He Comes Up Smiling (the first reel only)

Allan Dwan: He Comes Up Smiling (1918) with Douglas Fairbanks and Marjorie Daw. Poster: IMDb.

HE COMES UP SMILING / DOUGLAS A LE SOURIRE (Famous Players-Lasky Corp. / Paramount-Artcraft, US 1918)
    Dir: Allan Dwan; prod: Douglas Fairbanks; sc: Francis Marion, from the play (1914) by Byron Ongley & Emil Nitray, and the novel (1912) by Charles Sherman; ph: Hugh McClung [some sources credit Joseph August]; cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Herbert Standing, Marjorie Daw, Frank Campeau, Bull Montana, Albert McQuarrie, Kathleen Kirkham, Jay Dwiggins, Billy Elmer; orig. length: 5 rls., 4876 ft; 35 mm, solo Rullo 1 / Reel 1 only, 500 m, 10’ (20 fps), Lobster Films.
    French intertitles.
    Grand piano: David Drazin.
    Viewed at Teatro Zancanaro, Sacile, Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (GCM): Goodnight, Silents, 11 Oct 2004

Serge Bromberg (GCM): "Jerry (Fairbanks) is shut up behind his cashier’s grill, just like the bank manager’s pet canary Agamemnon, which it is Jerry’s duty to care for. But one day Agamemnon escapes, launching Jerry on adventures that lead to his winning of liberty. The rediscovery in France, even of only the first 2 reels of a lost Allan Dwan film, with Douglas Fairbanks, must be regarded as a major event. And the first reel is breathtaking. (The second reel will not be presented.)" – Serge Bromberg (GCM)

AA: The opening footage displays Jerry (Douglas Fairbanks) literally breaking free from a giant birdcage.

I have read the self-help book Laugh and Live (1917) written by Fairbanks: it was translated into Finnish as Elä hymyillen elämäsi (1920) [Smiling Through Your Life]. He celebrates the virtues of positive thinking. He Comes Up Smiling seems like a film adaptation of his book.

When the priceless pet canary escapes, there is a breathtaking chase sequence showcasing Fairbanks's athletic prowess and acrobatic genius. During the chase he meets "the richest man on earth": a hobo. "Freedom is our greatest gift on this earth". Jerry sets the canary bird free – and breaks free from his cage, too, joining the vagrants.

As always, Fairbanks is Mr. Dynamite, an outburst of energy, irrepressibly hyperactive.