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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 films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently maintained a stoic, deadpan facial expression that became his trademark and earned him the nickname "The Great Stone Face". Keaton was a child vaudeville star, performing as part of his family's traveling act. As an adult, he began working with independent producer Joseph M. Schenck and filmmaker Edward F. Cline, with whom he made a series of successful two-reel comedies in the early 1920s, including ''One Week (1920 film), One Week'' (1920), ''The Playhouse (film), The Playhouse'' (1921), ''Cops (1922), Cops'' (1922), and ''The Electric House'' (1922). He then moved to feature-length films; several of them, such as ''Sherlock Jr.'' (1924), ''The General (1926 film), The General'' (1926), ''Steamboat Bill, Jr.'' (1928), and ''The Camerama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piqua, Kansas
Piqua is a census-designated place (CDP) in Woodson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population 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 Piqua is located on U.S. Route 54 and is east of U.S. Route 75. Piqua is located between the cities of Yates Center and Iola. Demographics The 2020 United States census counted 90 people, 41 households, and 19 families in Piqua. The population density was 22.7 per square mile (8.8/km). There were 43 housing units at an average density of 10.8 per square mile (4.2/km). The racial makeup was 91.11% (82) white or European American (90.0% non-Hispanic white), 0.0% (0) black or African-American, 0.0% (0) Native American or Alask ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physical Comedy
Physical comedy is a form of comedy focused on manipulation of the body for a humorous effect. It can include slapstick, clowning, mime, physical stunts, or making funny faces. Physical comedy originated as part of the Commedia dell'arte. It is now sometimes incorporated into sitcoms; for example, in the sitcom '' Three's Company'', actor John Ritter frequently performed ''pratfalls''. Cartoons, particularly film shorts, also commonly depict an exaggerated form of physical comedy (incorporating cartoon physics), such as in ''Tom and Jerry'' and Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Examples Charlie Chaplin started his film career as a physical comedian; although he developed additional means of comic expression, Chaplin's mature works continued to contain elements of slapstick. In the movies, physical comedy is used by, for example, * Buster Keaton as the eponymous character in Steamboat Bill, Jr., * Jacques Tati as Monsieur Hulot, * Peter Sellers as Chief Inspector Clou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Aged 21, Welles directed high-profile stage productions for the Federal Theatre Project in New York City—starting with a celebrated Voodoo Macbeth, 1936 adaptation of ''Macbeth'' with an African-American cast, and ending with the political musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'' in 1937. He and John Houseman founded the Mercury Theatre, an independent repertory theatre company that presented productions on Broadway through 1941, including a modern, politically charged ''Caesar (Mercury Theatre), Caesar'' (1937). In 1938, his radio anthology series ''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' gave Welles the platform to find international fame as the director and narrator of The War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama), a radio adaptation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cameraman
''The Cameraman'' is a 1928 American silent film, silent Romantic comedy, romantic comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and an uncredited Buster Keaton. The picture stars Keaton and Marceline Day. It was Keaton's first film under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The following year, however, MGM refused to let Keaton continue with creative control over his pictures, causing lasting damage to his career from which Keaton never really recovered. Keaton later referred to his move to MGM as "the worst mistake of my career". The film is considered by fans and critics to be one of Keaton's best, and was added to the National Film Registry in 2005 as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". ''The Cameraman'' entered the 2024 in American public domain, public domain in the United States on January 1, 2024. 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 nea ... [...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) * Steve Murphy as Real Electrical Engineer (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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cops (1922)
''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. 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. It was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry in 1997. Plot The main character is spurned by his love interest, who wants him to become a businessman. Once he leaves her estate, he ends up acquiring a large amount of money from a businessman’s wallet. He uses this money to buy up a comically large amount of furniture and a horse to carry this furniture in a carriage. While moving the furniture aroun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Playhouse (film)
''The Playhouse'' is a 1921 American two-reel silent comic trick 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 hims ... [...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 kit house as a wedding gift. The instructions describe how to construct the house by assembling materials in numbered packing crates. A rejected suitor secretly renumbers packing crates, and the result is a lopsided structure with revolving walls, kitchen fixtures on the exterior, and upper-floor doors that open onto thin air. During a housewarming party on Friday the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Two-reel
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film organizations may use different definitions, however; the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, for example, currently defines a short film as 45 minutes or less in the case of documentaries, and 59 minutes or less in the case of scripted narrative films (it is not made clear whether this includes closing 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 scre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward F
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph M
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "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 , . In Kurdish (''Kurdî''), the name is , Persian, the name is , and in Turkish it is . In Pashto the name is spelled ''Esaf'' (ايسپ) and in Malayalam it is spelled ''Ousep'' (ഔസേപ്പ്). In Tamil, it is spelled as ''Yosepu'' (யோசேப்பு). 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 commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition or light poetry, interspersed with songs and dances. Vaudeville became popular in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s, while changing over time. In some ways analogous to music hall from Victorian Britain, a typical North American vaudeville performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. Types of acts have included popular and classical musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, ventriloquists, strongmen, female and male impersonators, acrobats, clowns, illustrated songs, jugglers, one-act plays or scenes from plays, athletes, lecturing celebrities, minstrels, and films. A vaudeville performer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
