This Is Francis X. Bushman

A brief account of the career of one of the first great movie stars, who was blacklisted by Louis B. Mayer, when Bushman had the nerve to demand his back pay. His grandson, Sam Bushman, narrated, but a professional should have been chosen. Bushman's joie de vivre extends "beyond the footlights," and we're convinced: Hollywood was the place to be during the early decades of the 20th century.

Narrated by Bushman's grandson and produced by Lon Davis, this is an outstanding documentary on Bushman's life, one with which I was not at all familiar until I watched this documentary.

If Francis X. Bushman had not lived this life, Hollywood would have invented it, and they actually did over the years, since elements of Bushman's life are often seen in rags to riches to rags and back stories. Bushman became a matinee idol in the 1910's, becomes a spendthrift, divorces his wife of 15 years to marry his glamorous costar but the marriage fails, gets wiped out by the 1929 crash, can't make the transition to talking film because of changing tastes, and ironically finds a career in radio. The last act of his life was happy and professionally successful with appearances on TV and in film up until his death in 1966.

Often stars who made the mistakes and had the misfortunes that he did became bitter, became alcoholics, and died early sad deaths in poverty. So what really stood out to me was Bushman's eternal optimism - He never let circumstances get him down. Instead he persisted. Bushman himself is a co-narrator of sorts as a surviving interview of him plays at appropriate points in the documentary. I'd highly recommend this one if you think you'd have any interest in Bushman. You don't need any prior knowledge of the man to appreciate it.

The title is THIS IS FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN, And so it is, in this clips-and-narration documentary about the silent star. The narration is provided by Chris Bushman, the star's grandson, who started out in the Motion Picture Trust era, and continued working through his death in 1966 in his 80s. Bushman made and spent millions, and never expressed any regrets.

At an hour in length, there's no real sense of any arc to Bushman's life; like many a professional actor, he kept on performing, on stage, on radio, and in small bits in movies. Perhaps that's the point of this documentary: a real actor keeps on acting, because that's what he does.

Dull documentary the first half of which is little more than scenes from a series of eminently forgettable two reelers to the accompaniment. Of droning, too fast narration by Bushman's grandson that should have been subtitled instead of the comparatively clear voices of the film's subjects. Give it a C minus.

Francis X. Bushman was a favorite of my grandmother's, and I knew him from Ben Hur, so I watched with interest.

This is an excellent documentary about Bushman's career and life, and a fascinating look at early days of film and of film acting. And the money - $750 a week in the '20s with a $50,000 bonus (the equivalent of $717,000 today) at one point. He even owned a house on which Grauman's Chinese Theatre was eventually built. And he spent it all and lost it all in the Wall St. Crash.

Hosted by his grandson, we learn that Bushman's career was multivaried - he started as a sculptor's model, worked in the old nickolodeon short films and on the stage, and he became a huge silent film star and matinee idol.

Bushman handled aging and the downturn in his career by working in radio, becoming a spokesperson for the elderly, and later appearing in films and television. In fact, the day he died, he was on his way to a film job.

The documentary is only an hour and is packed with information and film clips. Give it a watch. It's worth it.