Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American actor, comedian and director. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression that earned him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd as well as with his nephew, Al St. John. He also mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks and Bob Hope, and brought vaudeville star Buster Keaton into the movie business. Arbuckle was one of the most popular silent stars of the 1910s and one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, signing a contract in 1920 with Paramount Pictures for $1,000,000 a year.
The following is an overview of 1931 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Guess Who is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan. A loose remake of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a 1967 film about a black man meeting the parents of his white fiancée. This film instead focuses on a white man meeting his black fiancée's parents. The film stars Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, and Zoë Saldaña.
Edward Santree Brophy was an American character actor and comedian, as well as an assistant director and second unit director during the 1920s. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently portrayed dumb cops and gangsters, both serious and comic.
Edward Sedgwick was an American film director, writer, actor and producer.
The Round-Up is a 1920 American silent Western film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and featuring Wallace Beery. The movie was written by Edmund Day and Tom Forman, directed by George Melford, and based on Day's play that was a huge hit for Roscoe Arbuckle's older cousin Macklyn Arbuckle and Julia Dean on the Broadway stage in 1907. It was Macklyn in the play who created the famous phrase used in advertisements of the film, nobody loves a fat man.
Charles William Bell was a Canadian playwright, lawyer and politician, born in Hamilton, Ontario. He was Rocco Perri's lawyer.
The Frozen North is a 1922 American short comedy film directed by and starring Buster Keaton. The film is a parody of early western films, especially those of William S. Hart. The film was written by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. The film runs for around 17 minutes. Sybil Seely and Bonnie Hill co-star in the film.
Grand Slam Opera is a 1936 American short comedy film starring Buster Keaton and produced by Educational Pictures.
Charles West was an American film actor of the silent film era. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1908 and 1937. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and died in Los Angeles, California.
Kisses for My President is a 1964 comedy film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Fred MacMurray and Polly Bergen. Leslie McCloud (Bergen) makes history when she is elected the first female president of the United States. However, her husband Thad McCloud (MacMurray) is less enthusiastic. The picture's supporting cast features Eli Wallach, Arlene Dahl, Edward Andrews, and Donald May.
Counsel's Opinion is a 1933 British romantic comedy film starring Henry Kendall and Binnie Barnes. It was one of three films directed in Britain in the early 1930s by Canadian-American Allan Dwan and was an early production from Alexander Korda's London Films. Counsel's Opinion was based on a 1931 Gilbert Wakefield play and was remade, again by London Films, in 1938 as The Divorce of Lady X starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon.
She Went to the Races is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Willis Goldbeck and starring James Craig, Frances Gifford and Ava Gardner. The screenplay concerns a team of scientists who discover a seemingly foolproof way of discovering the winner of horse races.
Leni Stengel was a German-born actress who appeared on Broadway, on television, and in films, through the 1920s to 1950s.
Three Hearts for Julia is a 1943 American romantic comedy film starring Ann Sothern and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Richard Thorpe, the picture was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Sergeant Deadhead is a 1965 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Frankie Avalon. It features many cast members who appeared in the Beach Party movies.
Parlor, Bedroom and Bath is a lost 1920 American silent comedy film produced and released by Metro Pictures and directed by Edward Dillon. The film stars Ruth Stonehouse and Eugene Pallette.
The Empire Hotel is a boutique hotel located along West 63rd Street, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Empire Hotel has 426 guestrooms, including 50 suites.
Fred Gabourie was a technical director and department head.
