Silent Comedy

by Paul Merton

On the surface it may seem slightly surprising that a master of verbal humour should also be a devotee of silent comedy, but Paul Merton is completely passionate about the early days of Hollywood comedy and the comic geniuses who dominated it. His knowledge is awesome - as anyone who watched his BBC 4 series Silent Clowns or attended the events he has staged nationwide will agree - his enthusiasm is infectious, and these qualities are to be found in abundance in his book. Starting with the very earliest pioneering short films, he traces the evolution of silent comedy through the 1900s and considers the works of the genre's greatest exponents - Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Harold Lloyd - showing not only how each developed in the course of their career but also the extent to which they influenced each other. At the same time, Paul brings a comedian's insight to bear on the art of making people laugh, and explores just how the great comic ideas, routines, gags and pratfalls worked and evolved. His first book for ten years, this is destined to be a classic.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, History, Comedy

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 23, 2007

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordsmith comedian, Paul Merton's really interesting book on silent comedy, focussing on Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and 'Fatty' Arbuckle from the dawn of movie making to the coming of the 'Talkies'. More a celebration of their careers and looking mostly at their body of work and only glossing over their major scandals. 6 out of 12

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book for all fans of the silent era. My one criticism is that it is a bit too Chaplain centric. Sure Charlie was popular but his form of comedy can turn people off. It also covers Buster Keaton, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Harold Lloyd in depth as well as the early films of Laurel and Hardy who were the break out stars of the era successfully managing the leap from silent to spoken comedy. The book also covers some of the lesser known stars of the silent era like Harry Langdon as well as others.
A really good introduction into the era of silent comedy.

[Daniel W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merton’s love of silent cinema and early Hollywood shines through in this book, which makes it a charming and accessible read. As someone who had heard of the great names of this age - Roscoe Arbuckle, Harold Lloyd, Buster and Charlie - but who hasn’t necessarily seen much of their work, this was a perfect introduction to their stories and surviving films.

Have YouTube ready when you read this book, as you won’t be able to resist looking up clips from the movies.

[Alison Slade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, but I think that silent film buffs would already know most of the information in the book.

[Roland Squire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect introduction to early Hollywood silent comedy and the stars that made them. Going to have to actually watch them all now!

[Steven Heywood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good all-round review of the lives and silent movie work of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd and Laurel & Hardy, I can't help feeling sorry he didn't have more to say about the less well-known names — particularly Charlie Chase — but there's only so much you can fit in one book. He has a lot to say about the importance of a sympathetic soundtrack, something I can entirely agree with as too many of my Laurel & Hardy shorts have that execrable Virgin Collection backing music.

[Gary Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written with a love of the silent comedies, if you have ever seen one or not, just read this, it traces the history of the silent film, being told with a voice of a person who loves and knows them well. The book details how each silent star made the other improve on what they had produced. My suggestion is you read this book, for I personally now want to re read it, in case I missed something.

[Tracey Wilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Unlike a lot of stuff about silent comedy it didn't just focus on Chaplin. Even covered Harold Lloyd - my favourite. Lots of interesting anecdotes. It made me realise just how cutting edge this stuff was at the time. A very good read.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written book on the early days of the silent comedy stars. Full of insight and written by somebody who is passionate about this era of the movies. Well worth a read.

[Paulinlong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read it. It is fabulous