"The Fighting Eagle" is a thoroughly enjoyable tongue-in-cheek swashbuckler set in Napoleonic France. Similar to "The Crimson Pirate" and to a lesser extent "The Three Musketeers" (1948), the film blends elements of comedy and intrigue with a slight dose of suspense toward the end of the picture.
Rod La Rocque plays Etienne Gerard, a Harold Lloyd-type character who stumbles in and out of trouble while in the service of the Emperor's chief spy, the Countess de Launay, played by Phyllis Haver. He towers above everyone else and is a dashing, bumbling figure. If you have not seen La Rocque before, he is a commanding presence and dominates when he is on screen.
"The Fighting Eagle" is an exciting action picture with lots of story squashed into 60 minutes. It was directed by Donald Crisp and produced by Cecil B. DeMille and is well worth your time. The title above refers to the character of Talleyrand, whose servant is played by none other than fan dancer Sally Rand. She is in costume here, well before she gained notoriety by performing without a costume.
Rod La Rocque plays Etienne Gerard, a Harold Lloyd-type character who stumbles in and out of trouble while in the service of the Emperor's chief spy, the Countess de Launay, played by Phyllis Haver. He towers above everyone else and is a dashing, bumbling figure. If you have not seen La Rocque before, he is a commanding presence and dominates when he is on screen.
"The Fighting Eagle" is an exciting action picture with lots of story squashed into 60 minutes. It was directed by Donald Crisp and produced by Cecil B. DeMille and is well worth your time. The title above refers to the character of Talleyrand, whose servant is played by none other than fan dancer Sally Rand. She is in costume here, well before she gained notoriety by performing without a costume.