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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Slick and Glossy Tribute to The Human Mop, April 9, 2001
Weighing in at a hefty 4 pounds (I accidentally dropped it more than once, followed by expletives), this extraordinary analysis of Buster's life and career is one of the best books written about the man with the blank pan.With an emphasis on the 225 photos selected for the book, the first chapter explains that of the 1000's of photos brought forth for potential publication, some of the rare images that were selected were recently discovered lying forgotten for more than 40 years in an MGM warehouse in New Jersey, and then carefully restored. For instance, one of these never-before-seen shots is of Buster between takes on the set of "Speak Easily" playing cards with Jimmy Durante and another of an intense Buster and Jimmy taking orders from director Ed Sedgwick. Moving on, we get an intimate essay by his widow, Eleanor, on life with Buster during their 28 years together. The next chapter is a compressed early bio, starting at his birth and meandering through his vaudeville years, which ended in 1917. Following that, it continues with a chapter on Buster's filmmaking learning curve under the tutorial of Fatty Arbuckle. The majority of its content is a summary of each film from his successful years of 1920 to 1933. The text includes the synopsis and some background information during each film's development. Never-before-heard-of revelations send you running to the VCR, like Eleanor telling us that in a shot from "The Navigator", you can see the look of panic on Buster's face when he thinks he's suffocating in his deep-sea diving suit as a result of a flexible rope ladder hanging off the side of the ship. Also revealed is a backward flip out the door of the second story of his house in "One Week" that landed Buster with a swelled back and arms. There are also chapters of his post-stardom film work (the Educationals) and later TV career (both of which deserved more space in the book). The quality of the photos is remarkable. For instance, one from Eleanor's collection of Buster at age 16 standing on a giant rock, grinning from ear-to-ear, shows up much clearer in this book than in a previously published account. Another previously published photo of Buster smiling, on the beach during the filming of "Coney Island", is also fine-tuned in this collective. At the end, we are treated to instructions and photos on "How to Make a Porkpie Hat", a process whereby Buster scrunches a burly-man's Stetson fedora into a dainty 1890's ladies hat.
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by Buster Keaton
by Catherine Brighton
by Imogen Sara Smith
by Edward McPherson
