tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2953763355053167371.post4704700947190371700..comments2012-02-22T12:54:53.976ZNicola Balkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751994006420201noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2953763355053167371.post-21540214436079134392012-02-20T19:14:14.154Z2012-02-20T19:14:14.154ZMy favorite silent clown is Buster Keaton, since TCM featured him as their October Star of The Month last year. A comic genius that has been copied many times. One instance that comes to mind is the scene in &quot;An American In Paris&quot; where Oscar Levant plays every instrument in the orchestra, is the conductor, and someone in the audience. Lifted straight from Keaton&#39;s short film &quot;The Playhouse&quot;, where, you guessed it, Keaton plays every instrument in the orchestra, is the conductor, the audience, and even dancers in a minstrel show! And his was about 30 years earlier!<br /><br />Oh, by the way, Chaplin didn&#39;t originate the table ballet--Roscoe &quot;Fatty&quot; Arbuckle did, in one of his short films. Chaplin merely made it more elaborate and longer for the scene in &quot;The Gold Rush&quot;, which is my favorite Chaplin film.<br /><br />Many of the famous gags in the Marx brothers films were actually contributed by Keaton, who, after falling on hard times and alcoholism, was a gag writer at MGM. And not only for the Marx brothers, but Red Skelton and Lucille Ball, and also gags used in many other comedy movies at MGM, too numerous to mention here. Too bad it was all uncredited.Dixienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2953763355053167371.post-48591383707722922872010-03-27T14:43:01.130Z2010-03-27T14:43:01.130Znice post<br /><br />i am just old enough to have watched tv as a kid when bbc2 and channel 4 early morning output had a smattering of chaplin, keaton, lloyd and laurel &amp; hardy.<br /><br />anyone my age all seem to agree that we prefered harold lloyd at the age. i think his stuff was more accessible. whats not to love about hanging from a variety of high altitude structures!<br /><br />but now when i watch (rarely) silent movies its chaplin and to a lesser extent keaton who i enjoy to watch. especially with chaplin who can see him breaking cinematic boundaries and comedy rules everytime he steps onscreen. <br /><br />i used to own Gold Rush and the use of special effects and his interaction with them is breathtaking considering the limits of 1920s movie making. I just think chaplin was very very clever and now fashionable to detract from that.<br /><br />anyhoo, thats enough except to say I love the great dictator. i know its a talkie but its overpowering display of his art and politicsjackreedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16019792275771735477noreply@blogger.com