Happy 121st Birthday Buster Keaton

Today we are going to celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest names in silent film history (or even film history, Buster Keaton, with three classic shorts.

First up is a 1917 short that shows Buster working alongside Fatty Arbuckle (also directed by him), called Coney Island. This film used a common device for slapstick comedies of the silent era, particularly the 1910's. This device was to go to a real location, in this case Coney Island, and just film comedy skits quickly and cheaply there. This film is one of Buster's earliest film appearances. Despite Buster having discovered that if he kept a straight face while performing a bit of business audiences would laugh more during his stage career before entering films, for some reason he does not do it here but instead laughs and smiles a lot during this film.

Next up is Buster Keaton's first independently produced film (also directed by Buster, with Edward Cline, this is the second film Buster co-directed, the first was The Roughhouse, which he co-directed with Fatty Arbuckle), and one of his best short films One Week. The house used in this film always is a real house (though one built for this film). There weren't any models used in this film. This film from 1920 shows how great of a filmmaker Buster Keaton was and how much his comedy had mattured so quickly.

Last but not least is The Playhouse. This film also directed by Buster (along with Edward Cline) is a classic comedy and a work of comedic genius. The film also show what a great techinical filmmaker Buster is as you can see many Busters at the same time. This was a parody of Thomas Ince (a silent western star) and how according to the credits he did everything in his films.

-Michael J. Ruhland