Recently, we asked
readers to help us find out if Buster Keaton ever
visited Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, his
best friend, while Arbuckle was being tried for
manslaughter in the early 1920s. We had high
hopes when Alan Stone answered: "The answer
might be found in the two-reeler Daydreams"
he says, pointing out that part of Daydreams was
shot in San Francisco, where Arbuckle was
incarcerated. He concludes by saying,
"Daydreams was released in November 1922.
The trial took place in 1921-22," which
suggests that perhaps Buster shot Daydreams in
San Francisco in order to visit Arbuckle.
Unfortunately,
Alan's idea doesn't pan out. Arbuckle was
acquitted on April 12 of 1922, returning to Los
Angeles right after; Daydreams wasn't shot until
June of that year. It seems unlikely, then, that
Keaton would have made a special trip to San
Francisco to see Arbuckle when Arbuckle was no
longer there. As far as we know, none of the
films Keaton made during Arbuckle's three trials
was filmed in San Francisco: The Boat (late
summer 1921), The Paleface (November 1921), Cops
(January 1922), The Blacksmith (February 1922),
The Frozen North (March 1922), and My Wife's
Relations (April 1922).
So
we're back where we started, with Roscoe in jail,
wondering if his good friend Buster Keaton is
going to visit him. We're still working on the
problem, and will let you know if we come any
closer to an answer. (For further information on
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and his trials,
check out Arbucklemania.)
Q.
Did Buster like having
the porkpie hat as his trademark? I know he first
wore it in The Butcher Boy, and I know it was not
the only hat worn by him in his films. I was just
wondering how the decision was made and by whom. --Eryn
A.
A.
The answers to your questions can be found in
our article "How
to Make a Porkpie Hat" on this website.
Q.
Is there an official statement from
Kino on Video about whether we'll ever see an
Arbuckle/Keaton boxed set on laserdisc (or DVD,
if it must)? --Uli
A.
At present, there are no plans to
release a set of Arbuckle/Keaton films on video,
laser or DVD. However, Kino is planning a video
collection of silent comedy shorts that will
probably include some of the Keaton/Arbuckles.
The set will be produced by David Shepard, who is
the film preservationist responsible for
"The Art of Buster Keaton" set that
came out in 1995. The new comedy set is
tentatively scheduled to be released in April. If
you want more information about the Keaton series
from Kino, or about any of the company's other
releases, check www.kino.com.
Q.
I was wondering if you
could help me with some advice on the best way to
store and preserve a 16mm film of Keaton's that I
recently acquired. It's a large reel with two
complete films on it: The E-Flat Man and One Run
Elmer, plus a musical short at the end. How
should I store this? I was also wondering about
the market value for insurance purposes.
--Steven A.
A.
According to The Damfinos'
resident film preservationist, Bruce Lawton, your
film should be stored in a cool, dry place, with
not less than 30 percent relative humidity. He
tells us that if the film is in a can, make sure
the can is not sealed tightly - some air should
get in; and the film should be wound on a reel or
core not too tight and not too loose. He suggests
cleaning the film with Ecco film cleaner (which
can be purchased at many photo shops) using a
soft lint-free cloth. Finally, he recommends
projecting it at least once a year. The current
market value for each film would be at least $75.
Q.
How many brides are in Seven Chances?
--Gene A.
A.
It's hard to know exactly how
many women were hired to play brides for the
famous chase scene in Seven Chances; however, the
number often referred to by Buster and others in
describing the scene is 500.
Q.
Did Mr. Keaton ever write any
"how-to" books on sight gags and
physical comedy? If so, where would I be able to
get hold of these? --Jane A.
A.
Alas, no! Wouldn't it have been
nice if he had? Although writers occasionally
interviewed Buster about comedy and sight gags,
most often these articles were simple
recollections of his own experiences. He was not
the kind of man to wax philosophical, and he
didn't go in for analyzing gags--even though he
clearly understood what it took to make people
laugh. No, all the "how-to" articles or
books on physical comedy have been written by
others. A particularly fascinating book is Dan
Kamin's book on Charles Chaplin called Charlie
Chaplin's One-Man Show.
Q.
What was the address of
the home in Woodland Hills, California, where
Buster and Eleanor lived until his death in 1966?
At least two books list it as being on Sylvan
Street or Sylvan Way, but no number is given.
--Scott A.
A.
Buster and Eleanor lived at 22612
Sylvan Street in Woodland Hills, California. The
couple bought the house in 1957 with the money
Buster earned as the nominal consultant for The
Buster Keaton Story. From the time of their
marriage in 1940 until they purchased the
Woodland Hills house, Buster and Eleanor had
lived with his mother Myra in a small house he
had bought for her in the 1920s. His sister
Louise and his brother Harry
("Jingles") and Harry's wife and child
also lived there for a time. After The Buster
Keaton Story, Buster could finally buy the modest
home he'd always wanted. It was a place where he
could grow an orchard, raise chickens, and build
model trains to his heart's delight. After
Buster's death, the house was too big for Eleanor
alone, so she ultimately sold it.
Q
Were the Keatons really of Irish
descent?
S. O'Neill, Brooklyn, NY
A
That's a good
question. Many of the biographies on Keaton say that
he was, indeed, Irish. But Keaton's sister Louise
apparently believed that there back in the family
history the Keatons had some Native American blood as
well.
Q
How tall was Buster Keaton (really)?
C. Greenwood, Short Hills, NJ
A
Eleanor Keaton, Buster's widow, says
Buster was 5'6" tall. This is confirmed in one
of the datebooks he kept until 1919, in which he
recorded not only his activities in vaudeville, New
York, Hollywood and during World War I, but also
basic information, such as his height and what kind
of stage makeup he used.
Q
Was Buster musical? If so, what
instruments did he play?
A. Newman, Los Angeles, CA
A
Buster's favorite instrument was the
ukulele. However, as a child in vaudeville, he
learned to play the piano and possibly other
instruments as well. If you watch THE PLAYHOUSE, you
will see Buster imitating the members of a small pit
band. Musicians who have watched this scene recognize
that he was familiar with all the instruments. Even
though the film is silent, he holds all the
instruments correctly. For example, he bows the bass
correctly and holds the drumsticks as they should be
held.
Q
Why is The General Keaton's favorite
of his own features?
B.Good, Santa Ana, CA
A
Keaton often changed his mind about
which was his favorite film. Sometimes he claimed THE
NAVIGATOR was his favorite; at other times, it was
BATTLING BUTLER. But THE GENERAL certainly held a
special place in his heart. When Raymond Rohauer
planned a revival of Keaton's films in Europe, Keaton
requested that THE GENERAL be shown. He was
especially proud of that film because it was based on
a real historical incident and he had put a great
deal of effort into making it, as he said, "so
authentic it hurts."
Q
Did Buster ever crank the camera
himself and does this footage survive?
R. Totheroh, La Brea, CA
A
An interesting question. People who
worked on his films said that yes, he did
occasionally crank the camera himself. I've often
wondered if the Tong War sequences in THE CAMERAMAN
were actually shot by Keaton. Watch closely. When he
cranks the camera throughout that film, he turns the
crank at the correct speed. In addition, the rushes
shown to the producer at the end of the film seem to
be shot from the same angles used by Keaton when he
was supposedly filming the fighting.
Q
Did Buster go to San Francisco
for the Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle trials in
1921-22?
L. Sherman, NY
A
Keaton wanted to appear as a
character witness for his best friend. However, he
was discouraged from doing so by his producer and
brother-in-law, Joseph Schenck, who was afraid that
the public backlash would tarnish Keaton's career. I
don't know if visited Arbuckle in San Francisco
during hsi friend's crisis. Perhaps some reader has
found evidence about this and could write in and let
us know.
Q
Did Buster go see every movie he
appeared in?
L. Brooks, Rochester, NY
A
Raymond Rohauer, who saved many of
Keaton's films during the 1950s and `60s, said Keaton
never went to see his own films. However, this is
unlikely. Keaton actually met Rohauer when he
attended a showing a Keaton films at Rohauer's
theater. In addition, we know he went to previews of
the films when they were originally released and was
intimately involved in the editing of every scene.
Q
How long was Buster's TV show on
the air, and is it available on video?
A
Buster Keaton starred in two television series. The
first, The Buster Keaton Show, began airing locally in Los Angeles
on December 22, 1949. It was a live show, and only one kinescoped
episode seems to have survived. A second show, also called The Buster
Keaton Show (sometimes called Life With Buster Keaton) was produced
on film in 1950-51 and syndicated around the country. Episodes from
that show were patched together as a low-budget feature film called
The Misadventures of Buster Keaton, released in Europe. Keaton quit
that show after one season, because he said it was too hard to produce
a weekly show of that type and, in addition, he felt it didn't work
as well on film as it had live.Copies of a couple of episodes are
available from Bruce Lawton, Burbank74@aol.com. Write and
ask him for details.
Q.
I recently purchased a Keystone Projector with some silent films
inside. One is a Buster Keaton short entitled The Express Man. Would
you have any idea of what year this film was made?
A.
The film you’re referring to is actually a very short scene
from Keaton’s 1922 film Cops.
Q.
Could you tell me where I can get
information about the Keaton festival held in Muskegon every year?
A.
Early in October, The Damfinos
hosts a two-day convention in Muskegon, Michigan. This coming year,
the convention will be held on Oct. 8 & 9. Check this website
during the mid to late summer for details.
Q.
I am simply outraged that the American Film Institute would put
out their top 100 films and not have Buster Keaton anywhere on that
list. Without a doubt The General, Sherlock Jr., and The Cameraman
are three of the greatest films ever made. Yet not one of these
films made the cut. As a matter of fact, The General is the film
in there catalog. Sherlock Jr., probably the greatest study on the
film medium itself, isn't even on their database. Who voted for
these films? How do you and all the Buster fans out there feel about
this injustice?
A.
The AFI List is probably an old story by now, but still we keep
hearing about it. You aren't the only one who was outraged. Critics
and film historians around the country expressed their views about
the list. One of our members, Otto S. Badum, wrote an editorial
that appeared in the Summer 1998 issue of The Keaton Chronicle.
He expressed our views exactly.
Q.
What is the name of the movie/short that shows Buster standing with
his back to a house and the facade falls away and drops on Buster,
only to be saved by an open window frame which passes over him?
Also, did Buster perform that stunt or was it someone else?
A.
Keaton did perform this stunt,
and he did it more than once. The first filmed version was in one
of his shorts with Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. The first
time it appear in one of his own films is in One Week. But probably
the most famous version is in Steamboat Bill, Jr. Buster did perform
this stunt himself. For the Steamboat Bill, Jr., version the building
front weighed a couple of tons and could easily have killed him
if he had missed his mark. But he requested that a nail be painted
bright red and hammered into the ground so he could find it while
the wind machines blew dust all about. When it was between his feet,
he knew he was in the only safe place. The building front was pushed
from behind to make it fall, and if you look closely at the scene
you can see the faint silhouette of a man behind one of the curtained
windows. During the shooting this stunt, according to several reports,
his director (Charles Riesner) was off to the side praying through
filming. Stories differ about Keaton’s cameraman. One report
claims the cameraman refused to watch; another says he fainted after
the scene was filmed. Additional note: If you watch Steamboat Bill,
Jr., closely, you'll find that Keaton did three separate variations
of that same gag in the film.
Q.
Are Buster's sons still living?
A.
Yes, both of Buster's sons are
alive and well. James and Robert Talmadge (née Joseph and Robert
Keaton) live in California.
Q.
Please can you let me know how
I can find out some famous witty quotes made by Buster Keaton?
A.
We hope you’re jesting. Every
day on our website we post quotes by and about Buster Keaton. They
can be found in the NEWS
section.
Q.
The original running time of Sherlock
Jr. was approximately 60 minutes. Has anyone ever documented what
is "missing" in the final print?
A.
To our knowledge, no one has done
this research. The current Kino video version of Sherlock Jr. lists
a running time of 44 minutes. Although silent film running times
can be variable, a 15-minute difference is rather dramatic. Damfinos
have discovered information about missing scenes from The General
(see The Great Stone Face magazine) and Go West, so it's entirely
possible that Keaton trimmed something from Sherlock Jr. as well.
The answer might be found in original stills or reviews. If any
website reader cared to conduct that research on Sherlock Jr., The
Damfinos would be interested in publishing their findings.
Q.
Do you know where I can purchase
a particular poster of Buster? I don't know if it's a still photo
or a film clip; it's a poster of Buster sitting down, leaning against
something (I know it's not much to go on). If it helps, this same
poster was in Matthew Broderick's room in the movie The Freshman.
A.
That poster is available through
Personality Posters in New York City. Personality Posters, 37 W.
8th Street, New York, NY 10011. (212) 529-7262. 8.00 + $5.00 shipping
and handling.
Q.
How did Buster Keaton really feel about the Marx Brothers? I have
read many different things. I've read that he saw potential in Groucho,
I also read that they couldn't stand each other. Is this all true?
I read in a Marx Brothers encyclopedia that he was at Chico's funeral,
so was he sort of friends with a few of the Marx Brothers?
A.
For the answer to this question,
we have asked Joe Adamson, the author of Groucho, Harpo, Chico and
sometimes Zeppo (the best book ever written on the Marx Brothers)
to help us out. He says, “It sounds as if there's an either/or
answer. I don't think either the Marx Brothers or Keaton would have
given you an either/or answer. I think it's more complex than that.”
He reminds us that in later years, Keaton said that, for him, his
career low point came during the filming of At the Circus, when
Groucho said to him: 'We don't need any help from a has-been.'"
He also points out that Keaton didn’t care for Groucho’s
kind of verbal byplay, which Groucho brought into films during the
sound era and which affected Broadway humor of the late 1920s and
Hollywood comedy of the early Talkie period. However, the Marx Brothers
and Keaton were all vaudeville stars during the same years, so it
is likely that they were at least aware of each other. As a professional,
Keaton would have had to acknowledge that the Marx Brothers were
very successful at what they did, even if he sometimes found their
humor too “ridiculous.” And even if he didn’t enjoy
working for the Marx Brothers as a gag man, or didn’t care
for Groucho’s humor, that wouldn’t preclude his being
a casual social acquaintance of the other brothers or attending
Chico’s funeral. “He did have a philosophical attitude,”
says Adamson. “Whatever gripes he had against Groucho, he wouldn't
have held that against Chico or Harpo.”
Q.
Is there a video of The General
with an orchestral score? Even TCM shows a Killiam print with a
piano score, which is fine. But I would think that someone like
Kevin Brownlow would see to it that the greatest epic comedy ever
made would have a lush and exciting soundtrack.
A.
Indeed, Kevin Brownlow has seen
to it that The General has a lush and exciting orchestral soundtrack
by Carl Davis. Although the videotape is now out of print, The Damfinos
purchased the last remaining copies, which are for sale through
this website. Not only is the score magnificent, but the print is
the best we've ever seen. Click here to go to the Merchandise section
under Damfinos.
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