades, continuing to work until his death in 1966 at the age of 83.
Chris Bushman, the grandson of the actor, narrates the film and is adequate but flat and dull, and the writing is too often limited to dry facts or to describing the action in featured film clips, rather than offering insight into Bushman's acting or backstory on his career and his life. The making of Ben-Hur itself was beset with disastrous overruns and mid-production relocation and recasting but this documentary fails to explore the drama behind the production. The strength of the production is in the collection of clips from rare and otherwise unavailable films, much of it thanks to the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, which produces the film.
An archival audio interview with Bushman discussing his life is interwoven with the narration, which helps personalize a dutiful documentary. Folks interested in film history will appreciate the research and archival elements but it is very much a special interest item. Director and co-writer Lon Davis host a video introduction and the short documentary is supplemented by archival short films and fragments of feature films featuring Bushman.
Of notable interest is a 20-minute fragment from The Marriage Clause (1926) directed by the great Lois Weber. It is actually a digest version of the romantic drama set and presents Bushman at his most engaging. A bonus radio play from 1957 featuring Bushman (audio only) fills out the scope of his career. Optional purchase. Aud: J. H. C, P.