ANNOUNCING: The Seventh Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon!

IT HAS RETURNED!! (In spite of everything, I might add. *wink*) Yes, my friends, at long last this is the official announcement of the 7th Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon!

When: Monday, March 22 and Tuesday, March 23, 2021.

Where: Right here on Silent-ology!

How: To join in, please leave me a comment on this post and let me know which Buster film or Buster-related topic you want to cover! (Or feel free to send me a message). Please help spread the word about the event by adding one of my vintage poster-inspired banners to your blog (aren’t those illustrations fun?). During the blogathon itself, when you publish your post leave me a comment with the post’s link (or again, you can send me a message). Please mention my blog and the name of the event too (such as “This post is part of Seventh Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon hosted by Silent-ology.”) Post whenever you have time during March 22nd and 23rd, no pressure at all! If you post before the 22nd that’s fine too, just give me a head’s up. (Keep in mind Silent-ology will make all the links to the posts “live” only on the blogathon dates, even if you send it way in advance.)

What to write about: Anything and everything related to our talented Buster Keaton’s busy life and career! (Check out his filmography for some ideas.) Articles about his crew and the many wonderful actors who appeared in his films are welcome, too. Don’t be afraid to get creative–in the past people joined in with fan art and even a comic book, so the sky’s the limit! Also: Duplicates are 100% allowed! Everyone has a different perspective, so 2-3 posts on the same film are welcome.

I will be hosting a drawing for all blogathon participants, to be held on March 24th as a “thank you” to everyone who joined in. The prize will be announced closer to the blogathon dates (but you can guess that it’s likely a great Buster book or DVD!).

As always: Make Buster proud! There’s a lot of dubious information out there about his life and career, so let’s try and steer clear of those myths and rumors. Our goal is to make Buster smile, folks. (And I highly recommend checking out the Buster Mythbusting page on the Damfinos’ site!)

For ideas and inspiration, here’s the links to the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Buster Blogathons. Man, we’re creating a virtual Buster library of our very own!

Banners:

The Roster:

Silent-ology | Buster’s childhood summers In Muskegon, Michigan

The Thoughts of One Truly Loved | Free and Easy (1930)

Big V Riot Squad | Buster’s silent short comedies

Cinematica | Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)

RealWeegieMidget Reviews | A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966)

Once Upon A Screen | The High Sign (1919) and The Scarecrow (1920)

Taking Up Room | The General (1927)

Critica Retro | TV episode “The Awakening” (1954)

Whimsically Classic | The General (1927)

Century Film Project | The Goat (1921)

CMBA Blogathon: My Top 5 Classic Comfort Movies!

Since springtime has finally sprung, it’s time for one of the Classic Movie Blog Association‘s famed seasonal blogathons! (I’m a member, dontcha know.) This time, the theme is “Classics for Comfort,” wherein bloggers are sharing their top 5 lists of classic movies that are guaranteed mood-lifters.

For me, it’s really hard to pick just 5 movies. There’s lots of classics I can watch over and over, like Sunset Boulevard or All About Eve. But are those really comfort movies? Not quite. No, these have to be the kind of movies you like to relax to after a long, exhausting day, films you know will always perk up your mood. And thus I present my top 5 list (by the way, my perpetual Favorite Movie Ever is Singin’ in the Rain, but that always gets its own pedestal, so I’ll keep it there this time):

5. Monkey Business (1931)

Any Marx Brothers film will do when I’m feeling down, but Monkey Business is a go-to favorite. Some of the best comedies are beautfully simple, and there are times when my heart desires nothing more complicated than letting these four brothers loose to wreak havoc. In this case, on a ship. And classic sequences like the passport scene are darn cathartic (let’s just say I’ve worked in the customer service industry).

4. Why Change Your Wife? (1920)

What better goofy escapism can there be than Cecil B. DeMille’s delightfully over-the-top society comedies? Starring Gloria Swanson (as many of his society pictures were), this is a “husband vs. wife” sort of tale with the usual misunderstandings. The husband wishes his frumpy wife would nag him less and be more of a “sweetheart” again, while the wife is scandalized by his suggestion that she wear something hot. The costumes, especially the elaborate women’s lingerie and a certain men’s bathing suit (or whatever that is), are gloriously of their time. In fact, that men’s bathing suit…ensemble…cape thingie is a mood lifter all by itself. (Oh, Theodore Kosloff.)

3. Sons of the Desert (1933)

Virtually anything the boys appeared in is a comfort film, but if I had to pick one of their features? Sons of the Desert never fails to crack me up.  Not only is the premise of Stan and Ollie sneaking away from their wives to attend a riotous convention funny, but I love studying how these characters interact. Particularly the early scene where Ollie’s battleax wife yells at him in front of Stan. Stan feels awkward, but not too awkward—clearly this isn’t the first fight he’s witnessed between the two! Just brilliant comedy all around.

2. The Freshman (1925)

Picking just one Harold Lloyd film for this kind of post is darn difficult, because his entire career can be filed under “comfort movies.” Just the image of his glasses probably brought comfort to a lot of people back in the day. But my decision is usually The Freshman, one of those wonderful underdog tales Lloyd excelled at. How could you not laugh at that scene with the kitten? Or feel warm fuzzies when Speedy and Peggy laugh delightedly after their first kiss? Or feel a jot of happy energy when Speedy, bearing the brunt of tackle training, picks himself up and enthusiastically keeps going? Or…

1. Sherlock Jr. (1924)

The moment you say “Pick a comfort movie” to me, I’m going to say “But how am I supposed to pick just one Buster film?!” But after much thought and many complicated math equations on huge chalk boards, I’ve finally come up with a result: Sherlock Jr., a 45 minute masterpiece of clever hilarity. The gags of some of silent comedy’s very best, and Buster shows a perceptiveness about the nature of film and its impact on viewers that is simply ahead of its time.

If I was going making a bigger list and throw in some classic shorts, I’d add the Comique series, Keystone shorts like The Knockout (1914), Mabel’s Trysting Place (1914) or Fatty’s Plucky Pup, Harry Langdon’s Saturday Afternoon (1925), and at least one Charley Bowers short–probably Egged On (1926). As far as more recent comfort films, they would be: Hook (a fave since I was a kid), The Devil Wears Prada (I never get tired of this chick flick), Marie Antoinette (2006) (the costumes! The settings! The history! So gorgeous and fascinating!), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (I seriously think it’s one of the best films of the 21st century).

Care to share your own list of comfort movies? Please do! The more suggestions there are, the more comfort we’ll have to go around.

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A Very Hearty THANK YOU To All!

The Sixth Annual Busterthon is a wrap, my friends! I want to extend a big, sincere, and elegantly Art Deco-themed:

As you can see, Buster can’t quite keep a smile off his face.

Reviewing 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 veritable masterpieces, but the talkies he was starred in? Let’s just say that opinions vary.

Hmmm.

But while Buster’s MGM talkies are widely analyzed, his 1930s comedy shorts get less attention. Or, more likely, they’re written off as merely “inferior” to his solo work and that’s about it. While I can’t really disagree, I do think there’s some gems among the Educationals. And you really can’t put a price on getting several extra hours’ worth of Keaton performances–and in sound!

The Sixth Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon

UPDATE: Just put up a couple more posts, check them out! Apparently WordPress likes to add some comments to the spam folder for no discernible reason. 😉 Since there might be another late post or two still trickling in, I’m going to give everyone a little extra time and hold the drawing for the gift certificate tomorrow (the 12th) instead of today. Many thanks, everybody!

Aaaaand we’re back! Welcome, my friends, to:

I feel like the past year really flew by, didn’t it? And now our ‘thon is on year 6–I can hardly believe it, folks! A hearty “Welcome Back” to all my regular readers who’ll be checking out the blogathon this weekend, and a big “Welcome!” to all new readers! Every year many talented bloggers take part in this big Buster Keaton celebration, and it’s always exciting to see what fun, informative, and even heartfelt posts are in store.

This year is extra special since our blogathon is proudly being sponsored by the famed International Buster Keaton Society, which has worked for over 25 years to preserve Buster’s films and share his extraordinary work with new generations of fans. I’ve enjoyed their annual convention and have also written for the Keaton Chronicle, so I can say from personal experience that you couldn’t ask for a lovelier group of Buster superfans. I’ll go ahead and plug the fact that you, too, can become a Damfino–memberships are inexpensive, and you’ll be playing a small role in keeping Buster’s legacy thriving!

Bloggers: Please send me the link to your post whenever it’s ready today or tomorrow (and thanks to those of you who sent me a link early!). I’ll be updating periodically throughout the blogathon. Don’t forget that I’ll be holding a drawing for the participants, too! The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to the Damfinos’ online Buster store. The drawing will be held on Thursday, March 12th–I’ll be in touch with the winner!

Readers: Drop by often today and tomorrow to see the latest posts–and don’t forget that we bloggers love comments!

And if you’re curious, here are the links to the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Annual Buster Blogathons–a veritable library of all things Buster!

Alright, get cozy on your couch and let’s start reading!!

The Roster:

Silent-ology | Reviewing all of Buster’s 1930s Educational shorts

MovieMovieBlogBlogII | The General

Cameras Against Humanity | Keaton and the Kuleshov Effect

Big V Riot Squad | The Saphead

MovieRob | The Stolen Jools

and The Navigator

Thoughts of One Truly Loved | The Navigator

Groovy Like a Silent Movie | Essay on Buster’s fandom

Ben Model’s Blog | “Buster Keaton Inspires Don Lockwood” essay

and “Undercranking Study: Buster Keaton Trails a Suspect” essay

Taking Up Room | In the Good Old Summertime

Wonderful World of Cinema | Day Dreams

Movie Crash Course | The General

The Everyday Cinephile | The Cameraman

Century Film Project | Convict 13

Way Too Damn Lazy To Write a Blog | Speak Easily 

Critica Retro | Sherlock Jr

Talk About Cinema | The Railrodder and Buster Keaton Rides Again

Silver17 Productions | Fan trailer for The Cook

Kino Joan | Sherlock Jr

 

UPDATE: The Sixth Buster Blogathon Is Coming Up Soon!

In just seven days, it’ll be time for…

Yes, our “yearly Bustering” (as one fellow blogger put it) is nearly upon us! I’m looking forward to reading all your fine entries, and offer a pre-thank you to all the bloggers who are joining in. I know there’s a lot (a lot) of competing blogathons nowadays, so it’s always nice to see you guys set aside a little time to honor our favorite porkpie-hatted comedian!

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Sixth Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon!

Cue the trumpets, my friends–for our annual celebration of all things Buster Keaton is coming back for a sixth year in a row!

(Yes, I’m having it in March this time–all the February dates were already gobbled up by other blogathons. Man, my fellow bloggers are fast. Next time I’ll have to announce it in July! 😉 )

Obscure Films: “A Bear Affair” (1915)

Picture a fast-paced silent film scene where one character chases another with a gun blazing. Bullets fly, characters panic, and the editing is fast and furious Picturing something from a Western? Maybe even a Roaring Twenties gangster shootout?

Nope, just a typical scene from a 1910s Keystone comedy, where people fire guns like Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots and bullets do less damage than gnat bites. This particular scene’s from a short known only by the most hardcore silent comedy aficionados, A Bear Affair (1915). Oh, and the actor brandishing the gun? That would be the actress Louise Fazenda, one of the toughest and most good-natured slapstick comediennes of the silent era.

A Big THANK YOU From Me And Buster!

Yet another wonderful Buster Keaton Blogathon has come to a close. After reading and enjoying all your thoughtful articles and essays,  I want to offer a warm:

Not only is this annual event an excellent way to celebrate Buster’s work, but it’s also doing a service to his legacy. Every Buster-themed post in every participating blog introduces his work to readers around the world. Since not everyone is familiar with silent comedy nowadays, events like this are one small way of contributing to a worthy cause–spreading the joy of Joseph Frank “Buster” Keaton’s masterful films.

Buster’s Wife’s Relations: Getting To Know The Talmadge Family

This is my own post for the Fifth Annual Busterthon–I hope you enjoy!

Let us consider Norma and Constance Talmadge. They were two of the brightest stars of the silent era, the role models of countless gals and the crushes of countless young men. And today, they are–you’ve guessed it–practically forgotten. While they’re starting to be recognized as important figures in cinema history, their films are rarely screened and seldom discussed. But there’s one big reason they’re still remembered: their connection to a certain beloved comedian–Buster Keaton.