From Library Journal
Buster Keaton ranks as one of the foremost clown princes of Hollywood. As a child, Keaton learned his craft as one of vaudeville's Three Keatons, where he was the target of knockabout comedy so rough many observers considered it a form of child abuse. Sadly, personal problems, alcoholism, and a lack of business acumen caused Buster to lose artistic control over the making of his films in later years, and he was reduced to taking bit roles in "Beach Party" films. Knopf (theater, Univ. of Michigan) offers a timely, academic appreciation of the great stoneface, examining why Keaton's films intrigued surrealists and intellectuals such as Salvador Dal!, Federico Garc!a Lorca, and Luis Bu?uel. (One of Keaton's final appearances was in a short film scripted by Samuel Beckett.) Knopf also does an excellent job of tracing the vaudevillian roots of Keaton's stunts and gags. On the other hand, Bengtson's Silent Echoes shows more than 100 sites from early Keaton films, comparing the film view with the scene as it exists today. (Unlike other silent film figures, Keaton preferred natural settings for his pratfalls. As a result, his early films offer a wonderful view of early Hollywood landmarks that are, like some of Keaton's films, now lost to posterity.) This dedicated bit of detective work will be of great interest to Hollywood and urban historians. Although the definitive history of Keaton's life and career has yet to be written, both books will nicely supplement the collections of libraries that already own earlier studies, like Keaton's Wonderful World of Slapstick, Marion Meade's Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase or Tom Dardis's Keaton: The Man Who Wouldn't Lie DownAnot to mention Kino on Video's ten-volume The Art of Buster Keaton. Recommended for all academic and large public libraries and specialized film collections.AStephen Rees, Levittown Regional Lib., PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Any student of early filmmaking in Los Angeles--not to mention Keaton fans--will find this elegant volume to be indespensable." --
American Cinematographer Magazine"Astonishing is a mild word for what John Bengtson has accomplished . . . this book is something like a miracle." --
Kenneth Turan, film critic, Los Angeles Times"In
Silent Echoes, author John Bengtson performs a great deal of detective work to uncover the areas of Los Angeles (carefully scouted by Keaton himself), which served as the famed settings featured in many of the comic's classic films. [P]ainstakingly researched...enabling current generations to relate to these films of a bygone era. Keaton scholars and fans in general will enjoy seeing the portrait of a city so close to their idol's heart." --
Francesca Dingasan, BOXOFFICE, November, 1999."The book is meticulous. It's ingenious. It's inexhaustibly fascinating." --
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle"This is a cinematic and photographic detective story of the first order." --
Ken Burns, author/director, The Civil War, Baseball, etc."What John Bengtson has done is nothing short of remarkable: a deft combination of detective work, archeology, and film buffery. I can't get enough of it!" --
Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian"With its blend of film history... and research, the book is like no other; may there be more like it." --
Ace MagazineReviews for
Silent Echoes Mindboggling!Leonard Maltin; Astonishing is a mild word for what John Bengtson has accomplished through a deft combination of instinct, observation and hard work. For any silent film fan whos ever wondered exactly where their favorite Keaton gags were shot, this book is something like a miracle. Kenneth Turan, film critic, Los Angeles Times; Thanks to his sixth sense, his detectives nose and historians tenacity, we can discover scores of locations which we had assumed had been flattened. He gives an entirely new level of interest to the city. I envy John Bengtsons achievement as much as I admire it. Despite all the resources of Thames Television, and eager researchers, we did not find out nearly as much as Bengtson did on his own. I suspect he may have created a new art form. Certainly its a godsend for film enthusiasts. Let us hope more of his location surveys appear in the future. Kevin Brownlow, Emmy Award-winning Producer/Director/Film Historian; Bengtsons zealous and patient research into the places where Keaton shot his dazzling silent comedies has a double fascinationa fresh look at the matchless Keaton at work, and a nostalgic glimpse of a simpler, gentler Los Angeles that has all but vanished in every sense. Charles Champlin, author of Hollywoods Revolutionary Decade, retired critic-at-large, Los Angeles Times; Mr. Bengtson must be some sort of filmic angel!Richard Lewis, Actor/Writer/Comedian -- From the Publisher
