DVD Review: “Found At ‘Mostly Lost'”

Clear a little space on your movie shelf, silent comedy fans! Undercrank Productions‘s latest offering, Found At Mostly Lost, is something unique even in the rarified world of silent film DVD sets. 

Rare Sybil Seely Portrait Found!

Tom Thacker, a collector and researcher specializing in photos by the silent era photographer Nelson Evans, just turned up a marvelous portrait of Sybil Seely (often considered by Buster Keaton fans to be his finest leading lady)! How fantastic is that?!

“Splashes of Fun and Beauty”–Sennett’s Famous Bathing Beauties

If you’re ever having an earnest discussion about silent comedy (and who wouldn’t), there are a few topics that will often bring out a smile: fake mustaches, cream pies, satirical twirling of said fake mustaches, the Ton of Fun. And there’s one topic that always seems to make people smile: Mack Sennett’s Bathing Beauties.

Once considered mildly risqué, but now considered surprisingly innocent, the playful, perky, mischievous girls popped up in Sennett’s comedies time and time again. Admittedly the plots would sometimes screech to a halt just for them, but at least half of the theater audiences were too appreciative to mind.

Sybil Seely, Buster’s Most Charming Leading Lady

This article originally appeared in the spring 2015 issue of The Keaton Chronicle, a quarterly publication of the International Buster Keaton Society. I am beyond pleased to be presenting it here on Silent-ology, with a couple bonus photos and clippings too!

If you ask Buster Keaton fans to name their favorite leading lady, chances are they’ll respond right away with “Sybil Seely.” Charming, natural and gracefully spirited, the brunette ingénue appeared in only five shorts with Buster but has been leaving a fresh impression on viewers ever since.

Even with all the praise, little has been known about Sybil. Who was this young woman who just happened to enhance some of the greatest short comedies of all time?