Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase
A Biography
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
An American icon, Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton is easily acknowledged as one of the greatest filmmakers in early cinema and beyond. His elaborate slapstick made audiences scream with laughter. But, his stone face hid an internal turmoil. In BUSTER KEATON: CUT TO THE CHASE, biographer Marion Meade seamlessly lays out the life and works of this comedy genius who lacked any formal education.
"Buster" made his name as a child of vaudeville, thrown around the stage by his father in a cartoon pantomime of very real abuse. The lessons he carried forward from that experience translated into some of the greatest silent films of all time. Keaton wrote, directed, performed, and edited dozens of features and shorts, including his masterpiece, The General. However, those early scars also led to decades of drinking and mistreatment of women. Keaton saw huge successes, Hollywood sex scandals, years of neglect from studios and audiences, and finally a shaky resurrection that assured his place in Hollywood's film canon.
Meticulously researched, this book brings together four years of research and hundreds of interviews to paint a nuanced portrait of a compelling artist. No comedy fan or film buff should miss this insider story of the man behind the stone face.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Silent film star Buster Keaton (1895-1966) developed his trademark deadpan expression and acrobatic artistry, according to the author, as a result of the abuse he received from his father, Joe. As part of a vaudeville act, Joe began brutally throwing five-year-old Buster around the stage and beat him at the first sign of fear. When he was 21, Keaton left his uncaring parents and began acting in silents made by comedy star Fatty Arbuckle. His career blossomed from 1920 to '28, when he established his own company and wrote, starred in and directed films like The Navigator (1924). After the company was dissolved, Keaton's career declined until the 1950s, when he made a comeback and appeared in Charlie Chaplin's Limelight. Alcoholism hastened the end of his marriages to Natalie Talmadge (the couple had two sons) and Mae Scriven. He achieved control over his drinking, and his third marriage, to Eleanor Norris, was a success. This is an engrossing portrait of a tormented comedic genius, with an extensive filmography (67pp). Photos not seen by PW.
