Louise Fazenda, Comic Venus
I am pleased to present this (relatively brief!) look at the life and career of the underappreciated Louise Fazenda, one of our earliest and most popular female clowns. I am currently researching...
View ArticleObscure Films: “Hearts and Flowers” (1919)
This is the final post for Forgotten Comedians Month. This past August was successful indeed–the heartiest of thanks to everyone who’s been following along these last few weeks! I’m sure Charlie...
View ArticleHappy 121st Birthday, Louise!
I wanted to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Louise Fazenda, one of our great unsung comediennes! And it wouldn’t be a birthday without a fabulous Art Deco cake: A veteran of Joker comedies who achieved...
View ArticleReviewing ALL Of Buster’s 1930s Educational Shorts! (Yes, Talkies)
This is my own entry for the Sixth Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon. Hope you enjoy! Ah, Buster’s talkies–few topics cause greater discussion among Keaton fans. We all agree that his own silent films are...
View ArticleSilent-ology Recommends: “CHASE! A Tribute To The Keystone Cops”
Hold the candlestick phone! Another new book on silent comedy is available to brighten our bookshelves? And it’s the first-ever book on the Keystone Cops?! Why yes indeed! I’m happy to help spread the...
View Article(Supposedly) Lost Films: “In The Clutches Of A Gang” (1914)
It’s one of the most famous photos from silent comedy. Or from the silent era itself. Or, heck, from cinema itself. It’s the image that probably leaps to mind when you say “Keystone Kops.” It’s also...
View ArticleObscure Films: “The Village Chestnut” (1918) And A Watch Party Recommendation!
Sometime ago, I saw this still on the National Film Preservation Foundation’s site (a site I have lauded in the past) for a film that was being restored: A Sennett short–from the late 1910s, probably...
View ArticleWas Gloria Swanson Really A Sennett Bathing Beauty?
Hollywood legend Gloria Swanson–whose name is basically synonymous with “glamour”–had an endearingly humble start in the 1910s as a star in Mack Sennett shorts. The petite actress was paired with the...
View ArticleHow To Tell If Your Relative Was REALLY A Keystone Kop
One of the most common questions I get through my blog is this: “My great uncle/grandfather/great grandfather was an original Keystone Kop, his name was John Doe, how can I find out more about him?”...
View ArticleThoughts On: “Fatty And Mabel’s Simple Life” (1915)
One of the most charming “Fatty and Mabel” comedies, Fatty and Mabel’s Simple Life (1915) manages to hit a number of birds with one stone: it’s rural-themed, it riffs on the popular “evil mortgage...
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