Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently maintained a stoic, deadpan facial expression that became his trademark and earned him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".
Cops is a 1922 American two-reel silent comedy film about a young man who accidentally gets on the bad side of the entire Los Angeles Police Department during a parade and is chased all over town. It was written and directed by Edward F. Cline and Keaton. This very Kafka-esque film was filmed during the rape-and-murder trial of Fatty Arbuckle, a circumstance that may have influenced the short's tone of hopeless ensnarement.
Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known for his gentlemanly sophisticate roles, with supporting roles by the 1950s. His acting crossed many genres including pre-Code romantic leads to noir layered roles and World War I films. He appeared as a guest star in episodes of several golden age television series, including The Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour while continuing to act and produce in the theater and movies throughout the 1960s.
Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle Hammons (1882–1962). Educational primarily distributed short subjects; it is best known for its series of comedies starring Buster Keaton (1934–37) and the earliest screen appearances of Shirley Temple (1932–34). The company ceased production in 1938, and finally closed in 1940 when its film library was sold at auction.
One Week is a 1920 American two-reel silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton, the first independent film production he released on his own. The film was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline, and runs for 19 minutes. Sybil Seely co-stars. The film contains a large number of innovative visual gags largely pertaining to either the house or to ladders.
In the Good Old Summertime is a 1949 American Technicolor musical romantic comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It stars Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S. Z. Sakall, Spring Byington, Clinton Sundberg, and Buster Keaton in his first featured film role at MGM since 1933.
Irene Mary Purcell was an American film and stage actress, who appeared mostly in comedies, and later married Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr., the wealthy grandson of the founder of S. C. Johnson & Son.
The Railrodder is a 1965 short comedy film starring Buster Keaton in one of his final film roles, directed and written by Gerald Potterton and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). A 25-minute comedic travelogue of Canada, The Railrodder was also Keaton's final silent film, as the film contains no dialogue and all sound effects are overdubbed.
Buster Keaton Rides Again is a 55-minute 1965 documentary film directed by John Spotton and narrated by Michael Kane. The film is a behind-the-scenes documentary shot while Buster Keaton's film The Railrodder (1965), was being produced. Although it is a production documentary, the film is actually longer than The Railrodder, which was only 24 minutes long. Both films were produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). A French version of Buster Keaton Rides Again, Avec Buster Keaton was also released.
The Boat is a 1921 American two-reel silent comedy film written and directed by, and starring Buster Keaton. Contemporary reviews consider it one of his best shorts, with One Week (1920), The Playhouse (1921) and Cops (1922). It is presently in the public domain. The International Buster Keaton Society takes its name, The Damfinos, from the name of the film's boat.
Allez Oop is a 1934 American short comedy film starring Buster Keaton. It was the second film Keaton made for Educational Pictures.
The Passionate Plumber is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick, and starring Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, and Irene Purcell. The screenplay by Laurence E. Johnson and Ralph Spence is based on the 1926 play Dans sa candeur naïve by Jacques Deval. It is the second screen adaptation of the play, following the 1928 silent film The Cardboard Lover. It later was remade in 1942 as Her Cardboard Lover.
4 Clowns is a 1970 documentary compilation film written and directed by Robert Youngson that studies the golden age of comedy through a compilation of rare silent film footage of the works of Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase and Buster Keaton. It was the last feature film project of producer, director, and writer Robert Youngson.
Tangier is a 1946 American film noir mystery film directed by George Waggner and starring Maria Montez, Robert Paige and Sabu. It is set in the international city of Tangier, Morocco and was one of the last Universal Pictures films before the studio's reorganization as Universal-International in July 1946.
Bowery to Broadway is a 1944 American film starring Maria Montez, Jack Oakie, and Susanna Foster. Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan also had a small specialty act, and it was the only film they were in together where they did not have a name or character.
Doughboys is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy film starring Buster Keaton. It was Keaton's second starring talkie vehicle and has been called Keaton's "most successful sound Picture." A Spanish-language version was also made under the title, De Frente, Marchen.
The International Buster Keaton Society Inc.— a.k.a. "The Damfinos"—is the official educational organization dedicated to comedy film producer-director-writer-actor-stuntman Buster Keaton.
One New York Night is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Jack Conway and written by Frank Davis. The film stars Franchot Tone, Una Merkel, Conrad Nagel, Harvey Stephens, Steffi Duna and Charles Starrett. The film was released on March 3, 1935, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was based on the West End play Sorry You've Been Troubled by Walter C. Hackett, which had previously been made into the 1932 British film Life Goes On.
San Diego, I Love You is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Reginald Le Borg and starring Jon Hall, Louise Allbritton and Edward Everett Horton.
Elsie Ames was an American comic dancer and film actress. Between 1937 and 1974 she acted in 15 films. She is best known as the female film partner of Buster Keaton.
