Buster Keaton: Tempest In A Flat Hat [Hardcover]

Edward McPherson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2005

This “appreciative biography that rolls as smoothly as a film reel” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) celebrates one of cinema’s greatest clowns, painting a detailed portrait of the man behind the mayhem and offering a fresh look at the classic comedies that defined the Golden Age of Silent Film.

Writer—and avowed fan—Edward McPherson takes the reader on a fascinating journey through Buster Keaton’s life and times, from the vaudeville stage to the glittering screens of early Hollywood, where he rivaled even Charlie Chaplin as the master of silent comedy.

Based on extensive research, this biography reveals Keaton in his prime as an antic genius—equal parts auteur, innovator, prankster, and daredevil—focusing on his glorious 1920s films, which “McPherson evokes with insight and enthusiasm” (Washington Post Book World).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McPherson pays homage to Keaton's two-reelers and full-length movies by detailing the iconic filmmaker's plot lines and notable sight gags. Between 1920 and 1929, Keaton rivaled Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin as one of Hollywood's silent masters. Grabbing his title from Keaton's signature porkpie hat, McPherson, who's written for I.D. magazine and the New York Observer, has culled the narrative of the star's personal and professional life from earlier biographical works. His contribution is to adroitly describe the extraordinary visual lunacy Keaton produced on screen to achieve cinema art. Responsible for writing, acting, editing and directing, Keaton took what he knew—"the ingenuity, athleticism, and wit of vaudeville—and applied it to a burgeoning medium." On-screen physical catastrophes were his trademark, though many of his most treasured films, such as The General, were not initially well received. McPherson also remarks on Keaton's disastrous marriage to Natalie Talmadge (her sister, Norma, was a major star), his adjustment to talkies and his descent into alcoholism, a demon he battled for decades. In his prime, Keaton lived a life of luxury, but he paid for his excesses. When his films lost favor, he was reduced to taking studio day jobs. Yet he saw his silent classics reissued and achieved happiness with his third wife, a sunny ending for this loving tribute. 40 b&w photos. (May)
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Review

"A lighthearted and captivating romp through Hollywood's golden age... [McPherson] captures Keaton's antic, madcap energy."
--The New York Times Book Review

"In this spiffy new biography, McPherson is especially good at describing the ingenuity at the heart of Keaton's career... McPherson evokes [Keaton's work] with insight and enthusiasm."
--The Washington Post Book World

"One of Hollywood's funniest filmmakers--that's the Buster Keaton we remember today, and McPherson nicely reminds us of how he got that way."
--The Wall Street Journal

An excellent portrait of a formidable talent. -- Empire, 4-star review

McPherson's biography...is humane and sympathetic and deserves to lead the way. -- Christopher Wood, The Times [London]

McPherson's] enthusiasm for his subject is undoubtedly contagious. -- Jenny McCartney, The Sunday Telegraph [London]

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Newmarket Press; First American Edition edition (May 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557046654
• ISBN-13: 978-1557046659
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #922,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Edward McPherson has contributed to the New York Times Magazine, the New York Observer, I.D., Esopus, Salon, and Talk, among others. Originally from Texas, he lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Admiration for a Silent Giant, May 25, 2005

By 

R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" (Columbus, Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Buster Keaton: Tempest In A Flat Hat (Hardcover)

Almost forty years after his death, Buster Keaton is increasingly appreciated as a comic artist. The movies of his only real competitor for silent film clown, Charlie Chaplin, are usually marred by sentimentality, but Keaton was having none of that. As Edward McPherson writes, in _Buster Keaton: Tempest in a Flat Hat_ (Newmarket Press), "Keaton's films are witty, beautiful, unsentimental, moving, and - most of all - funny." McPherson writes that his book is "merely a fan's notes," a celebration of Keaton's work. As such, almost all its pages are lovingly devoted to Keaton's films of the twenties. There was a Keaton after the silent film days were over, and he did make a triumph over various adversities, but his silent shorts and full-length films are wonderful, and are still being mined as examples of timing and technical wizardry. This is not a full biography, but a celebration, and it is all the better for that.

Young Keaton joined his parents in vaudeville performances. He literally joined them by wandering onstage; the parents tried tying him offstage or putting him into a trunk, but it turned out that the best way to keep an eye on him was to bring him into the act. The usual skit involved Joe's helter-skelter efforts to discipline his son, and Keaton simply was tossed around on the stage, thrown into the orchestra pit, or used as a mop. It sounds rough, but Keaton was a ham and loved it, and always denied that he had anything to complain about. Fatty Arbuckle was a fan of the Keatons' act, and had already "borrowed" some of their gags for celluloid. When Keaton wandered into Arbuckle's studio in New York in 1917, he was invited to take part in a scene involving a mess of gooey molasses and being knocked for a backwards summersault from a store out into the street. Arbuckle recognized a movie natural immediately, and Buster signed on to the company. Arbuckle's collaborative and freeform way of making gags was just what Keaton wanted, and what he instituted when he started making his own movies in Hollywood. McPherson describes all of the great films here, with descriptions of how the stunts and the accomplished trick photography were done. It all ground down when Keaton lost his independent studio and went to work for MGM, which wanted scripts, budgets, and shooting schedules; the jolly, funny atmosphere of a team intoxicated by making comic movies evaporated. The other great impediment to Keaton's way of working was sound. The days of hooking the camera to a boat, car, or train and letting it go were over. Keaton was shoe-horned into drawing-room, all-talking productions.

McPherson describes but does not detail the years thereafter, when Keaton had embarrassing journeyman jobs as his only outlet, and then cameos in such films as _Sunset Boulevard_, and even in beach blanket movies. His troubles with alcoholism (eventually conquered) and two difficult marriages (the third one was charmed) are here. Here also, however, is mention of his lucrative career making guest spots and commercials on television, a medium that many moviemakers hated or dreaded but which he appreciated as the latest technology. Collectors ensured that his films were seen again in the fifties and sixties, and he got lifetime honors from the Academy and other appreciative organizations, so that when he died in 1966, he knew that his astonishing output from the twenties was going to be appreciated by every subsequent generation. As a appreciation of Keaton's work, McPherson's book is sweet and generous, and will send readers out to the video store to do their own appreciating.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice little surprise, February 23, 2006

By 

Arnold L. Fogel (St. Louis Park, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Buster Keaton: Tempest In A Flat Hat (Hardcover)

This book was a "nice little surprise", in that I didn't really expect to enjoy it as much as I did. - I bought it on impulse, in that I always buy books on Buster Keaton, as well as on a number of other subjects that are of great "collectible" interest to me. For the most part, I've enjoyed almost every book on Keaton I've ever purchased, going back to Blesh's "Keaton", which I read when I was 17, way back in 1966. I was burned severly by one purchase, a slight little paperback biography (by an author whose name I can't remember) that was one of the most poorly written, error-strewn messes I've ever seen. I tossed it! But I love Blesh, Bengston, Lebel, Robinson, Moews, Meade, Rapf & Green, Oldham, Dardis, Horton (why does everyone hate this one? I enjoyed it immensly), Knopf, Weed & Lellis, Vance & Keaton, Benayoun, Kline, and of course, Buster's own "World Of Slapstick". To my mind, they all contribute something new to the picture.

When I started reading this new McPherson book, I had a bit of a feeling of "ho-hum". But, surprisingly, I was drawn into it. I found that the author had, indeed, added new insights into Keaton's personal life, a few new facts here & there. Most importantly, his comments regarding the films themselves are lively, insightful, and unique. This is a most welcome addition to my Keaton library, in a plain, unexceptional cover and design that falsely led me to believe that the book would be dull and pedestrian. I'm one Keaton fan who is glad to own this book.

The only reason I've not given the book a fifth star, is that the author rather awkwardly telescopes the last 20 or so years of Buster's life into a rather sketchy summary, somewhat out-of-keeping with the wonderful treatment given the earlier years. For this reason, I would not recommend this as a "starter", or a new Keaton fan's "only" book on the subject. But, to add color and nuance to what is learned in other volumes, this is a fine compliment and a satisfying Keaton read.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Go watch his movies instead..., April 27, 2007

By 

B. Harris "Classic Fanatic" (Arkansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buster Keaton: Tempest In A Flat Hat (Hardcover)

I just finished this book and I found little insight to Keaton as a person. I wouldn't really call this book a biography. It's more of a chronological synopsis of each of his films with anecdotes of his life splashed here and there. It's a great book if you really want to know about plot lines and what happened on set. If you want to know about the man, choose another book.