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Slapstick Film
Slapstick films are comedy films using slapstick humor, a physical comedy that includes pratfalls, tripping, falling, practical jokes, and mistakes are highlighted over dialogue, plot and character development. The physical comedy in these films contains a cartoonish style of violence that is predominantly harmless and goofy in tone. Silent film had slapstick comedies that included the films starring Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, the Keystone Cops and Harold Lloyd. These comedians often laced their slapstick with social commentary while comedians such as Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy and The Three Stooges did not. Slapstick is about uninhibited action and timing, which may include being made to look foolish or to act with tomfoolery. There were fewer slapstick comedies produced at the advent of sound film. After World War II, the genre resurfaced in France with films by Jacques Tati and in the United States with films ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' and ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the oldest genres in film, and it is derived from classical comedy in theatre. Some of the earliest silent films were slapstick comedies, which often relied on visual depictions, such as sight gags and pratfalls, so they could be enjoyed without requiring sound. To provide drama and excitement to silent movies, live music was played in sync with the action on the screen, on pianos, organs, and other instruments. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1920s, comedy films grew in popularity, as laughter could result from both burlesque situations but also from humorous dialogue. Comedy, compared with other film genres, places more focus on individual star actors, with many former stand-up comics transitioning to the film industry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacques Tati
Jacques Tati (; born Jacques Tatischeff, ; 9 October 1907 – 5 November 1982) was a French mime, filmmaker, actor and screenwriter. In an ''Entertainment Weekly'' poll of the Greatest Movie Directors, he was voted 46th (a list of the top 50 was published), though he had directed only six feature-length films. Tati is perhaps best known for his character Monsieur Hulot, featured in ''Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot'' (1953), ''Mon Oncle'' (1958), ''Playtime'' (1967) and ''Trafic'' (1971). ''Playtime'' ranked 23rd in the 2022 ''Sight and Sound'' critics' poll of the greatest films ever made. As David Bellos puts it, "Tati, from ''l'École des facteurs'' to ''Playtime'', is the epitome of what an ''auteur'' is (in film theory) supposed to be: the controlling mind behind a vision of the world on film." Family origins Tati was of Russian, Dutch, and Italian ancestry. His father, Georges-Emmanuel Tatischeff (1875-1957), was born in Paris, the son of Dmitry Tatischeff (Дмитрий ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lightning Strikes Twice (1934 Film)
''Lightning Strikes Twice'' is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Ben Holmes from a screenplay by Joseph A. Fields and John Grey. It stars Ben Lyon, Thelma Todd, and Pert Kelton Pert L. Kelton (October 14, 1907 – October 30, 1968) was an American stage, movie, radio, and television actress. She was the original The Honeymooners#Alice Kramden, Alice Kramden in ''The Honeymooners'' with Jackie Gleason. During the .... A print is held by the Library of Congress.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', (<-book title) p.103 c.1978 by The American Film Institute Plot Cast References External links * * * 1934 films 1934 comedy films ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merrie Melodies
''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to September 20, 1969 (during the golden age of American animation), it was revived in 1979 with new shorts being sporadically released until June 13, 1997. ''Merrie Melodies'' originally placed emphasis on one-shot color films in comparison to the black-and-white ''Looney Tunes'' films. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout character of ''Merrie Melodies'' and ''Looney Tunes'' transitioned to color production in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series randomly. ''Merrie Melodies'' was originally produced by Harman–Ising Pictures from 1931 to 1933 and Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944, and the newly renamed Warner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.Looney Tunes . ''www.bcdb.com'', April 12, 2012 Following a revival in the late 1970s, new shorts were released as recently as 2014. The two series introduced a large List of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, cast of characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird and Elmer Fudd. The term ''Looney Tunes'' has since been expanded to also refer to the characters themselves. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' were initially produced by Leon Schlesinger and animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising from 1930 to 1933. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mickey Mouse (film Series)
''Mickey Mouse'' (originally known as ''Mickey Mouse Sound Cartoons'') is a series of American animated comedy short films produced by Walt Disney Productions. The series started in 1928 with ''Steamboat Willie'' and ended with 2013’s '' Get a Horse!'' being the last in the series to date, otherwise taking a hiatus from 1953 to 1983. The series is notable for its innovation with sound synchronization and character animation, and also introduced well-known characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Pluto and Goofy. The name "Mickey Mouse" was first used in the films' title sequences to refer specifically to the character, but was used from 1935 to 1953 to refer to the series itself, as in "Walt Disney presents a Mickey Mouse". In this sense "a Mickey Mouse" was a shortened form of "a Mickey Mouse sound cartoon" which was used in the earliest films. Films from 1929 to 1935 which were re-released during this time also used this naming convention, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Business (1929 Film)
''Big Business'' is a 1929 silent Laurel and Hardy comedy short subject directed by James W. Horne and supervised by Leo McCarey from a McCarey (uncredited) and H. M. Walker script. The film, largely about tit-for-tat vandalism between Laurel and Hardy as Christmas tree salesmen and the man who rejects them, was deemed culturally significant and entered into the National Film Registry in 1992. Plot Laurel and Hardy play door-to-door Christmas tree salesmen in California. They end up getting into an escalating feud with a grumpy would-be customer. Goaded by their repeated attempts to sell him a Christmas tree, he destroys it with hedge-clippers. Laurel and Hardy retaliate by damaging the man's doorframe with a knife. Finlayson then goes to work on their clothes, and this escalates, with his home and their car being destroyed in the melee (after Finlayson has run out of Christmas trees to mangle). A police officer steps in to stop the fight (after vases are thrown out and sm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The General (1926 Film)
''The General'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film released by United Artists. It was inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, a true story of an event that occurred during the American Civil War. The story was adapted from the 1889 memoir ''The Great Locomotive Chase'' by William Pittenger. The film stars Buster Keaton, who also co-directed it along with Clyde Bruckman. At the time of its initial release, ''The General,'' an action comedy film made toward the end of the silent era, was not well received by critics and audiences, resulting in mediocre box office returns (about half a million dollars domestically, and approximately one million worldwide). Because of its huge budget ($750,000 supplied by Metro chief Joseph Schenck) and failure to turn a significant profit, Keaton lost his independence as a film maker and was forced into a restrictive deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1954, the film entered the public domain in the United States because its claimant did not re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sherlock Jr
''Sherlock Jr.'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film starring and directed by Buster Keaton and written by Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, and Joseph A. Mitchell. It features Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, and Ward Crane. In 1991, ''Sherlock Jr.'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2000, the American Film Institute, as part of its AFI 100 Years... series, ranked the film #62 in its AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs. David Thomson calls it "a breakthrough. It is as if a filmmaker had at last learned the point of the whole thing." The title references the fictional Sherlock Holmes. Plot Buster Keaton stars as Projectionist, who moonlights as an amateur detective. When the cinema is empty, he reads the book ''How to be a Detective.'' He is in love with The Girl ( Kathryn McGuire) but has a rival, "The Local Sheik" (Ward Crane). Neither has much ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Safety Last!
''Safety Last!'' is a 1923 American silent romantic-comedy film starring Harold Lloyd. It includes one of the most famous images from the silent-film era: Lloyd clutching the hands of a large clock as he dangles from the outside of a skyscraper above moving traffic. The film was highly successful and critically hailed, and it cemented Lloyd's status as a major figure in early motion pictures. It is still popular at revivals, and it is viewed today as one of the great film comedies. The film's title is a play on the common expression "safety first", which describes the adoption of safety measures as a means to avoid accidents, especially in workplaces. Lloyd performed some of the climbing stunts himself, despite having lost a thumb and forefinger four years earlier in a film accident. In 1994, ''Safety Last!'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Scarecrow (1920 Film)
''The Scarecrow'' is a 1920 American Short film, two-reel Silent film, silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton, and written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. Plot Buster plays a farmhand who competes with his housemate (Roberts) to win the love of the farmer's daughter (Sybil Seely). Running from a dog that he believes is Rabies, rabid, he races around brick walls, jumps through windows, and falls into a hay threshing machine, thresher that rips off most of his clothes. After Sybil’s father sees him in this compromising position, he is forced to flee and borrow a scarecrow's clothes in a nearby field as a disguise. After he escapes, he runs into Sybil and trips into a kneeling position while tying his shoes which Sybil interprets as a proposal. They speed off on a motorcycle, with Joe and the farmer (played by Buster's father, Joe) in hot pursuit. Scooping up a minister during the chase, they are married on the speeding motorcycle and splash into a stream, where th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rink (film)
''The Rink'', a silent film from 1916 in film, 1916, was Charlie Chaplin's eighth film for Mutual Film Corporation, Mutual Films. The film co-starred Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell (actor), Eric Campbell, Henry Bergman, and Albert Austin, and is best known for showcasing Chaplin's roller skating skills. Chaplin's obvious skill on roller skates surprised many of his fans, but Charlie was an experienced performer. As a touring vaudevillian with Fred Karno's pantomime troupe, Chaplin appeared in a roller-skating skit in which he displayed a talent for comedic falls—and the ability to cause other skaters to topple. Plot Charlie is an inept and sometimes clumsy waiter at a restaurant. He is serving one of his customers, the hot-tempered Mr. Stout. Charlie determines his bill by examining what he has spilled on his suit. While he is not a great server, Charlie is an excellent skater at the nearby roller rink. He meets a girl there and saves her from the unwanted attentions of the sam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
