Thank You, Fellow Bloggers!

And once again, another successful Buster Keaton Blogathon has come to a close! To everyone who stopped by to read the posts, and especially to my fellow bloggers who took the time and care to contribute:

Some of you have shared with me that you look forward to this celebration of Buster’s work every year. So do I, and I can’t believe it’s been almost a decade! We might look at it as our own small way of helping share Buster’s legacy. You never know how many readers around the world may have been introduced to his work over the years, or inspired to see more.

And now it’s time to pull out my handy cloche-style hat for our annual drawing for blogathon participants! This year I’m giving away a copy of Doughboys (1930), one of Buster’s better MGMs. Drumroll, please…

And the winner is:

Congratulations to Carrie-Anne of Welcome To My Magick Theatre! We’ll be in touch.

Alrighty everyone, thank you again! And I look forward to seeing you next March for the blogathon’s ten-year anniversary–it’s going to be an epic Busterthon ’24!

He’s already studying up for it!

—

Buster And “Big” Joe Roberts, A Lasting Friendship

This is my own post for the Ninth Buster Keaton Blogathon. Please enjoy, and don’t forget to check out all the other wonderful posts, too!

If there was an official “gentle giant” of silent comedy, in my book it would have to be “Big” Joe Roberts, of Buster Keaton film fame. The jowly, 6-foot-3-inches performer played a number of intimidating “heavies”–and at least one bashful farm hand–in nearly twenty of the famed (and more diminutive) comedian’s films.

But Buster and Big Joe weren’t just coworkers but long-time pals, vaudeville veterans who spent their summers in the same quiet neighborhood of Muskegon, Michigan and shared countless memories of lakeside fun and hijinks. In fact, Big Joe’s house was just down the hill from the Keaton family.

The Ninth Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon

*Checks calendar* What, it’s that time of the year already? Why yes! It’s time for:

If you told me back in 2015 that this blogathon would be going strong almost a decade later…well, I would’ve been darn pleased!

I’m excited about the variety of topics our participants chose this year (not that every year isn’t exciting) and I hope you are, too! My fellow bloggers always do a lovely job and I know our readers appreciate it. So let’s get to it!

Bloggers: Please send me the link to your post whenever it’s ready today or tomorrow! I’ll be updating the roster throughout the blogathon. Don’t forget that I’ll be holding a drawing for all participants, the winner receiving a copy of Buster’s talkie Doughboys (1930). The drawing is scheduled for March 15.

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

Wondering what the previous ‘thons were like? Here are the links to the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh aaaaand Eighth Annual Buster Blogathons–okay, I should really start a BK Blogathon Library page at this point!

The Roster:

Silent-ology | “Buster and ‘Big’ Joe Roberts, a Lasting Friendship” essay

Classic Film and TV Corner | Sherlock Jr (1924)

Silver Screenings | One Week (1920)

Cinematica | The Cook (1918)

Nitrateglow | “A Spotlight on Kathryn McGuire” essay

The Thoughts of One Truly Loved | “Inaudible Melodies” tribute video

Welcome to My Magick Theatre | Our Hospitality (1923)

Big V Riot Squad | “Buster Keaton’s Silent Shorts–Reel Two and a Half” essay

Taking Up Room | Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931)

Whimsically Classic | “Buster Keaton’s Influence on Lucille Ball” essay

The Inimitable BK | “Natalie Talmadge: The Early Years” essay

Buster Blogathon 9 Is A Week Away!

Attention all readers! The Ninth Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon is only a week away–man, how time flies. I’m looking forward to another great selection of thoughtful posts, and I’m sure you readers are too!

If you’re a blogger who hasn’t signed up and are interested in joining, jump on in! I’ll even accept new participants during the blogathon itself, because why not. The more the merrier!

Update: As many of you know, every year I hold a little drawing for blogathon participants (using my handy 1920s-style cloche hat) as a thank you. This year I’ve decided to give away a DVD of Doughboys (1930), one of Buster’s early MGM features and his second talkie overall. While many fans aren’t wild about his MGMs, most look kindly upon Doughboys and Buster himself was pleased with it, too. It’s also interesting to see Buster drawing on his real-life experiences in WWI.

So here’s what we have to look forward to next week!

The Roster:

Silent-ology | Big Joe Roberts and his friendship with Buster

Whimsically Classic | Buster’s influence on Lucille Ball

Taking Up Room | Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931)

Nitrateglow | Buster’s leading lady Kathryn McGuire

Welcome to My Magick Theatre | Our Hospitality (1923)

Silver Screenings | One Week (1920)

The Thoughts of One Truly Loved | “Buster Melodies” tribute video

Classic Film and TV Corner | Sherlock Jr (1924)

Cinematica | The Cook (1918)

Inimitable BK | Article on Natalie Talmadge

Big V Riot Squad | “Buster Keaton’s Silent Shorts–Reel Two and a Half” essay

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Ninth Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon!

Were you waiting for it? At last, I’m making the official announcement that our great Busterthon is returning for a ninth–ninth!–time! Almost a decade of our annual Buster celebration, folks. Isn’t that amazing?

10 Great Silent Film Performances That Have Stayed With Me

This is my own post for the Silent Movie Day Blogathon 2022. Hope you enjoy!

I think we can agree that there are too many great silent film performances to count. Just try making a list sometime–from Emil Jannings in The Last Laugh to Lillian Gish in The Wind to Buster Keaton in The General, picking out the cream of the crop is surprisingly difficult. So for this post I decided: why not write about some performances that were particularly moving to me, personally? Performances that really struck a chord? 

So that’s exactly what I decided to do. In no particular order, here are ten wonderful silent era performances that made a deep impression on me. In no particular order, that is, except for the final three.

10. Buster Keaton in The Cameraman (1928)

Yes, I know it was technically an MGM feature (gasp!) but oh what a sweet and very funny comedy The Cameraman is, and how equally sweet and funny Buster is in it. Buster is wonderful in everything, of course, but he’s extra endearing here, even letting himself be surprisingly vulnerable in the seaside scene near the end. I for one certainly think his time at MGM had a honeymoon period.

The Silent Movie Day Blogathon 2022

It’s here!! Welcome, everyone, to the Silent Movie Day Blogathon–back for a second year in the row!

We’ve have another great lineup of posts on a wide variety of silent film subjects–just how I like it! I’ll be adding the new posts periodically throughout the day, so be sure and check back to see what’s new!

Sound good? I agree! Let’s get today’s celebration of non-talkies started.

The Roster

Silent-ology | “10 Great Silent Film Performances That Have Stayed With Me.”

Realweegiemidgetreviews | Sunset Boulevard (1950)

The Thoughts of One Truly Loved | My Best Girl (1927)

Silver Screenings | Mickey (1918)

Nitrateglow | The greatest hit films of 1922

Taking Up Room | White Tiger (1923)

Brooksie at the Movies | “Cherie Rich, Australia’s Only Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty.”

The Everyday Cinephile | “12 Genres, 24 Must-See Silent Movies.”

LaurelandHardyBlog | Liberty (1929)

That William Powell Site | The Great Gatsby (1926)

Critica Retro | The Finances of the Grand Duke (1924)

Silver Screenings | “Why Audiences (Still) Fall in Love With Mabel Normand.”

Whimsically Classic | The Freshman (1925)

L.A. Daily Mirror | “Hollywood Heights: Mabel Normand Studio Leads the Way.”

UPDATE: Less Than A Week Until The Silent Movie Day Blogathon!

It’s coming closer! The Silent Movie Day Blogathon hosted by myself and In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood is a mere six days away!

Silent Movie Day–destined to be one of your favorite holidays, behind Thanksgiving and Christmas–is an official yearly celebration of the silent era. Anyone can participate in any way they choose: by watching silent films, sharing the love of them on social media, hosting a screening, donating to an archive…whatever works for you! We decided to host a silent film blogathon for the second year in a row, and happily quite a few people have signed up. (If you’re interested, there’s still time–no pressure!) We’re almost there, folks!

Hooray!

I did want to add that goodness, I’ve been a bit AWOL this month, haven’t I? Probably the most since Silent-ology started, surprisingly enough. But it’s for a good reason–on top of a couple other non-blog-related writing projects, I’ve been asked to contribute a program essay to one of my favorite film festivals. So happily, my writing time and attention has been well occupied lately! So never fear, Silent-ology is rarely far from my mind, and if I’m ever AWOL it’s probably because it lead me to an exciting opportunity (and I can’t get by without sleep, ha ha).

Also, a reminder: October is coming.

“Excellent.”

Without further ado, a copy of le roster:

“Singin’ In The Rain” And The Silent Era–What It Got Right (And Wrong)

What’s my favorite movie, you ask? Not just my favorite silent movie, but my very favorite movie in the whole wide world? You could ask me that question today or go back in time to when I was 8 years old, and the answer would still be: Singin’ In The Rain! (Since you have a time machine, go ahead and zoom forward a few decades–my answer’s still the same, isn’t it?)

Irresistible!

Of all the classic old movies my family enjoyed while I was growing up (my mom loved them so our home movie library was practically all pre-1960s), we might’ve watched Singin’ In The Rain the most. Its pitch-perfect blend of music, dance, art, humor, vibrant color and sheer unadulterated joy never, ever got old. Film history would be much poorer without it, in my confident opinion.

And speaking of film history, I have a confession to make. It didn’t dawn on me until recently that, hey, Singin’ In The Rain is all about the transition from silents to talkies, and I know quite a bit more about silents than I used to–maybe write a post on my favorite film in the world? Why didn’t I think of that before?! (Okay, I think I know why–this film is just that familiar. It’s like Desi Arnaz’s singing voice. My dad once mentioned to me that he never cared for Desi’s singing, and–having grown up with I Love Lucy episodes too–I realized I literally could not judge Desi’s voice objectively. To this day I have no idea if it’s good or bad, it’s just Desi’s singing voice and that is that. Anyways.) Since this is the 70th anniversary of Singin’ In The Rain and The Classic Movie Muse is a hosting a blogathon in its honor, the time has finally come for Silent-ology analyze what this classic film got right about the silent era and where it was off the mark. A blow-by-blow post would be pretty long, so let’s do some general analysis and then focus on a couple of key scenes. Let’s get to it!

The Eighth Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon

UPDATE: Day 2 of the blogathon has begun! Be sure to check out any new posts, more are trickling in!

And just like that, our annual Busterthon is back–for year eight!!

And I’m proud to say that we have a great turnout this year and a wide range of topics–participants always do an amazing job, and this year’s no exception. So find your coziest chair, make a pot of your favorite tea, and please enjoy!

Bloggers: Please send me the link to your post whenever it’s ready today or tomorrow. (Many thanks if you already have!) I’ll be updating periodically throughout the blogathon. Don’t forget that I’ll be holding a drawing for all participants, the winner receiving a copy of the fabulous new James Curtis biography Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life. The drawing is scheduled for March 16.

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

Wondering what the previous ‘thons were like? Here are the links to the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Annual Buster Blogathons–whew! Just in case you were hoping to find something to read about Buster…!

The Roster:

Silent-ology | Reviewing All of Buster’s MGM Features

Cinematica | The Scarecrow (1920)

University of Iowa Libraries blog | Article on the Marion Meade research paper collection

La Pantalla Enmudecida | “Buster and My Nieces: A Personal Story” essay

Silver Screenings | The Haunted House (1921)

Realweegiemidget Reviews | Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)

dream in dizzy sunlight | Go West (1925)

The Thoughts of One Truly Loved | “How I Fell For Buster Keaton” essay

Taking Up Room | College (1927)

Way Too Damn Lazy to Write a Blog | “Mr. Keaton Goes to the Columbia Shorts Department” article

Big V Riot Squad | “Buster’s Silent Shorts–Reel 2” article

Century Film Project | Cops (1922)

nitrateglow | Reviews of the books The Vampire Diary of Buster Keaton and Bluffton

Whimsically Classic | The Great Buster (2018) documentary

MovieRob | The Cameraman (1928)

Inimitable BK | “Adventures With Horses” essay

The Wonderful World of Cinema | Buster Keaton’s appearance on The Donna Reed Show

Critica Retro | Buster Keaton: The Genius Destroyed by Hollywood (2016) documentary

Rekha’s Sousaphone | Modern adaptations of Our Hospitality in Indian cinema