harlowkeatongirl
-
Posts
275 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Never
Posts posted by harlowkeatongirl
-
-
Well, said Littletramplover...
That post definitely woke me up on an early Saturday morning while eating my cereal.
Overall, it's just a matter of preference. I enjoy Chaplin's comedy, but I prefer Keaton's because I'm such a huge fan of improv. I'm delighted as a pig in slop when someone tells me "Oh, did you know that scene was improvised?"
That, to me, is just so cool. And he did a LOT of it. I'm sure Chaplin did it, too, but much more than Keaton's, Chaplin films were very rehearsed. The thing about Chaplin's films is, for as good as the comedy is, as good as the camera work is... I'm always acutely aware I'm watching a movie. Whereas Keaton tends to transport me more. Because so much is improvised, it comes across very real... the kind of comedy that could happen to anybody on a daily basis. 
You see where I find the difference? For me, it's very difficult to distinguish what was in the script and what was made up on the spot. Keaton had his crew trained well to keep the cameras rolling at all times even when something unexpected happened. With Chaplin, when he made people laugh, it was like he was pulling things out of his bag of tricks... (and thank God it was a damn good bag of tricks!). With Keaton, it's like the comedy was just THERE. Just as naturally as breathing. Never forced. But again, that's not to say I don't adore that kind of "milking it" kind of comedy. And I don't consider the phrase "milking it" a put-down. Chris Farley milked it. Probably more than anybody else. LOL And I think he's one of the greatest. Same w/Jim Carrey. There are different brands of comedy.
I just like Keaton best, because in my opinion, he was the most unique.
Ok, .02 completed.
-
> it wasn't until Lucille
> Ball, and then Carol Burnett came into thier own that
> we now have female stars famous around the world for
> their wit and comic sensibility. Might it have been
> that 20s movie moguls still thought women shouldn't
> go around kicking people in the arse, jumping up and
> down, etc. Marion Davies was also considered a "light
> comedian" but today she's nowhere near as famous as
> our three men. Marie Dressler could be hysterical but
> she did everything--not just comedy. I've only go one
> Mabel Normand movie--The Extra Girl--and she's
> fabulous. Another great trait of Chaplin, Keaton and
> Lloyd is that they preserved their movies like
> treasures. Even today, they look crystal clear, like
> they were filmed yesterday. Mabel Normand's output is
> virtually unseen.
Marie Dressler was probably the master funny woman of the early days.
She is one of my all-time favorites. I love Mabel Normand, too. She's probably the first woman director... or one of the first. And interesting you should mention Lucille Ball. Keaton was one of her mentors.. and taught her all he knew about physical comedy. I believe he even mentioned to people at MGM how good she was.
-
> I also like the
> fact that Buster Keaton's women usually don't care
> one way or another whether he succeeds or not and he
> doesn't stick his chest out when he does!
I think that has to do w/the fact that they see women differently. Chaplin sees them as these sort of ethereal creatures on a pedestal, and Keaton sees them as allies. That scene in "The General" where he drenches Marion Mack the second time was improvised.
She wasn't supposed to get it the first time so the surprise on her face was real... and the look on HIS face is like "Oh no!" and he goes to fix the water spout, KNOWING it's placed directly over her, and then pulls the string again, like he's got no idea where the end of the spout is. **** 
(But earlier in the movie, he got drenched, too!) -
I watched "The General" again last night late after I got home, because I was offered the chance to do an article for the next Keaton Chronicle and I have a good idea for it. I was laughing my butt off all over again.
The whole scene where he's on The Texas... OMG. -
> I have a connection to the Tramp and
> his resolve to maintain his dignity no matter what?
> even though this fella hasn?t a cent to his name, he
> still finds a way to scrape together his dignity. He
> picks himself up and brushes off the dirt and walks
> on his way insouciantly twirling his cane.
That's what I love about The Tramp, too, Littletramplover.
His clothes are shabby, his pants and shoes are too big, but he's still so proud. Still the perfect lil' gentleman. -
> If laughter is your sole criteria "Harlowkeatonfan"
> than Harold Lloyd easily takes the crown hands down!
No, laughter isn't my sole criteria. Maybe I should've said Keaton "entertains me more." (But he does make me laugh more, too
.) And I'm probably jumping to conclusions... but I feel like you're "watering down" my reasons for liking Keaton. I think we 'Damfinos' have many a good valid reason for loving him best. I've seen Lloyd's stuff, but not in a very long time. At the time I was too young to appreciate silent movies and didn't think ANY comedy silent star was funny. That's why I'm looking forward to seeing him again soon when TCM does the Harold Lloyd day.
-
Well if I could, I've love to sit down w/the entire cast of Dinner At Eight!
Just one character though... wow. Tough one. *sits here twiddling mah thumbs*Garrett Breedlove from Terms Of Endearment would be interesting!
-
I've gotta go w/Dudley Moore in Arthur...
-
Jean Harlow. lol
Sorry, not a big fan of either.
But I admire Marilyn for her strength and thought she was a fascinating icon. She DID make a few good films, but nothing I'm overly impressed with. I enjoy her, though.
As far as Jayne Mansfield goes.. I actually prefer her daughter Mariska Hartigay, from Law and Order. LOL
-
One scene that never fails to make me laugh.. maybe you'll see this movie on AMC sometime, LOL:
Tommy Boy.
Especially the scene where Tommy and Richard are in the car trying to settle on a station to listen to. Tommy wants hard rock, Richard wants fluffy Euro pop. LOL They settle on The Carpenters singing "Superstar." And they're like:
"Sheeeyeah. Talk about LAME."
"Yeah, totally."
"I can live with it if you can."
"Suit yourself."
And then about 60 seconds later, they're both bawling their eyes out and singing along passionately with Karen Carpenter.
.......... Until the hood of their car flies up blocking their entire view and they end up spinning out all over the road, and taking a road sign w/them. LOLOLOL........... -
My reaction is pretty simple.
Number one, and I'll always stress it... I love them both.
But Buster edges it out for me, because plain and simple, all intricate analysis aside, he plain makes me laugh more. That simple.
When I watch a Chaplin film, which I always enjoy, I actually find myself silently laughing to myself, much more than laughing outloud, because I find I'm really paying attention to the way he made the film, and enjoying that instead. He was a genius. Like many have said.. the direction, camera angles, his take on a story, and so forth. I'm always aware it's a movie -- and that watching good filmmaking. But I enjoy it just the same.
When I watch a Buster film, I'm literally transported somewhere else for a while, be it an hour and a half or twenty minutes. (Depending on whether or not I'm watching a full-length or a short.
) I also find myself laughing outloud more and kind of forgetting the work that went into the scenes. It's literally not until afterwards, when I think to myself, "Wow. That was LIFE-THREATENING, what he just did in that scene!" Or "That had to have taken a lot of planning and work!"..... And then come to find out later, sometimes it really did. And then sometimes it was completely improvised. He was a great improviser -- a mark of a true genius comedian.
And I have to say, I prefer his relationship w/his female leads better. He allows them to act and put on a performance and get some laughs, too. Even when they're just props, they're actually more than that. And his "stone face" was so full of expression, even though he never changed expression. It made him that much more fun to watch. I've said this to other Keaton fans and they agree --- He created eccentricity out of complete subtlety. That's not something just anyone can pull off.
-
What do you all think? Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton?
I'm not in any way trying to start a feud or anything. lol
I'm genuinally interested in the "whys." I'll post my own later. I love them both.
-
JIMMY STEWART, hands down. Why? For words: It's A Wonderful Life.
-
GABLE.
I have a thing for Clark Gable... Gary Cooper is gorgeous and he's a great actor, but Clark just puts a smile on my face.
He's more charming. -
LOL... I can't think of R. Lee Ermey w/out thinking of Saving Silverman these days.
> Happy Birthday to one of my favorite Marine's, R.
> Lee Ermey! My brother and my son are the others
>
. >
> I didn't realize the extensive filmography Mr. Ermey
> has until I checked in IMDb. Impressive! ML
-
Welcome, Joycefrith! I'm very new myself.
Haven't responded to this topic, because I haven't seen enough of her movies to really say.
But there was this one I saw about a ghost in the woods that was pretty good. I think it's a '70s movie. -
Yes it was Shirley. He was pretty hot, wasn't he? That's a great suggestion. I just submitted one for a Buster Keaton day.
-
I cannot believe she is 100 today. Has anyone else been enjoying the Joan Crawford day on TCM? I've seen a couple movies today while doing other things. I liked "The Woman" best. I'm actually looking more forward to the "Ultimate Movie Star" special later. I'll actually sit down for that one. lol I've never been a really huge fan of Joan, but she's a fine actress and I think her life is fascinating. And I don't buy 100% into the "Mommie Dearest" thing.
> Lead/co-star Joan Crawford (73) 1904-1977.
-
G'evening everyone!
> I learned from the movies that even if people KNOW
> someone is out to kill them, they still somehow
> manage to forget to lock their front doors.
Here's another one ~ Whenever someone is running away from the killer inside their house, instead of haulin butt out the front door... they run upstairs.
-
Well back then, there wasn't a McDonald's on every corner, either. LOL
....> On the other hand,some of the stars,especially of the
> Thirties/early Forties era,were just tiny,both in
> stature and proportion. I read that some of Vivien
> Leigh's costumes in a museum had 18 inch waists. And
> a lot of the women in Thirties movies looked really
> tiny,and streamlined. They look to me like their Art
> Deco ideals,or like greyhounds. I always mention the
> low-slung rears that so many had(Barbara
> Stanwyck,Joan Crawford),because it seems especially
> characteristic.It makes me wonder,do even body shapes
> somehow change with the passing styles,LOL.It seems
> so many of them were naturally smaller at that
> time-different diet,especially as children(ie
> Depression fare)?
-
Good points. I'm not saying they didn't have normal lives off-camera.. or that they didn't have problems. Lord knows they did. We've read about most of their problems in history books and biographies by now.
But when they were on-camera, they sure gave it their all, didn't they? We don't really see that kind of rapport anymore.
There was a magic there. > It's nice to live in a fairy tale, but those 20's,
> 30's and 40's star were just normal people, too, with
> insecurities and foilbles. It just was publicized
> back then, which I think it would make it harder on
> those stars than the stars of today. They had to
> maintain that facade everytime they stepped out of
> their homes. Today, at least the stars try to live
> normal lives even though they have paparazzi
> following them 24-7. I don't want my stars on
> pedestals. I don't want them in the mud either.
> Somewhere in between is fine with me.
-
Hi Sabesy ~ Hi! I was looking through the old topics and have to respond to one or two.
That's an easy question - vanity was in it's lowest forms back then. These days, it's like you can never be pretty enough... even if you're a knockout. People are killing themselves to be perfect. Back then in the good ole days I think vanity existed, but people it wasn't so extreme..yet. I was looking at an old photo of Jean Harlow recently in a full-length swimsuit, and she looked beautiful. But I have to say (sadly), and I was thinking this as I looked at the picture: "by today's standards people would be calling her chubby."
She wasn't. She was curvy. I wish standards for women were a little more like they were back then. Now I'll bet I could pull off Jean's body, if I worked out some more. LOL... But Halle Berry's? Forget it. And back then curves were just fine. I wish I had that picture. I think it might be located at Jean's Platinum Blonde site. http://harlow.teamviola.com/> I remember seeing a short a long time ago about how
> stars stayed fit before.. I think around the 30s-40s?
> It seems that as standards have changed, stars of
> today are much much thinner (women) and more buff
> (leading men) than the old Hollywood stars. How did
> stars stay fit before?
-
Spinach and skim milk? Mmm, breakfast of champions.. That sounds interesting...
That had to get old though. I'm curious how she ate it.. w/butter? Cooked or raw? Funny what people swear by. Jean Harlow used to put ice on her breasts to keep them perky. lolol.. I forgot who told her that, maybe her mother. And of course we all know that woman was a genius.... haha. > Yes, I did see it,and I have some awesome books on
> the beauty industry and its beginnings,but they're
> more generic.I'd love to find one about the actual
> secrets of real stars from the past. I loved reading
> in Mary Pickford's autobiography "Sunshine and
> Shadow" about how she curled her ringlets-on kidskin
> curlers,and kept her blonde curls bright-castile soap
> shampoo and olive oil treatments,and her diet
> regimen-spinach and skim milk-I find that girly stuff
> fascinating.She used milk masks to keep her skin
> white,and had to cut her nails when a child visiting
> the set of one her movies said" Mommy,she's not
> really a little girl,she has long nails".And the
> beautiful delicate dainty clothes! Grooming and
> attention to the smallest details mattered back then.
> I love in one of the Gloria Swanson movies,when her
> rival in love(forgot the actress's name),puts a
> little scent on her LIPS in order to entice the
> hero,Swanson's husband.And the fashion parade,when
> Swanson decides to shed her dowdy image,is great.
> Women didn't mind a little fuss in order to be
> stylish,though I think Swanson's movie wardrobes were
> probably a little over the top even then,LOL.
-
Hi Daddysprimadonna ~ Well, ya know, we girls have gotta stick together. Beauty comes at a painful price sometimes. lol... I've had her "Biography" episode on tape ever since 1997. lol
It's mentioned in there. And speaking of beauty regimens, Biography Extra aired an interesting show about the beginning of the make-up industry recently. Didja see it? It started out in the late 1800s talking about how a "painted lady" was only either a prostitute or had impure thoughts.
) Then it went on to talk about the beginning of Elizabeth Arden, Max Factor, Revlon, and Estee Lauder companies.
And then there was a freaky story about a woman around 1877 who used something with lead in it as a beauty product and her arms when completely numb. She wouldn't tell the doctors what she did (because beautifying was looked down upon) until it was too late and she finally admitted she used this stuff on her skin that had lead in it. And she ended up dying about a year later of lead poisoning.
That, to me, is just so cool. And he did a LOT of it. I'm sure Chaplin did it, too, but much more than Keaton's, Chaplin films were very rehearsed. The thing about Chaplin's films is, for as good as the comedy is, as good as the camera work is... I'm always acutely aware I'm watching a movie. Whereas Keaton tends to transport me more. Because so much is improvised, it comes across very real... the kind of comedy that could happen to anybody on a daily basis. 
You see where I find the difference? For me, it's very difficult to distinguish what was in the script and what was made up on the spot. Keaton had his crew trained well to keep the cameras rolling at all times even when something unexpected happened. With Chaplin, when he made people laugh, it was like he was pulling things out of his bag of tricks... (and thank God it was a damn good bag of tricks!). With Keaton, it's like the comedy was just THERE. Just as naturally as breathing. Never forced. 
(But earlier in the movie, he got drenched, too!)
She wasn't. She was curvy. I wish standards for women were a little more like they were back then. Now I'll bet I could pull off Jean's body, if I worked out some more. LOL... But Halle Berry's? Forget it.
Trivia -- Week of March 22, 2004
in Trivia
Posted
Oh wow. I seem to remember Katharine Hepburn saying that.
What it her?