The Giants of Silent Film Comedy

The silent film era extends from the late nineteenth century into the 1930s. During those years many talented actors rose to stardom, but five comedians became household names and prominent movie icons: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Laurel and Hardy. Their story is coming to KSU’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through Dr. George Mengert, instructor for “The Art of Alfred Hitchcock” and “Giants of Silent Film Comedy.”

“Before dialogue, before modern advances of technology, these people created a world of laughter,” said Mengert, who is Pace Academy’s former artistic director of theatre.

This eight-week course at KSU OLLI will examine the unique talents of these comedic artists through several of their most popular films. Students will explore The Silent Film era, gain a new perspective through rare films and live discussion.

“Expect to be amazed at the genius of these early actors,” said Mengert. “They are similar in the fact that they all perform the same stunts. They are all masters of physical comedy, but each one creates their own individual character and each character is very different.”

These comedians have influenced the history of comedy in America, with several of their best films being included in the American Film Institute's list of the best American films of all time. Charlie Chaplin’s path to stardom happened overnight in 1914 when he was just 24 years old with his character The Little Tramp. Chaplin became both a director and an actor in his own films. He spent the next three decades as Silent Film’s most popular star, and the rest of his life as its defining icon.

Buster Keaton also served as a director and actor of his own films. According to a PBS biography on Keaton, a consistently stoic, straight-faced expression, earned him the nickname "The Great Stone Face." Although Keaton’s popularity was not that of Chaplin, over the years he was named by critics the most “modern” silent film clown.

James Agee, film critic in the U.S during the 1940s, once said of Keaton, “He brought pure physical comedy to its greatest heights…with the humor, the craftsmanship and the action there was often, besides, a fine, still and sometimes dreamlike beauty...”

Harold Lloyd made more films that Chaplin and Keaton combined. He developed his iconic persona in 1917. The glasses, the straw hat and suit defined his comedic character. Lloyd was the first comedian to use physical danger in his films, often times performing his own stunts. The peak of his popularity was reached during the silent film era. In 1952 he was honored with an Academy Award for his contribution to film.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy became well-known during the late 1920s through the mid-1940s. Both actors had established film careers on their own and became a tag-team duo in 1927. They were the last major comedians to emerge during the silent film era.

The Giants of Silent Film Comedy begins Feb. 8 2017. For more information on this class or other courses available through OLLI, visit ccpe.kennesaw.edu or call 470-578-6765.