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Buster Keaton's
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression that earned him the nickname "The Great Stone Face". Critic Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton's "extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929" when he "worked without interruption" as having made him "the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies". In 1996, ''Entertainment Weekly'' recognized Keaton as the seventh-greatest film director, and in 1999 the American Film Institute ranked him as the 21st-greatest male star of classic Hollywood cinema. Working with independent producer Joseph M. Schenck and filmmaker Edward F. Cline, Keaton made a series of successful two-reel comedies in the early 1920s, including '' One Week'' (1920), '' The Playhouse'' (1921), ''Cops'' (1922), and ''The Electric House'' (1922). He then moved to feature-length ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piqua, Kansas
Piqua is an unincorporated community in Woodson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 90. History Piqua had its start in the year 1882 by the building of the railroads through the territory, and is situated at the junction of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. It was named after the city of Piqua, Ohio. The first post office in Piqua was established in March 1882. Geography Latitude of Piqua is 37.922N and longitude is -95.535W. Piqua is located on U.S. Route 54 and is east of U.S. Route 75.Rand McNally, ''The Road Atlas '05'', Skokie: Rand McNally & Company, 2005. Piqua is located between the cities of Yates Center and Iola. Demographics For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Piqua as a census-designated place (CDP). Education The community is served by Woodson USD 366 public school district. Notable people * Buster Keaton ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silent Film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of intertitle, title cards. The term "silent film" is something of a misnomer, as these films were almost always accompanied by live sounds. During the silent era that existed from the mid-1890s to the late 1920s, a piano, pianist, theatre organ, theater organist—or even, in large cities, a small orchestra—would often play music to accompany the films. Pianists and organists would play either from sheet music, or musical improvisation, improvisation. Sometimes a person would even narrate the inter-title cards for the audience. Though at the time the technology to synchronize sound with the film did not exist, music was seen as an essential part of the viewing experie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cameraman
''The Cameraman'' is a 1928 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and an uncredited Buster Keaton. The picture stars Keaton and Marceline Day. ''The Cameraman'' was Keaton's first film with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is considered by fans and critics to be Keaton still in top form, and it was added to the National Film Registry in 2005 as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Within a little over a year, however, MGM would take away Keaton's creative control over his pictures, thereby causing drastic and long-lasting harm to his career. Keaton was later to call the move to MGM "the worst mistake of my career." Plot Buster, a sidewalk tintype portrait photographer in New York City, develops a crush on Sally, a secretary who works for MGM Newsreels. To be near her, he purchases an old film camera, emptying his bank account, and attempts to get a job as one of MGM's cameramen. Harold, an MGM cameraman who has designs on S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Electric House
''The Electric House'' is a 1922 American short comedy film co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton. Plot Three graduating students drop their degree certificates, but each picks up the wrong ones off the floor. Keaton plays a botany student who, accidentally, picked up an electrical engineering degree and is invited to wire a home using many gadgets. The man who actually was the electrical engineer graduate exacts revenge by rewiring those gadgets to cause mayhem. Cast * Buster Keaton as himself * Virginia Fox as Girl (uncredited) * Joe Keaton as Extra (uncredited) * Louise Keaton as Extra (uncredited) * Myra Keaton as Extra (uncredited) * Joe Roberts as Homeowner (uncredited) Production During the original scheduled shooting of the film in 1920, Keaton suffered a broken ankle filming a sequence with the electric staircase. The project was shelved, and then re-done entirely. The known version today is actually the second version filmed; no copies of the original foot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cops (film)
''Cops'' is a 1922 American two-reel silent comedy film about a young man ( Buster Keaton) who accidentally gets on the bad side of the entire Los Angeles Police Department during a parade and is chased all over town. It was written and directed by Edward F. Cline and Keaton. Background and plot This very Kafka-esque film was filmed during the rape-and-murder trial of Fatty Arbuckle, a circumstance that may have influenced the short's tone of hopeless ensnarement. Even though the central character's intentions are good, he cannot win, no matter how inventively he tries. He gets into various scraps with police officers throughout the film. Eventually, he unwittingly throws a bomb into a police parade and ends up being chased by a horde of cops. At the end of the film, Keaton's character locks up the cops in the police station. However, the girl he is trying to woo disapproves of his behavior and gives him the cold shoulder. Therefore, he unlocks the police station and is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Playhouse (film) ''The Playhouse'' is a 1921 American two-reel silent comedy film written by, directed by, and starring "Buster" Keaton. It runs for 22 minutes, and is most famous for an opening sequence where Keaton plays every role. Plot The film is set up as a series of humorous tricks on the audience, with constant doubling, and in which things are rarely what they at first seem to be. It opens with Keaton attending a variety show. Keaton plays the conductor and every member of the orchestra, the actors, dancers, stagehands, minstrels, and every member of the audience, male and female. As an audience member, Keaton turns to the "woman" sitting beside him and remarks, "This fellow Keaton seems to be the whole show". This was a jibe at one of Keaton's contemporaries, Thomas Ince, who credited himself generously in his film productions. In interviews with Kevin Brownlow, Keaton claims he gave the director's credit to Cline mainly because he did not want to appear too Ince-like himself: "H ... [...More Info...] |
