It was inspired by the great locomotive chase, a true story of an event that occurred during the american civil war. Buster keaton by marion meade overdrive rakuten overdrive. Title is a direct quote from marion meade, a buster keaton biographer cut to the chase from timelife magazine, august 1999. Marion meade is the author of several biographies, including dorothy parker. Busters misadventures in his sporting goods shop and his theatre company. An american icon, joseph frank buster keaton is easily acknowledged as one of the greatest filmmakers in early cinema. Buster keaton, baseball player society for american baseball. Feb 02, 2018 buster keaton, who died yesterday in hollywood, was something of a genius, and even today there are men who spend hours arguing whether charlie chaplin or harry langdon or buster keaton was the. Buster keaton david robinson national library of australia. With his wide, open face and famous stoic placidity it was kind of genius for buster to play indians, although silent ones would have been better. She has written biographies of victoria woodhull free woman, eleanor of aquitaine, madame blavatsky, buster keaton cut to the chase, woody allen the unruly life of woody. Pittenger the original book can now be freely downloaded as part of the gutenberg project. The general was based upon a true story of a daring union raid on a confederate train led by a civilian, james andrews. Its not surprising native american indians would be a recurring theme in buster keatons comedy.
With buster keaton, iris adrian, harold goodwin, eleanor keaton. Cut to the chase first edition 2nd impression by meade, marion isbn. This is basically a rehash of information widely available in books like marion meades excellent buster keaton. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Nov 01, 2005 as a huge fan of buster keaton, this book met my high expectations. Born into a family of vaudevillians, buster keaton made his first film appearance in 1917 at the age of 21. In 1862, after spies steal his locomotive, the general, he wages a oneman battle to recover it. How to be a working actor 5th edition book pdf download. Buster made his name as a child of vaudeville, thrown around the stage by his father in a cartoon pantomime of very real abuse. After 15 years, the advent of sound and his personal troubles with alcohol and interference from the studio caused the swift and sudden crash of his career and personal life. Buster keaton was a master silent film comedian in the 1920s comparable to charlie chaplin.
Joseph frank buster keaton, one of the most distinguished filmmakers in cinematic history, was a brilliant comedian whose films seem untouched by time. General information buster keaton the general angelfire. In 1995, draggas filmography of buster keaton, the most complete filmography to date, was published in buster keaton. Bobbed hair and bathtub gin book site marion meadebuster keaton research files university of iowa libraries. With his trademark porkpie hat, floppy shoes, and deadpan facial expression, buster keaton 18951966 is one of the most iconic stars of hollywoods silent and early sound eras. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Beyond the laughter 1996 southern illinois university press. Marion meade born january 7, 1934 is an american biographer and novelist. Buster keaton and the dynamics of visual wit george wead. Cut to the chase by marion meade follows one of the greatest comedic actors from his meager beginnings in vaudeville, his friendship and pairing with roscoe fatty arbuckle, through the hight of his early career in the 1920s and 1930s, his failed marriages, damaged reputation and unwillingness to stay sober, to his third act. Pittenger had written a popular account of the story in 1863 called the great locomotive chase. If you love buster keatons silent comedies this book is for you. He was born in piqua, kansas, not far from oklahoma which was then still officially called indian territory. A biography and millions of other books are available.
Pamela drive buster keaton the legendary estates of. The story was adapted from the memoir the great locomotive chase by william pittenger. About the book buster keaton can impress a weary world with the vitally important fact that life, after all, is a foolishly inconsequential affair, wrote critic robert sherwood in 1918. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. A film comedy is assembled with the same precision as the inner working of a watch. Cut to the chase, by marion meade out of print keaton is my hero and i think ive read everything that has ever been printed about him. Caryn james wrote in the new york times, keaton s television appearances are warm and enduring. Cut to the chase is a startling and moving account of the troubled life of a.
Silent film star buster keaton 18951966 developed his trademark deadpan expression and acrobatic artistry, according to the author, as a result of the abuse he received from his father, joe. By the early 1920s, he had established himself as one of the geniuses of silent cinema with such films as sherlock, jr. The true story of how he bounced back to become an icon in film history is the beautifully written and thoroughly researched tale lovingly crafted in buster keaton. His parents and grandparents toured the midwest in medicine shows. Bengtsons enthusiasm for his subject is contagious.
Marion meade s biography goes behind the scenes at the making of keaton s masterpiece, the general, selected by the american film institute as one of the five best silent films of all time. Cut to the chase a fascinating work of film history in which, to quote film historian kevin brownlow, he may have invented a new art form. When buster keaton showed guests around his grand spanishstyle mansion on a three and one halfacre estate a block behind the beverly hills hotel, he sometimes joked, i took a lot of pratfalls to build that dump. Bitching was a significant contribution to the second phase of development in the feminist movement. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being culturally, historically, or. Cut to the chase recorded the journey of keaton from a kansas medicine show to vaudeville headliner to. Cut to the chase is a startling and moving account of the troubled life of a cinematic genius. Keaton had two shows of his own, including the buster keaton comedy show 1949 and the buster keaton show from 1950 until 1951. This is basically a rehash of information widely available in books like marion meade s excellent buster keaton. Buster keaton 27 books meet your next favorite book. Quotes from jim carrey, kevin spacey, geena davis, billy crystal, and richard dryfus are from the american film industrys afis top 100 actors special shown in 1999. A biobibliography 1995 greenwood press scott, oliver lindsey, buster keaton. K4 a3 camera canon eos 5d mark ii foldoutcount 0 identifier mywonderfulworld00bust identifierark. Cut to the chase 1995 harpercollins rapf, joanna e.
Marion meade is currently considered a single author. Married 1 natalie talmadge, 1921 divorced 1933, sons. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read buster keaton. Buster keaton 18951966 was a brilliant comedian and filmmaker who conceived, wrote, directed, acted, and even edited most of his ten feature films and nineteen. The navigator is a 1924 comedy directed by and starring buster keaton. Please, no hate emails about the dardis and meade books. Joseph francis keaton in piqua, kansas, 4 october 1895. A century later keaton, with his darkly comic theater of the absurd, speaks to audiences like no other silent comedian. Heres another post in honor of native american heritage month. The general is a 1926 american silent comedy film released by united artists.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The persistence of comedy by film analyst and writer, imogen sara smith. Nov 19, 20 in the sound era, buster would don eagle feathers himself a couple of times in a couple of odd but notable projects. Divuses the garza rebellion on the texasmexico border to analyze economic and social change in this region, internationalizing u. Foote has done an impressive amount of homeworkthis is scholarship at its finestthis book is an important addition to the keaton bookshelf leonard. In the year 2000, dragga became a freelance videographer and editor, receiving four telly awards for his work. Download one of the free kindle apps to start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, and computer. A biobibliography 1995 greenwood press oldham, gabriella, keatons silent shorts. Pdf cut to the chase download full pdf book download. The film stars buster keaton who codirected it with clyde bruckman. Cut to the chase a biography by marion meade available from rakuten kobo.
Mcpherson puts forth very little effort in analyzing keatons genius and, when he does, is often trite and unconvincing e. Buster keaton 18951966 was a brilliant comedian and filmmaker who. Mcpherson puts forth very little effort in analyzing keaton s genius and, when he does, is often trite and unconvincing e. Cut to the chase, biographer marion meade seamlessly lays out the life and works of this comedy genius who lacked any formal education. Buster keaton, who died yesterday in hollywood, was something of a genius, and even today there are men who spend hours arguing whether charlie chaplin or. Based on four years of research and more than 200 interviews with notables such as billy wilder, leni riefenstahl, gene kelly, douglas fairbanks, jr. The film was written by clyde bruckman and codirected by donald crisp. The general buster keaton film analysis senses of cinema. When we made pictures, we ate, slept and dreamed them. His elaborate sets, careful camerawork, and risky pratfalls have been mimicked by film comedians for generations. Meade has written novels, biographies, and nonfiction books. The copies previously uploaded here were either incomplete or too blurry.
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