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Classic Movie Comedians

Author: Neil Sinyard
Hardback: 176 pages
Publisher: Smithmark Publishers / Bison Books (1992)
Avg. Rating: [ Unrated ]
ISBN: 0831714514
In Print? No

Six chapters examine in detail the work of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd & Harry Langdon, Laurel & Hardy, W. C. Fields and the Marx Brothers.  The book's conclusion discusses other movie comedians in general, including The Three Stooges over 3 pages with photo illustrations from THREE LITTLE BEERS (1935) and TASSELS IN THE AIR (1938).

Online summary...

"This book surveys the broad diversity of comic devices and styles employed by the giants of the cinema: for instance, Laurel and Hardy's inevitable escalation of events into mayhem, the cutting edge to Fields's misanthropic wit, and the aggression at the root of the Marx Brothers' quick-fire gags. Binding these strands together is the thread of comic genius: the ability to This book surveys the broad diversity of comic devices and styles employed by the giants of the cinema: for instance, Laurel and Hardy's inevitable escalation of events into mayhem, the cutting edge to Fields's misanthropic wit, and the aggression at the root of the Marx Brothers' quick-fire gags. Binding these strands together is the thread of comic genius: the ability to imitate life and ridicule it, to persuade generations of movie-lovers to suspend their disbelief for a while, indulge their imaginations... and enjoy it."


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