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Buster Keaton
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-l ... [...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 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 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 pianist, 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 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 experience. "Silent film" is typically used as a historical term to describe an era of ci ... [...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 ... [...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 footag ... [...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: "Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One Week (1920 Film)
''One Week'' is a 1920 American two-reel silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton, the first independent film production he released on his own. The film was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline, and runs for 19 minutes. Sybil Seely co-stars. The film contains a large number of innovative visual gags largely pertaining to either the house or to ladders. In 2008, ''One Week'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot The story involves a newlywed couple who receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding gift. The house can be built, supposedly, in "one week". A rejected suitor secretly re-numbers packing crates. The groom struggles to assemble the house according to this new "arrangement". The result is a lopsided structure with revolving walls, kitchen fixtures on the exterior, and upper-floor doors that open onto thin air. Durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits". In the United States, short films were generally termed short subjects from the 1920s into the 1970s when confined to two 35 mm reels or less, and featurettes for a film of three or four reels. "Short" was an abbreviation for either term. The increasingly rare industry term "short subject" carries more of an assumption that the film is shown as part of a presentation along with a feature film. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals and made by independent filmmakers with either a low budget or no budget at all. They are usually funded by film grants, nonprofit organizations, sponsor, or personal funds. Short films are generally used for industry experience a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward F
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration. Variant forms The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard. Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy and Ned. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph M
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic countries. In Portuguese and Spanish, the name is "José". In Arabic, including in the Quran, the name is spelled '' Yūsuf''. In Persian, the name is "Yousef". The name has enjoyed significant popularity in its many forms in numerous countries, and ''Joseph'' was one of the two names, along with ''Robert'', to have remained in the top 10 boys' names list in the US from 1925 to 1972. It is especially common in contemporary Israel, as either "Yossi" or "Yossef", and in Italy, where the name "Giuseppe" was the most common male name in the 20th century. In the first century CE, Joseph was the second most popular male name for Palestine Jews. In the Book of Genesis Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first son, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leadership The institute is composed of leaders from the film, entertainment, business, and academic communities. The board of trustees is chaired by Kathleen Kennedy and the board of directors chaired by Robert A. Daly guide the organization, which is led by President and CEO, film historian Bob Gazzale. Prior leaders were founding director George Stevens Jr. (from the organization's inception in 1967 until 1980) and Jean Picker Firstenberg (from 1980 to 2007). History The American Film Institute was founded by a 1965 presidential mandate announced in the Rose Garden of the White House by Lyndon B. Johnson—to establish a national arts organization to preserve the legacy of American film heritage, educate the next generation of filmmake ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular culture. The magazine debuted on February 16, 1990, in New York City. Different from celebrity-focused publications such as '' Us Weekly'', '' People'' (a sister magazine to ''EW''), and '' In Touch Weekly'', ''EW'' primarily concentrates on entertainment media news and critical reviews; unlike '' Variety'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'', which were primarily established as trade magazines aimed at industry insiders, ''EW'' targets a more general audience. History Formed as a sister magazine to ''People'', the first issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'' was published on February 16, 1990. Created by Jeff Jarvis and founded by Michael Klingensmith, who served as publisher until October 1996, the magazine's original television advertising s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
