{"product_id":"lame-brains-lunatics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-forgotten-of-silent-comedy-paperback","title":"LAME BRAINS \u0026 LUNATICS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE FORGOTTEN OF SILENT COMEDY (paperback)","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eISBN \u003cspan id=\"print_isbn\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e9781593932688\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003eSilent Film Comedy was a fortuitous combination of art and technology, where\u003cbr\u003ethe physical comedy skills and artistry passed down from the Commedia\u003cbr\u003edell'Arte, English music hall, and American vaudeville were captured for\u003cbr\u003eposterity by the newly created motion picture camera. While the Chaplins,\u003cbr\u003eKeatons, and Laurel \u0026amp; Hardys are still remembered and celebrated, this book\u003cbr\u003eprofiles unsung practitioners such as Billie Ritchie, Marcel Perez, Lige\u003cbr\u003eConley, and George Rowe, with special focus on the neglected comediennes\u003cbr\u003eAlice Howell, Gale Henry, Fay Tincher, and Josie Sadler. Popular icons on\u003cbr\u003ethe order of Mack Sennett, Marie Dressler, Roscoe \"Fatty\" Arbuckle, and W.C.\u003cbr\u003eFields are re-examined, plus detailed histories of silent comedy teams and\u003cbr\u003ekid's comedies are offered. The book also includes selected filmographies\u003cbr\u003eand is lavishly illustrated with more than 225 rarely-seen photographs and\u003cbr\u003eadvertising images.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSteve Massa is a leading enthusiast of silent comedy, who has devoted 45\u003cbr\u003eyears to researching the genre. A librarian in the Billy Rose Theatre\u003cbr\u003eCollection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln\u003cbr\u003eCenter, he has organized comedy film programs for the Museum of Modern Art,\u003cbr\u003ethe Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Pordenone\u003cbr\u003eSilent Film Festival. In addition to consulting with the Eye Film Institute,\u003cbr\u003eNetherlands and other archives, and writing for film journals such as\u003cbr\u003eGriffithiana, he is a founding member of Silent Cinema Presentations which\u003cbr\u003eproduces NYC's Silent Clown Film Series. Steve has also contributed articles\u003cbr\u003eand commentary tracks to many comedy DVD collections such as The Forgotten\u003cbr\u003eFilms of Roscoe \"Fatty\" Arbuckle, Becoming Charley Chase, and Kino Video's\u003cbr\u003eBuster Keaton: The Short Films Collection.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003eFrom The New York Times:  (click here for full review)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003eThese are films that only survive because they were reissued in 16-millimeter by companies catering to the home movie market before the days of VHS — hence the title of Mr. Model’s collection, “Accidentally Preserved.” Here, accompanied by program notes by Steve Massa (whose fine book on neglected silent comics, “Lame Brains and Lunatics,” was recently published by BearManor Media), are films featuring classic broad slapstick with stars like Paul Parrott and Clyde Cook, as well as extremely rare work by comedians like Wallace Lupino and Neal Burns, who followed Lloyd into more naturalistic characterizations.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\"There is no question that Steve Massa’s research will remain a valuable guide for many years to come. His enthusiasm certainly makes one want to seek out many of these long-forgotten films.\"\u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Leonard Maltin\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003eThe author at work!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8AKSNxapdWs\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e","brand":"BearManor Media","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46997968093356,"sku":"kyd1787291516360","price":24.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0691\/4962\/2444\/files\/lame-brains-lunatics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-forgotten-of-silent-comedy-paperba_1.jpg?v=1787291521","url":"https:\/\/www.mintmerton.com\/products\/lame-brains-lunatics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-forgotten-of-silent-comedy-paperback","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}