The Gaucho

The Gaucho
Theatrical release poster
Directed byF. Richard Jones
Written byDouglas Fairbanks
Produced byDouglas Fairbanks
StarringDouglas Fairbanks
Lupe Vélez
CinematographyTony Gaudio
Edited byWilliam Nolan
Music byArthur Kay (uncredited)
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • November 21, 1927 (1927-11-21)
Running time
115 minutes
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Box office$1.4 million

The Gaucho (the official full title of the film is Douglas Fairbanks as The Gaucho) is a 1927 American silent adventure film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Lupe Vélez that is set in Argentina. The lavish adventure extravaganza, filmed at the height of Fairbanks' box office clout, was directed by F. Richard Jones with a running time of 115 minutes.

Fairbanks biographer Jeffrey Vance considers the film "a near masterwork" and "an anomaly among his [Fairbanks’] works." Vance also considers it a "daring departure, the film is an effort of unanticipated darkness in tone, setting, and character. The spirit of adolescent boyish adventure, the omnipresent characteristic of his prior films, is noticeably absent. It has been replaced by a spiritual fervor and an element of seething sexuality the likes of which has never been seen before in one of his productions.”