Customer Reviews

Ford Sterling: The Life And Films

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Ford Sterling has invariably been written off in silent film histories with a couple of dismissive sentences. He has been portrayed as a one-note Dutch-style comedian who had the good fortune to work with Mack Sennett during Keystone's formative years. It was said his success had more to do with luck than ability; with the emergence of genuine talents such as Chaplin and Arbuckle, Sterling faded into obscurity.

With Sterling and his contemporaries long dead and the majority of his films lost or unavailible, who could prove otherwise?

Film historian Wendy Warwick White took up the challenge and her excellent book, "Ford Sterling", goes a long way in setting the story straight. This meticulously researched volume traces Sterling's multi-faceted career; in addition to his comedic endeavors, Sterling was a Shakespearian actor, a pro ball player, and a world-class photographer. After breaking with Sennett, Sterling became a much sought-after and respected character actor in the 1920's. An excellent speaking voice insured continued success well into the talking era.

Despite his volume of work and continued popularity, Sterling's end was particulary tragic. At one time a millionaire, Ford lost both his fortune and his health, and died in near poverty.

Author White has unearthed an extraordinary volume of information on her subject, more than one would have thought possible so long after the fact. Especially telling are the first-person quotes from Sterling himself. He comes off as polite, intelligent and articulate - a far cry from the grimacing, ear-biting lunatic he so often portrayed!

The book includes a number of rare photos plus a detailed filmography. Given the general unavailibilty of the films, the numerous plot synopsis' within the body of the text are particularly valuable.

Well written and highly readable, "Ford Sterling" hopefully will put this fine comedian's contributions to early film comedy in their proper perspective. Highly recommended.

This book is wonderful! It's a thoroughly researched and thoughtful biography of an actor most known today from his earliest frenetic work at Keystone, whose reputation has become somewhat tarnished primarily through the self-serving reminiscences of Fred Balshofer 60+ years after the fact. Ms. White does a wonderful job correcting the record, demonstrating time and again the high regard in which Sterling was held by his peers in the trade, his other contributions to the arts (a respected and awarded photographer - who knew?), and his body of work as a character actor throughout the '20s and into the '30s, almost uniformly well-reviewed at the time, but regretably now in large measure unavailable for reeavaluation.

And the guy was a workhorse, with over 80 split, single-, and two-reelers in 1913 alone! Add to this a satisfyingly detailed filmography and a whole bunch of previously unpublished stills, I'd highly recommend this book to any of you lovers of silent comedy or, for that matter, silent film in general.