The dashing, dazzling and debonair Douglas Fairbanks was the movie star who swash buckled in Zorro, dueled exuberantly in Robin Hood and soared magnificently in The Thief of Bagdad. He was the "First King of Hollywood." His life story unfolds with American history and the emergence of the film industry as a backdrop. His films crossed all borders. His physique and style made him the perfect American icon. At a time when the country did not have any self-doubt, he represented America like no one else: strong, confident, heroic, smiling, and conquering. He was "Everybody's Hero." During his marriage to Mary Pickford, "America's Sweetheart," the couple dominated the headlines and turned the scrubland of Beverly Hills, inhabited by coyotes and snakes, into the poshest place in town.