Download or read book Ford Sterling written by Wendy Warwick White and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2010-06-28 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vaudeville, burlesque, Shakespeare, baseball--in the course of his career, Ford Sterling performed them all. The well-educated son of a middle-class Chicago family, Sterling succumbed to the acting bug and left school at the age of 18. After trying a variety of performing activities--including working as an aerobatic circus clown--Sterling found his true niche in comedy. Best known for his role as the Keystone Kops villain, Sterling was a comedy legend as great as Charlie Chaplin in the opening decades of the twentieth century. He left his mark on silent film and effortlessly made the transition to sound, becoming one of the most sought-after character actors of the 1920s. From A Dutch Gold Mine to Many Unhappy Returns, this biography chronicles the life and times of George Ford Stich, Jr. (aka Ford Sterling). It follows Sterling from his childhood to his college days at Notre Dame, where he got his first taste of acting. The main focus of the work is Sterling's career, from 1911 to 1937, which is unfortunately largely forgotten today. With an emphasis on correcting inaccuracies and restoring Sterling's legacy, this volume examines his on-screen work, his production ventures, his reputation as a world renowned photographer and his final debilitating illness. A detailed filmography provides all known production, cast and crew information as well as a synopsis for each film when available. The work is also indexed.

Download or read book The Fun Factory written by Rob King and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2008-12-10 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From its founding in 1912, the short-lived Keystone Film Company—home of the frantic, bumbling Kops and Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties—made an indelible mark on American popular culture with its high-energy comic shorts. Even as Keystone brought "lowbrow" comic traditions to the screen, the studio played a key role in reformulating those traditions for a new, cross-class audience. In The Fun Factory, Rob King explores the dimensions of that process, arguing for a new understanding of working-class cultural practices within early cinematic mass culture. He shows how Keystone fashioned a style of film comedy from the roughhouse humor of cheap theater, pioneering modes of representation that satirized film industry attempts at uplift. Interdisciplinary in its approach, The Fun Factory offers a unique studio history that views the changing politics of early film culture through the sociology of laughter.

Download or read book Ford Sterling 119 Success Facts Everything You Need to Know about Ford Sterling written by George Gordon and published by Emerge Publishing Group Llc. This book was released on 2014-07-07 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experience Ford Sterling in a whole new way. This book is your ultimate resource for Ford Sterling. Here you will find the most up-to-date 119 Success Facts, Information, and much more. In easy to read chapters, with extensive references and links to get you to know all there is to know about Ford Sterling's Early life, Career and Personal life right away. A quick look inside: The Keystone Kops, Alice in Wonderland (1933 film) - Cast, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953 film), Mantrap (1926 film) - Cast, Fatty and the Broadway Stars - Cast, The Foreman of the Jury - Cast, Murphy's I.O.U. - Cast, Hollywood Forever Cemetery - S, The Waiters' Picnic - Cast, Wine (1913 film) - Cast, Between Showers, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, The Sea Nymphs (film) - Cast, He Who Gets Slapped - Cast, In the Clutches of the Gang - Cast, Marvel Rea, Cohen Saves the Flag - Plot, Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life - Plot, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid - Casting, Mabel's Dramatic Career - Cast, Sennett Bathing Beauties - Keystone Studios, Oh, kay! (film) - Cast, Court House Crooks - Cast, Stage Struck (1925 film), For the Love of Mike - Cast, When Dreams Come True - Cast, Eugene Pallette - Selected filmography, Keystone Cop, The Brass Bottle (1923 film) - Cast, Mabel's Awful Mistakes, Safe in Jail - Cast, The Headline Woman - Cast, Mickey's Gala Premier - Synopsis, Sally (1929 film) - Plot, Casey at the Bat - Film, Marvel Rea - Film comedian, Keystone Cops, The Show-Off, The Bangville Police, A Film Johnnie - Cast, The Show Off, That Little Band of Gold - Cast, Professor Bean's Removal - Cast, Miss Brewster's Million - Cast, A Robust Romeo - Cast, Casey at the Bat (1927 film) - Cast, Stage Struck (1925 film) - Cast, and much more...

Download or read book Ford Sterling written by and published by . This book was released on 19?? with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Motor written by and published by . This book was released on 1913 with total page 856 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book King of Comedy written by Mack Sennett and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2000-04-11 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of Mack Sennett, one the world’s most influential entertainers. Based on interviews with Mr. Sennett and persons associated with the master comedian, King of Comedy begins with Sennett’s birth on January 17, 1880 in a province of Quebec. The story invites the reader to follow Sennett through his childhood, his many entertainment experiences, his personal life highlighted by his relationship with Mabel Normand, his creation of masterpieces such as Keystone Cops and his discoveries of unforgettable entertainers such as Charlie Chaplin. As he states in his final chapter, Mack Sennett strives to, “…tell about the comedies and how we made them, and about the funny fellows and the pretty girls who acted in them. They are a lost breed. Their like may never, walk, tumble, or pratt-fall again.” And the same holds true for the likes of a man such as Mack Sennett.

Download or read book Spinoff written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Early Charlie Chaplin written by James L. Neibaur and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before making a name for himself as an undisputed master of cinema, Charlie Chaplin first developed his acting, writing, and directing skills at Keystone Studios. This book examines each of these films, assessing the important early work of a comedian who became a timeless icon.

Download or read book Silent Films 1877 1996 written by Robert K. Klepper and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-09-16 with total page 597 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This film reference covers 646 silent motion pictures, starting with Eadweard Muybridge's initial motion photography experiments in 1877 and even including The Taxi Dancer (1996). Among the genres included are classics, dramas, Westerns, light comedies, documentaries and even poorly produced early pornography. Masterpieces such as Joan the Woman (1916), Intolerance (1916) and Faust (1926) can be found, as well as rare titles that have not received critical attention since their original releases. Each entry provides the most complete credits possible, a full description, critical commentary, and an evaluation of the film's unique place in motion picture history. Birth dates, death dates, and other facts are provided for the directors and players where available, with a selection of photographs of those individuals. The work is thoroughly indexed.

Download or read book Charlie Chaplin at Keystone and Essanay written by Ted Okuda and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2005-08 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charlie Chaplin is universally hailed as the greatest comedic talent in the history of motion pictures. And yet Chaplin's early efforts-which account for more than half of his total output-are often overlooked in favor of his later films. In 1914 Chaplin appeared in a total of 35 films for the Keystone Film Company; the following year he signed with the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, where he wrote, directed and starred in more than a dozen short comedies. Though the resulting pictures were frequently crude and erratic, they reveal the emergence of a formidable comic genius. Charlie Chaplin at Keystone and Essanay: Dawn of the Tramp is a film-by-film examination of this period in Chaplin's career, tracing the birth of his beloved 'Tramp" character and his evolution as an actor and filmmaker. Also discussed are how these movies have been re-edited, recopied, reissued and retitled over the years, with a special section that matches pseudonym titles to their original source film. Charlie Chaplin at Keystone and Essanay: Dawn of the Tramp is a fascinating look at the first celluloid steps taken by this legendary laughmaker, and is a must for all Chaplin fans, old and new.

Download or read book Mack Sennett s Fun Factory written by Brent E. Walker and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2010-01-13 with total page 671 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a comprehensive career study and filmography of Mack Sennett, cofounder of Keystone Studios, home of the Keystone Kops and other vehicles that showcased his innovative slapstick comedy. The filmography covers the more than 1,000 films Sennett produced, directed, wrote or appeared in between 1908 and 1955, including casts, credits, synopses, production and release dates, locations, cross-references of remade stories and gags, footage excerpted in compilations, identification of prints existing in archives, and other information. The book, featuring 280 photographs, also contains biographies of several hundred performers and technical personnel connected with Sennett.

Download or read book The Charley Chase Talkies written by James L. Neibaur and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2013-09-05 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charley Chase began his film career in early 1913 working as a comedian, writer, and director at the Al Christie studios under his real name, Charles Parrott. Chase then joined Mack Sennett's Keystone studio in 1914, costarring in early films of Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, as well as directing the frenetic Keystone Cops. By 1924 he was starring in a series of one-reel comedies at Hal Roach studios, graduating to two-reel films the following year. In 1929, he made the transition to sound films. Along with the continuing popularity of his own short comedies, Chase often directed the films of others, including several popular Three Stooges efforts. In The Charley Chase Talkies: 1929-1940, James L. Neibaur examines, film-by-film, the comedian's seventy-nine short subjects at Roach and Columbia studios. The first book to examine any portion of Chase’s filmography, this volume discusses the various methods Chase employed in his earliest sound films, his variations on common themes, his use of music, and the modification of his character as he reached the age of forty. Neibaur also acknowledges the handful of feature film appearances Chase made during this period. A filmmaker whom Time magazine once declared was receiving the most fan mail of any comedian in movies, Charley Chase remains quite popular among classic film buffs, as well as historians and scholars. A detailed look into the work of an artist whose career straddled the silent and sound eras, The Charley Chase Talkies will be appreciated by those interested in film comedy of the 1920s and 30s.

Download or read book Motion Picture Herald written by and published by . This book was released on 1927 with total page 796 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Day the Laughter Stopped written by David Yallop and published by Constable. This book was released on 2014-10-23 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story behind the 'Fatty Arbuckle' Scandal David Yallop is no stranger to controversy. The impact of his investigations in such bestsellers as In God's Name, Beyond Reasonable Doubt and To Encourage the Others has reverberated around the world. In The Day the Laughter Stopped, he uncovers the incredible true story behind the Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle scandal of 1921, when the fat film comedian stood accused of the rape and murder of a pretty screen actress. Arbuckle's is the story of a man born in extreme poverty who was destined to rise to the heights of a multi-million dollar career, only to have it snatched from him by a wave of hysteria and bigotry that swept the globe. It is the story of Hollywood and what really happened in the corridors of power; the political corruption of San Francisco; the immorality of a president. How Charlie Chaplin's career was saved. How Buster Keaton's was begun. Both by Arbuckle. It is a life story that ranges from comic heights to tragic depths. The Day the Laughter Stopped confirms David Yallop's reputation as the world's greatest investigative author, combining exhaustive research with compulsive narrative.

Download or read book Comic Venus written by Kristen Anderson Wagner and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-05 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the social and historical significance of women’s contributions to American silent film comedy. For many people the term "silent comedy" conjures up images of Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp, Buster Keaton's Stoneface, or Harold Lloyd hanging precariously from the side of a skyscraper. Even people who have never seen a silent film can recognize these comedians at a glance. But what about the female comedians? Gale Henry, Louise Fazenda, Colleen Moore, Constance Talmadge—these and numerous others were wildly popular during the silent film era, appearing in countless motion pictures and earning top salaries, and yet their names have been almost entirely forgotten. As a consequence, recovering their history is all the more compelling given that they laid the foundation for generations of funny women, from Lucille Ball to Carol Burnett to Tina Fey. These women constitute an essential and neglected sector of film history, reflecting a turning point in women's social and political history. Their talent and brave spirit continues to be felt today, and Comic Venus: Women and Comedy in American Silent Film seeks to provide a better understanding of women's experiences in the early twentieth century and to better understand and appreciate the unruly and boundary-breaking women who have followed. The diversity and breadth of archival materials explored in Comic Venus illuminate the social and historical period of comediennes and silent film. In four sections, Kristen Anderson Wagner enumerates the relationship between women and comedy, beginning with the question of why historically women weren't seen as funny or couldn't possibly be funny in the public and male eye, a question that persists even today. Wagner delves into the idea of women's "delicate sensibilities," which presumably prevented them from being funny, and in chapter two traces ideas about feminine beauty and what a woman should express versus what these comedic women did express, as Wagner notes, "comediennes challenged the assumption that beauty was a fundamental component of ideal femininity." In chapter three, Wagner discusses how comediennes such as Clara Bow, Marie Dressler, and Colleen Moore used humor to gain recognition and power through performances of sexuality and desire. Women comedians presented "sexuality as fun and playful, suggesting that personal relationships could be fluid rather than stable." Chapter four examines silent comediennes' relationships to the modern world and argues that these women exemplified modernity and new womanhood. The final chapter of Comic Venus brings readers to understand comediennes and their impact on silent-era cinema, as well as their lasting influence on later generations of funny women. Comic Venus is the first book to explore the overlooked contributions made by comediennes in American silent film. Those with an interest in film and representations of femininity in comedy will be fascinated by the analytical connections and thoroughly researched histories of these women and their groundbreaking movements in comedy and stage.

Download or read book Motion Picture Series and Sequels written by Bernard A. Drew and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-04 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1989 alone, for example, there were some forty-five major motion pictures which were sequels or part of a series. The film series phenomenon crosses all genres and has been around since the silent film era. This reference guide, in alphabetical order, lists some 906 English Language motion pictures, from 1899 to 1990, when the book was initially published. A brief plot description is given for each series entry, followed by the individual film titles with corresponding years, directors and performers. Animated pictures, documentaries and concert films are not included but movies released direct to video are.

Download or read book Classical Hollywood Comedy written by Kristine Brunovska Karnick and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Applies the recent `return to history' in film studies to the genre of classical Hollywood comedy as well as broadening the definition of those works considered central in this field.