Wisconsin 101

The Ringling Theatre featured many forms of entertainment throughout the years, including live theatrical performances as well as silent films. At the time when the theatre was built in 1915, silent films were becoming more popular because advancements in film technology allowed movies to be as long as 30 or 40 minutes. Gone were the days of Nickelodeon Theaters where audiences would watch 10–15-minute films As American audiences began longing for longer and more complex stories in a myriad of genres such as westerns, dramas, and comedies. In the 1910s/20s, the popularity of these films had reached an all-time high, and movie studios began churning out films at an unprecedented rate, and as a result they were continuously looking for actors for their films. This was especially evident with the genre of silent comedies as a few key players came to be extremely popular actors in the genre including Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, two men who would later be known as defining the genre of comedy as a whole.

Silent comedies were mainly composed of two key features: gags and slapstick. Sight gags can be defined simply as anything that is visually humorous, which can broadly encapsulate prop gags and facial expressions. Slapstick is a gag in itself but it is specifically focused on physical harm as well as the stylized body. What this essentially means is that the comedic actor has the ability to stylize their movements and facial expression in a way that is comedic or lends to the action that is being performed. Both Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin were masters at this.

Charlie Chaplin was born in 1889 in London. His father died when he was very young, and his mother worked as a singer until she had lost her voice. To survive Charlie entered the entertainment business at the age of ten. Chaplin did various pantomime comedy shows which would later come to serve as the basis of Chaplin’s signature slapstick and iconic facial expressions displayed in his films. Eventually, Chaplin’s comedic chops would earn him the opportunity to come to the United States to work at Keystone Studios, which, in a period of less than one year, featured him in 36 different films. Chaplin’s films skyrocketed his popularity and, by 1915, Chaplin was easily recognizable to audiences and considered a household name.

Charlie Chaplin films mostly featured his recurring character of “The Little Tramp”, an underdog character who, despite good intentions was often portrayed as aloof, pitiful, and clumsy. These traits were meant to endear The Little Tramp to the audience, as it is easy to root for an underdog. The romantic subplots of Chaplin films also drew in audiences, as they gave The Little Tramp a sense of relatability while also holding the audience in the suspense of “will he or won’t he” get the girl. While earlier silent comedies focused heavily on gags and the quick succession of jokes, Chaplin’s films featured narrative in a way atypical of comedies of the era. Chaplin’s desire to innovate the genre was part of the reason he left Keystone Studios and eventually joined Mutual Film Company in 1916, as Mutual would allow Chaplin to have greater control over the stories and his character in his films. With this new-found creative freedom, Chaplin was able to produce some of the greatest films of his career, such as Easy Street and The Vagabond. These films redefined the genre of silent comedies, featuring iconic gags still used in media today while also proving that emotional narratives and comedy could work hand-in-hand.

Buster Keaton shared a similar background to Chaplin. Also entering the entertainment industry at a young age, Keaton’s introduction to performance came from his parents who had a vaudeville act in a traveling medicine show. This family connection allowed Keaton to perform at various shows and to eventually develop skills in acrobatics and stunt work, both of which can be reflected in his films. Eventually, Keaton was signed for The Passing Show of 1917 at the Shubert Theatre in New York City. This role connected him to the Colony Studio where Keaton had his first introduction to film acting in the movie Butcher Boy.

While Chaplin had revolutionized silent comedies through his emotional narrative, Keaton took the genre to new heights by performing large-scale (and often dangerous) gags that required incredible precision. One of the most famous of Keaton’s stunts had a building fall on him. By standing in a precise location, Keaton remained unscathed as the building toppled around him. While tricks like this were certainly funny as they subverted the audience expectations, they also amazed audiences with their meticulous craftsmanship. Like Chaplin’s films, audiences could enjoy the drama of Keaton’s films while also laughing at his comedic gags, yet Keaton’s films did not take the same emotional approach to stories as Chaplin’s. Keaton rarely moved from his stone-faced expressions, letting the inherent drama of situations insert emotion into his films. Keaton’s approach to slapstick also differed in this sense, as his gags relied more on body posing or the props he was using to sell the joke. Keaton’s films took the genre of silent comedy to a new level, as they continue the dramatic narratives of Chaplin’s films, while pushing the standards for stunts and mechanical gags.

Written by Hadley McSunas, July 2024.

Sources:

Bishop, Christopher, and Buster Keaton. “An Interview with Buster Keaton.” Film Quarterly 12, no. 1 (1958): 15–22. https://doi.org/10.2307/3186072.

Caron, James E. “Silent Slapstick Film as Ritualized Clowning: The Example of Charlie Chaplin.” Studies in American Humor, no. 14 (2006): 5-22. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42573699.

Gunning, Tom. “Buster Keaton: Or The Work of Comedy in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Cinéaste 21, no. 3 (1995): 14–16. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41687377.

McCaffrey, Donald W. “The Evolution of the Chase in the Silent Screen Comedy.” The Journal of the Society of Cinematologists, vol. 4/5, 1964, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.2307/1224797.