Author: Leonard Maltin
Publisher: Random House Value Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Author: James Roots
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442236507
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
The silent film era featured some of the most revered names of on-screen comic performance, from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, and Laurel & Hardy. Besides these giants of cinema, however, there are other silent era performers—both leading actors and supporting players—who left an enduring legacy of laughter. In The 100 Greatest Silent Film Comedians, James Roots ranks the greatest performers based on a scorecard that measures each comic’s humor, timelessness, originality, and teamwork. Far more than just a listing, this is an idiosyncratic and entertaining review of the men and women who created the golden age of comedy. As a critic and deaf viewer, Roots brings a truly unique perspective to the evaluation of these performers and their work. He has viewed thousands of silent comedies and offers some assessments that run contrary to the standard list of performers. While many obvious names are placed in the top echelon, the author also champions performers who have been neglected, in part because their work has not been as visible. Each entry includes a filmography a scorecard an evaluation of the artist’s overall work an assessment of representative films DVD availability With the increased availability of films on DVD, as well as Internet access, more and more silent performers are being discovered by film fans. Supplemented by an appendix of comedians who missed the cut, as well as an annotated bibliography, The 100 Greatest Silent Film Comedians will be an invaluable resource to anyone wanting to know more about the brilliant entertainers of the silent era.

Author: Leonard Maltin
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781514324943
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 378

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Book Description
THE GREAT MOVIE COMEDIANS: FROM CHARLIE CHAPLIN TO WOODY ALLEN - Revised Edition by Leonard Maltin Leonard Maltin surveys the 20th century's greatest comedy performers to see what made each one unique. Drawing on his own observations as well as interviews with directors who worked with these stars, he presents entertaining profiles of everyone from Charlie Chaplin, the genius who "did it all" to his modern-day counterpart Woody Allen, whose nebbish persona became as identifiable as Chaplin's Little Tramp. Along the way you'll learn about pioneering comedienne Mabel Normand, sexual provocateur Mae West (who wrote her own saucy material), "iron man" Buster Keaton, the madcap Marx Brothers, the relentlessly rowdy Three Stooges, and many, many more. Maltin has revised his chapters (and filmographies) on Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, and Woody Allen to bring this acclaimed 1978 book up to date. What's more, he's added some rare, new photos to the already-impressive gallery of images. If you love comedy, you'll enjoy this celebratory volume.

Author: Neil Sinyard
Publisher: Smithmark Publishers
ISBN: 9780831714512
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Author: Richard Schickel
Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
The most important criticism of the great comedian's work, including pieces by Andrew Sarris, David Thomson, Gilbert Seldes, Alistair Cooke, Robert E. Sherwood, Stark Young, Edmund Wilson, Stanley Kauffmann, Alexander Woollcott, George Jean Nathan, Max Eastman, Robert Warshow, Water Kerr, and James Agee. Richard Schickel, one of our outstanding film critics, has written a long introduction. Praise for Schickel's Chaplin documentary: An invaluable critic and historian.... Schickel's film...is like a course in cultural history taught by a witty, slightly dyspeptic professor.-A. O. Scott, New York Times

Author: Wes D. Gehring
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786483512
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
As a young boy in the depths of the 1890s depression, Joe E. Brown had a job: making faces at the firemen on passing coal-burning trains so they would throw coal at him. As a child he also worked as a circus acrobat and newsboy. His inventiveness and spunk helped his family get through hard times but also fueled his fascination with entertainment, and he built up a repertoire of rubber-faced expressions and funny antics that would make his stage and screen work memorable. Baseball was a favorite pursuit in his life and thus a recurring theme in his films and skits. In this biography--the first on one of the top film comedians of the 1930s--the reader learns of Joe's challenging childhood and how it prepared him for later screen roles, and how his love of baseball translated into screen successes. His early career in vaudeville is discussed, his work as a Broadway comedian in the Roaring Twenties, his road to movie stardom, and how he parlayed his love of sports into big hits like 1930's Elmer the Great. The year 1935 gets its own chapter; its films are considered the pinnacle of Brown's career, including Alibi Ike, Bright Lights and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The final chapters reveal what happened after he left Warner Bros., including the bittersweet 1940s, when he entertained troops around the globe while mourning a son lost to the war. The book concludes with a comprehensive filmography of his features from 1928 to 1963.

Author: Graham Elwood
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
ISBN: 1614482217
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
"The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies" brings what has been missing from movie discussion for too long: A healthy dose of humor. This is the first time ever two filmmakers who are also comedians give their views on film. It will bring movie discussion to a younger audience in a way they can relate to it without all the stodgy film school discussion. This is a movie book for film and comedy fans, by filmmakers and comedians. In the way that Jon Stewart and Bill Mahr have brought comedy to politics, Chris and Graham will do this for film.

Author: Anthony Balducci
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 078648893X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Classic comedy routines and individual gags have been around for many hundreds of years, probably thousands; the best of these ribticklers make their merry way through theater, circus, film and television. The challenge to comedians has always been to adapt familiar material in a way that emphasizes their personal style and outlook. The many routines and gags cited in this illustrated history are lovingly deconstructed to show how they have been shaped to suit different eras and performers. These tried and true laugh-provokers are indestructible. Through all the remakes, revivals, recycles and revamps, they have survived robustly to the present day. As these timeless comedy gems are traced to their beginnings and followed through the years, readers are taken on a mirthful journey from Keystone to Zombieland.

Author: Saul Austerlitz
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
ISBN: 1569767637
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 529

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Book Description
Charlie Chaplin. Buster Keaton. The Marx Brothers. Billy Wilder. Woody Allen. The Coen brothers. Where would the American film be without them? Yet the cinematic genre these artists represent--comedy--has perennially received short shrift from critics, film buffs, and the Academy Awards. Saul Austerlitz’s Another Fine Mess is an attempt to right that wrong. Running the gamut of film history from City Lights to Knocked Up, Another Fine Mess retells the story of American film from the perspective of its unwanted stepbrother--the comedy. In 30 long chapters and 100 shorter entries, each devoted primarily to a single performer or director, Another Fine Mess retraces the steps of the American comedy film, filling in the gaps and following the connections that link Mae West to Doris Day, or W. C. Fields to Will Ferrell. The first book of its kind in more than a generation, Another Fine Mess is an eye-opening, entertaining, and enlightening tour of the American comedy, encompassing the masterpieces, the box-office smashes, and all the little-known gems in between.

Author: Leonard Maltin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789992144862
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description