Page 33 - CinemaRecord Edition 3-2002 #37

When Silents Were Golden
A Memory of Yesteryear’s Stars
n 1939, in Kansas, Dorothy The structure weighed two
and her house were caught in of the Pre-sound Era tons!
Ia cyclone, swept into the air, Critical inches
and carried high over the In his usual faultless planning,
rooftops to finally come to rest in he calculated that an open first
a strange place called “Oz”, floor window frame would fall
where she found the yellow brick “Miracle in Kansas” neatly over him and surround
road. him without touching him. The
Impossible! By Denzil Howson clearance that he allowed
How could a cyclone between the edges of the frame
possibly lift anyone out of their and himself was three inches!
bedroom, and carry them through His friends and associates
the air to finally deposit them pleaded with him not to attempt
miles from where they began? primitive travelling theatres of the the impossible — but he had faith in his
So it is nothing but an enduring well- nineteenth century had been supplanted by calculations.
loved fantasy. the flickering filmed attractions of the first Legend has it that not even his
“Enduring” — yes! “A fantasy”? decade of the twentieth century, our cameraman would watch the sequence. He
Let us return to Kansas, America’s cyclone survivor began to carve a career for set his camera in motion, then turned his
cyclone state. The year is 1898; the date: himself in the new medium. And as the back on the action — fearful that he would
mid July; the place: a small remote town in cinema came of age technically, so he see his friend killed.
the cyclone belt. began producing, directing and appearing in
On a sweltering July day, a husband his own films, comedy gems notable for A nonchalent exit
and wife team were playing out an hilarious situations, punctuated by After the wall had toppled, as planned, our
impossibly melodramatic black-face incredibly dangerous ‘sight’ gags. hero nonchalently stepped over the
tragedy on the cramped stage of the local Characteristically unsmiling and ‘stone’ wreckage and continued solemnly on his
theatre. faced, his unfailing stoicism in the face of way. Down the street he casually glanced
Their two year old son was tucked in adversity became a familiar part of his over his shoulder, took in the scene — then
bed in the sleazy boarding house where the persona. feverishly exited out of frame.
family were staying. The land-lady had An unforgettable image!
promised to keep a watchful eye on the But, you ask, why did the wall topple?
child. Because the town was in the grip of a
Back at the theatre, the entertainment hurricane.
was at a crucial point, when suddenly the A touch of deja vu!
back door of the auditorium was flung wide There had to be a logical reason for the
and a white-faced citizen screamed to the incident.
audience,“Cyclone! Cyclone! It’s a twister!
Take cover!” Prodigious output
According to an eye-witness account, His creative output was prodigious.
the theatre emptied in a frenzy of panic. From 1917 to 1929, he directed or
The populace made for any cover they appeared in 48 silent films. In 1917 his first
could find. film was The Butcher Boy, produced in
When the cyclone had passed, they New York and directed by his ill-starred
emerged shaken and shocked to survey the friend Roscoe “Fatty”Arbuckle.
damage. His final silent feature was the now
The thespians — husband and wife — Buster Keaton. forgotten Spite Marriage, a seven reel
hurried back to the boarding house fearing From an original sketch by Clare Lovegrove. drama produced by MGM in 1929, and re-
the worst. And their fears seemed well- (Clare Lovegrove is Denzil’s daughter) released later with an added sound-track.
founded. Their bedroom was a shambles, In the Sound Era, from 1929 to 1966,
the window was shattered and there was no At the same time, he developed a he was in 76 sound features, but his silent
sign of their two year old son. philosophy. No ‘sight-gag’, no piece of films represented his ‘golden years’ — they
They searched the room, they searched comedy business would find a place in any were the pinnacle of his creative powers.
the boarding house. The child had of his films unless the premise on which it As the years passed his image dimmed,
disappeared without a trace. was based was feasible. and the public’s memory of him faltered.
Distraught, the couple sought privacy in In other words, no funny business just As a belated recognition of the joy he
the remains of their bedroom. for the sake of being funny. had given the world, in October 1965, he
But in the midst of their grief, there His inventive mind devised a multitude was an honoured guest at the Venice Film
was a knock on the broken door. of comic situations which were overlaid Festival.
A stranger stood in the doorway, a child with danger — where their success The standing ovation lasted five
in his arms. depended on split-second timing, minutes.
Unemotionally, he said, “I think this is meticulous planning and an apparent dis- Still un-smiling, but deeply affected, he
yours. I found him sitting in the middle of regard for his own safety (not to mention told the rapturous audience, “This is the
the street, two blocks away!” the well-being of his fellow performers!). first time I’ve been invited to a film festival
Incredibly, the cyclone had sucked the Two such occasions spring to mind. in nearly fifty years! I hope it won’t be the
child through the broken window, borne On a Mississippi paddle steamer, he last!”
him high over the town and deposited him tangled himself in the massive side-wheel It was. Three months later he was dead.
gently and unharmed in the distant street. or paddle as it inexorably churned the He was a talented and inspired giant in
Fact — not fantasy! muddy waters of “Old Man River.”
Unbelievably he emerged half drowned, the days When Silents Were Golden!
If ever a definitive history of the movies
A miracle remembered unscathed and un-smiling. is written, his name will be near the top of
The adventure that befell the two year old On another occasion, he escaped certain the list.
in July, 1898 made a lasting impression on death by a fraction, as he allowed the entire Thanks — Buster Keaton! ★
his psyche. front of a two-storied timber building to fall
When he grew to manhood and the around him.

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