Buster Keaton
The Balloonatic
1923
Silent, B&W
Director - Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
'The Balloonatic' is a charming little film. With gags that are especially rich and otherworldly, one day Keaton wanders off from an amusement park and winds up floating away in an experimental balloon. All this is merely a device to land him in the middle of a forest where he encounters a girl. Before he patches up the balloon and takes off, it becomes clear that she is by far a better outdoorsman than he.
CAST
Buster Keaton
Phyllis Haver
CREW
Joseph M. Schenck - Producer
Edward F. Cline - Screenwriter / Director
Buster Keaton - Screenwriter / Director
Elgin Lessley - Cinematographer
Buster Keaton
The Blacksmith
1922
Silent, B&W
Buster Keaton is the assistant to the town blacksmith, a big, mean-tempered sort. As it was common it was for a blacksmith to double as a car mechanic in the early '20s, Keaton is equally inept at both tasks. Keaton helps a girl's horse pick out just the right shoe, and he methodically and hilariously destroys a gleaming new Rolls Royce. Eventually, everyone is out to throttle Keaton for his countless blunders, but somehow he still manages to get the girl!
CAST
Buster Keaton- Blacksmith's assistant
Joe Roberts- Blacksmith
Virginia Fox- Horsewoman
CREW
Joseph M. Schenck- Producer
Buster Keaton- Screenwriter / Director
Malcolm St. Clair- Screenwriter / Director
Elgin Lessley- Cinematographer
Lee Erwin- Composer (Music Score)
Buster Keaton
Cops
1922 - 33 min.
Silent, B&W
Keaton longingly looks at his girl through what appear to be prison bars. In reality, it's the gate to the mansion where she lives. The girl sends Keaton away, telling him not to return until he is a success in business. Keaton attempts to do so, acquiring, through convoluted means, a horse, wagon, and a load of stolen furniture. Somehow he drives his wagon into the middle of a policeman's parade, where an anarchist's bomb falls in his lap. Carelessly, he lights his cigarette with it and throws it away. It explodes in the middle of the parade, and suddenly Keaton is pursued by every cop in the city. The surrealistic vision of Keaton, small and alone, evading these hundreds upon hundreds of policemen is unforgettable. The filmmaker was both athlete and comic, and here he makes maximum use of both talents, racing down streets, playing a balancing act on a ladder, and casually grabbing hold of a car as it flies past, all in an attempt to evade the cops.
CAST
Buster Keaton- The Young Man
Joe Roberts- Police Chief
Virginia Fox- Mayor's Daughter
Edward F. Cline- Hobo
CREW
Joseph M. Schenck- Producer
Edward F. Cline- Screenwriter / Director
Elgin Lessley- Cinematographer
Buster Keaton- Editor / Screenwriter / Director
Buster Keaton
Garage
1919 - 25 min.
Silent, B&W
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and portray co-workers at a garage/fire house (guess which building, out of the whole town, catches fire?). This film shows a marked development in director Arbuckle's comedy - instead of frantic slapstick, the gags build slowly with a determined, but twisted, logic. Arbuckle and Keaton work seamlessly together, with a rapport that at times resembles the later comic duo Laurel and Hardy.
CAST
Buster Keaton- Mechanic/Fireman
Molly Malone- Garage Owner's Daughter
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle- Mechanic/Fireman
CREW
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle- Director
Elgin Lessley- Cinematographer
Buster Keaton
The Playhouse
1921
Silent, B&W
'The Playhouse' features the famous theater sequence in which Buster Keaton plays every role, from the stage actors to the orchestra and audience, appearing in the same frame two, three - and in one scene, nine times. This was amazing technical wizardry in a day when special effects really were special. The film bounces from dream to reality, from optical illusion to confusion, all with a playhouse as backdrop, and the various theater skits are a prime example of Keaton's infinite comic variety. In one scene he disguises himself as a monkey so effectively that it's easy to forget he's really human.
CAST
Buster Keaton
Joe Roberts
Virginia Fox
CREW
Joseph M. Schenck - Producer
Edward F. Cline - Screenwriter / Director
Buster Keaton - Screenwriter / Director
Elgin Lessley - Cinematographer
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