“The inventor and the essence of cinema” is the renowned Buster Keaton according to most of today's great directors. Born in 1895 to parents who were in the entertainment industry, Buster learned this art form early and started a career that lasted a lifetime. Because of his great talent and ability to keep a stone-cold face while performing, he is hailed as one of the greatest comic actors of all time. He used a lot of new techniques when it comes to film that are still being used today. Never wanting to fake a gag, he made sure to perfect being the master at creating his own stunts even when they seemed impossible. Because of his innovative approach to pushing the boundaries when it came to safety, we have the stunt industry we have today with remarkable feats never imagined before.
“Films can take us to new worlds that are open to no other form of art.” (Sporre 164) Buster Keaton was born to be a silent movie comedian. His big eyes, blank expression, and quiet tragedy are what make him an unforgettable actor in his time. At 11 months old he wandered onto the stage his parents were performing on and the audience thought he was part of the show. By 4 years old he was the youngest star ever to perform alongside his parents. The act was called the 3 Keatons and it became the most famous act in Vaudeville. Buster's dad taught him how to take a fall which would eventually become one of his signature moves. At age 21 he moved to New York to make it on his own. This is where he fell in love with two-reel comedies that he would come to perform in. He performed in narrative short films as well as full length narrative films.
Buster would write, direct, and star in 10 feature films in the 20s. These films would become the highlight of his career. As the director, he would convert the mise-en-scene from a 3D space into a 2D space on film. He liked to be spontaneous and so he would rarely work off a script. He would come up with the beginning of the story and the end and let the middle just come as he went along. He had to visualize everything from the background, the props, the camera angles, the lighting, to the placement of each individual in the scene. As an actor he had incredible control of his body and so he would perform all of his own stunts. He was his own special effects in the movies. He wrote, directed, and acted in countless two-reel shorts as well as his feature films. His first short story that he released was “One Week” in which he puts together a prefab house in the wrong order and then attempts to move the disaster house to its location. Without words being said you can follow along with the comedic and tragic way he pulls you in and makes you laugh and cry for him. One of the best stunts he is famous for is from Steamboat Bill Jr. where he would let the facade of a house fall over the top of him while he was standing perfectly still. This particular scene has been performed by countless actors in hundreds of movies since then. He was an amazingly talented actor and was able to bring a lot of other skills into his acting as well. There is a pool playing sequence in Sherlock Jr. that he does without any editing or stunt work as he is an amazing pool player that can make all the trick shots shown in that scene.
The way he would set up the scenes in his movies was brilliant. He created an entire single-shot scene where he is in a small boat on the water trying to shoot a duck. The camera stays still while he performs the entire scene without editing or cutting away. Another shot done completely in one scene was when he actually broke his neck and did not realize it until years later. He jumps from a train and holds on to a water pipe that shoots forth a huge amount of water that makes him drop onto the tracks. This is where he broke his neck and didn’t realize it because he was trying to film the entire sequence in one shot to create a master shot.
As a director and writer, he knew what he wanted his films to look like and so he was able to edit the films to his liking. In his movie the Navigator, he uses crosscutting to go between two different scenes where the two main actors are trying to find each other on a large ship. Then finally he uses a farther away establishing shot as they meet. His best editing work is probably in the dream sequence in Sherlock Jr. as he falls asleep and dreams he is actually in the movie itself. The camera is further back from a subjective viewpoint so you really feel like you are an audience member in the scene. His editing and cutting between scenes are brilliantly done as he jumps cuts from one scene to the next.
1928 is the final year for silent films and by then Buster Keaton has made 10 feature films that will be remembered for a long time. His acting style with his brilliant stone-cold face inspired many actors in their roles as they became some of the greats we know today. The legacy he has left behind truly makes him “the inventor and the essence of cinema” (26:26 The Great Buster: A Celebration) and we remember him as one the greatest comics film has ever seen. His ingenious stunt work without regard for his own safety has paved the way for the actors today to go above and beyond when it comes to dangerous scenes. Many actors now have stunt doubles to perform the vastly dangerous stunts in film, but some prefer to experience it the way Buster did, by braving it and doing it themselves, thus paying homage to the great comedian who started it all so long ago.
[Paper written for HUM 1010 class UVU Spring 2022]
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
