Mr. Fix-It

Were there two Douglas Fairbanks Seniors?

I am familiar with the lean, athletic, manly swashbuckling version. Seeing Double Trouble and Mr. Fix-It, back-to-back on TCM, I am puzzled where this overweight potato head ''comedy" version came from.

Fairbanks shows little deft as a comedic actor. Sure, he's got frantic movement, as was the style at the time. But none of it works. As a silent-screen actor, he also is unable to sell the comedy with his facial expressions. Frankly, he's a non-entity up there. I'm surprised his career survived.

Whoever convinced him to hit the gym and go another route deserves the same credit as the guy who convinced Tom Hanks to drop his one-note (i.e., shouty) comedy shtick and take on dramatic roles.

Were this not a ''lost" or partially lost Fairbanks film, nobody would give it a second look.