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Buster Keaton
Page Two
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on this page:
silent features sound films 1929-33 books about Buster Keaton
on Page 3:
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Silent Features
"The Round-Up" silent feature [Famous Players-Lasky Oct 1920]
 | The first feature film made near Lone Pine, California; tag line: "Nobody loves a fat man"; the film is not a comedy, per se, although Arbuckle and Keaton do a couple of pratfalls; tha main story is about rounding up the evil redskins so the white men can take over their land. Directed by George Melford; scenario by Tom Forman, based on the 1907 Broadway stageplay by Edmund Day; starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Mabel Julienne Scott, Irving Cummings, Tom Forman, Jean Acker, Edward P. Sullivan, Wallace Beery, Guy Oliver, Jane Wolfe & Fred Huntley, with Buster Keaton as an Indian; print at Library of Congress is described as beautiful; VHS tape was produced around 1999, long unavailable; as-of 2013, VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available
full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
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"The Saphead" [Metro 1920] Directed by Herbert Blaché Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 Kino Video b&w DVD [11/2001] for $26.99 full credits from IMDb video also contains "The High Sign" & "One Week" shorts |
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"The Three Ages" [Metro 1923] a spoof of D.W. Griffith's 1916 epic "Intolerance" Co-directed by Edward F. Cline Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 Kino Video b&w DVD [11/99] for $26.99 full credits from IMDb video also contains "The Goat" & "My Wife's Relations" shorts |
"Our Hospitality" [Schenck/M.G.M. Nov 1923]
 | A young man raised in the city learns that he has inherited property in the wilds of Appalachia; disre-garding the family feud between the Canfields and the McKays, he travels by train and meets and falls for a local girl. Visiting her family, he learns that they are Canfields but that 'Southern hospitality' prohibits killing a guest in one's house; the Canfields are determined to get him outside so that they can kill him. Location filming in Oregon and Truckee, California; co-directed by Buster Keaton & John G. Blystone; written by Jean C. Havez, Clyde Bruckman & Joseph A. Mitchell; starring Buster Keaton, Natalie Talmadge, Joe Roberts, Ralph Bushman, Craig Ward, Monte Collins, Joe Keaton & Kitty Bradbury
full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia newer Kino Intl. disks include "The Iron Mule" 2-reeler [1925] with the same rickety train Kino Intl. Ultimate Edition 75-min. b&w Blu-ray [3/2011] for $22.00 Kino Intl. Ultimate Edition 75-min. b&w DVD [3/2011] for $21.85 older Kino DVD/VHS also contains "Sherlock Jr." [BKP/M.G.M. 1924] Kino Video b&w DVD [11/99] out of prodn/used Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $27.42 |
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"Sherlock Jr." [BKP/MGM 1924] with Joe Keaton listed on National Film Registry 1991; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (10/2005) full credits from IMDb Kino Lorber DVD also contains "Three Ages" [Keaton/M.G.M./F.B.O. 1923] Kino Video b&w DVD [11/2010] 2 disks for $25.99 older Kino DVD/VHS also contains "Our Hospitality" [Schenck/MGM 1923] Kino Video b&w DVD [11/99] out of print/used Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $27.42 |
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"The Navigator" [BKP/MGM 1924] Co-directed by Donald Crisp; 'The Navigator' was Keaton's biggest money-maker Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 Kino Video b&w DVD [11/99] for $26.99 full credits from IMDb video also contains "The Boat" & "The Love Nest" shorts |
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"Seven Chances" [BKP/MGM 1925]
Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 Kino Video b&w DVD [1/2000] for $26.99 full credits from IMDb video also contains "The Balloonatic" & "Neighbors" shorts |
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"Go West" feature film [B.K.P./M.G.M. 1925 silent]
Kino Video b&w DVD [11/99] for $11.55 Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $14.95 full credits from IMDb video & DVD also contain shorts "The Scarecrow" & "The Paleface" DOUBLE FEATURE on DVD or Blu-ray with "Battling Butler" [1926] Kino Intl. b&w silent Blu-ray [9/2011] for $31.49 Kino Intl. b&w silent DVD [9/2011] 2 disks for $22.49 |
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"Battling Butler" [BKP/MGM 1926]
Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [10/99] for $26.99 via Amazon.com full credits from IMDb video also contains "The Haunted House" & "The Frozen North" shorts |
"The General" silent feature
[B.K.P./United Artists Tokyo Dec 1926, U.K. Jan 1927, USA Feb 1927]
 | "one of the best five silent films ever made" per A.F.I. Co-written & co-directed by Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton; also co-produced by & starring Buster Keaton; co-starring Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley, Frederick Vroom, Charles Henry Smith, Frank Barnes, Joe Keaton, Mike Donlin, Tom Nawn, Boris Karloff, Al St. John, and 125 horses & 500 members of the Oregon National Guard; listed on National Film Registry (1989) Kino Video 78-minute b&w silent Blu-ray [10/2009] for $19.93 Kino Video 78-minute b&w DVD [11/2008] two disks for $17.31 Jef Films/Music Video Distrbn 107-minute b&w VHS [5/98] out of prodn/used Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
more details (synopsis, history, locomotives, books, posters, links) on
Magic Lantern's "The General" 1927 Movie Page
 | "College" [Schenck/U.A. 1927] Co-directed by James W. Horne
Kino Video b&w DVD [1/2000] for $26.99 Kino Video b&w VHS [6/95] for $29.95 ** full credits from IMDb ** video also contains "Hard Luck", "The Electric House" & "The Blacksmith" shorts Madacy Ent. b&w VHS [12/97] for $4.99 |
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"Steamboat Bill Jr." [BKP/U.A. 1928] Co-directed by Charles Reisner b&w DVD [10/99] for $26.99 Kino Video b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 full credits from IMDb video also contains "Daydreams" & "Convict 13" shorts Jef Films b&w VHS [5/98] out of stock/used |
"The Cameraman" [M.G.M./Loew's Sept 1928]
 | A clumsy still photographer becomes infatuated with a pretty office worker at M.G.M. Newsreels, so he borrows a movie camera and tries to impress her (and M.G.M.) with his work. 69-minute silent feature co-directed by Edward Sedgwick; co-directed by & starring Buster Keaton, with Marceline Day, Harold Goodwin, Sidney Bracey & Harry Gribbon; listed on National Film Registry (2005) available on DVD among several of the DVD collections on Buster Keaton Page 1 Warner Home Video b&w VHS [9/98] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia see also Magic Lantern's History of Newsreels Page |
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"Spite Marriage" [MGM 1929] Co-directed by Edward Sedgwick Warner b&w VHS [9/2000] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb |
Early Buster Keaton Sound Films
"The Hollywood Revue of 1929" [M.G.M. June 1929]
 | Plotless two-hour sound musical review, partly filmed in Technicolor. Directed by Charles Reisner; starring Conrad Nagel, Jack Benny, John Gilbert, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Bessie Love, Cliff Edwards (as Ukulele Ike), Laurel & Hardy, Anita Page, Nils Asther, Marion Davies, William Haines, Buster Keaton {dual role} & Marie Dressler; with cameos by Renée Adorée, Lionel Barrymore, the Brox Sisters, Ann Dvorak, the Biltmore Quartet & the Mawby Sisters; nominated for Best Picture Oscar
M.G.M. b&w/color DVD [2/2006] for $18.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Free and Easy" [M.G.M. March 1930]
  | Early example of Simultaneous Bilingual Film Production: M.G.M. made a French-language version using title cards ('Le Metteur en Scene') and a Spanish-language version ('Estrellados') and a German-language version. The Chamber of Commerce of a small Kansas town sends the local winner of a beauty contest to Hollywood for a screen test, along with her formidable mother and a hapless gas station attendent designated as her 'agent'; remade as "Pick A Star" [Hal Roach Studios 1937] starring Laurel & Hardy and Patsy Kelly
Co-produced by Edward Sedgwick & Buster Keaton; directed by Edward Sedgwick; starring Buster Keaton, Anita Page, Trixie Friganza, Robert Montgomery, director Fred Niblo, Edgar Dearing, Gwen Lee, John Miljan, Lionel Barrymore, William Haines, William Collier Jr., Dorothy Sebastian, Karl Dane & director David Burton, with cameos by Jackie Coogan, Cecil B. DeMille & Ann Dvorak
full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia English & Spanish versions: Warner Archive Collection b&w DVD [2/2014] for $13.47 M.G.M./Warner b&w VHS [1/93] out of prodn/used available on the T.C.M Triple Feature b&w DVD [12/2004] 3 films on 2 disks - out of prodn/used with "The Cameraman" [1928] & "Spite Marriage" [1929] |
"Doughboys" aka 'Forward March!' [M.G.M. Aug 1930]
  | Circa World War I, a naive & wealthy young man tries to impress a lovely entertainer and accidentally signs up for the Army; then she shows up to entertain the troops, and his sergeant also falls for her, just before they ship out for France . . . Directed by Edward Sedgwick; cinematography by Leonard Smith; starring Buster Keaton, Sally Eilers, Cliff Edwards, Edward Brophy, Victor Potel, Arnold Korff, Frank Mayo, Pitzy Katz & William Steele, with Ann Dvorak & Ann Sothern in bit parts
Warner Archive remastered b&w DVD-R [11/2011] for $10.99 Warner VHS [1/93] for $27.49 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | Spanish-language version "De Frente, Marchen" [M.G.M. Dec 1930] Directed by Salvador de Alberich & Edward Sedgwick; cinematography by Leonard Smith; starring Buster Keaton, Conchita Montenegro, Romualdo Tirado, Juan de Landa, Victor Potel, Martin Garralaga, Francisco Madrid, Hans von Morhart, Gabry Rivas, Rosita Granada & Lolita Méndez VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb |
"Parlor, Bedroom & Bath" aka 'Romeo In Pyjamas' [M.G.M. Feb 1931]
  | Partly filmed at Keaton's huge estate in Beverly Hills; Virginia won't marry Jeff until her hard-to-please older sister gets married, so Jeff convinces his pal to pretend to be a Casanova . . . Produced by and starring Buster Keaton; directed by Edward Sedgwick; based on the Broadway stageplay by C.W. Bell & Mark E. Swan; also starring Charlotte Greenwood, Reginald Denny, Cliff Edwards, Dorothy Christy, Joan Peers, Sally Eilers, Natalie Moorhead, Leila Crofton, Edward Brophy, Walter Merrill & Sidney Bracey
Warner Bros Archive Triple Feature b&w DVD [3/2012] 3 movies on 2 disks for $22.98 Synergy Ent. b&w DVD [5/2011] for $9.99 Madacy Ent. double feature b&w VHS [6/98] 2 tapes for $5.15 with "Speak Easily" [1932] full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia French-language version "Buster se Marie" [M.G.M. Dec 1931] Directed by Claude Autant-Lara & Edward Brophy; also starring Françoise Rosay, Jeanne Helbling, André Luguet, André Berley, Mona Goya & Mireille • credits at IMDb German-language version "Casanova Wider Willen" [Paramount-U.F.A.-Metro Jan 1932] Directed by Edward Brophy; also starring Marion Lessing, Paul Morgan, Egon von Jordan, Françoise Rosay, Leni Stengel, Gerda Mann, George Davis & Wolfgang Zilzer • credits at IMDb |
"The Stolen Jools" [Paramount April 1931]
| A short comedy film produced by the Masquers Club of Hollywood to raise funds for the National Variety Artists Tuberculosis Sanitarium, shown in movie theaters across America. It features many cameo appearances by the film stars of the day, from multiple studios. The film was thought to be lost, until a print turned up in the U.K. in the 1990s under the alternate title "The Slippery Pearls"; a print under that title was found in the U.S. also. The simple plot has police trying to solve the theft of Norma Shearer's pearls during the 'Screen Stars Annual Ball'.
Directed by William C. McGann; starring Norma Shearer; cameos include Warner Baxter, Wallace Beery, Joe E. Brown, Maurice Chevalier, Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Eddie Kane, Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, Bert Lytell, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, the 'Our Gang' kids, Eugene Pallette, Edward G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck, Wheeler & Woolsey, and Fay Wray
full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch full movie [3/2015 upload; 57:49] online at YouTube |
"Wir Schalten um auf Hollywood (We Switch To Hollywood)"
[Paramount-U.F.A.-Metro May 1931]
German-language feature, with a bevy of M.G.M. talent including The Albertina Rasch Ballet, Wallace Beery, Joan Crawford,
The Dodge Sisters, auteur Sergei M. Eisenstein, Hoot Gibson, John Gilbert, Buster Keaton, Adolphe Menjou, Ramon Novarro,
Norma Shearer & composer Oscar Straus • video not available •
credits from IMDb
"Sidewalks of New York" [M.G.M. Sept 1931]
  | Keaton's (till-then) commercially most-successful film; dim-witted wealthy slumlord visits tenement neighborhood, falls for girl whose younger brother attacks him, decides to reform the local kids by starting a boxing gym. Directed by Zion Myers & Jules White; starring Buster Keaton, Anita Page, Cliff Edwards, Frank Rowan, Norman Phillips Jr., Frank LaRue, Oscar Apfel, Syd Saylor & Clark Marshall
Warner Archive b&w DVD-R [12/2011] for $10.49 Warner b&w VHS [12/93] out of prodn/used 27"x40" white poster {at left} from Amazon for $16.48 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia evidence for French-language version "Buster Millionaire" exists, but nothing at IMDb or Wikipedia |
"The Passionate Plumber" [M.G.M. Feb 1932]
  | Beautiful Patricia enlists hapless Paris plumber Elmer in making her boyfriend jealous. Elmer's attempts to promote his invention (a pistol with a range-finding light) lead to police trouble and a series of challenges to a duel. Filmed at M.G.M. Studios; directed by Edward Sedgwick; starring Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Polly Moran, Irene Purcell, Mona Maris, Maude Eburne, Jean Del Val; co-starring Gilbert Roland, Henry Armetta, Paul Porcasi & August Tollaire
Warner Bros Archive Triple Feature b&w DVD [3/2012] 3 movies on 2 disks for $22.98 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia French-language version "Le Plombier Amoureux" [M.G.M. France Dec 1932] Directed by Claude Autant-Lara & Edward Sedgwick; same seven stars, co-starring Jeannette Ferney, Barbara Leonard, George Davis & Fred Perry • credits at IMDb |
"Talking Screen Snapshots" [Columbia 1932]
all-star cast • video not available • full credits from IMDb
 | "Speak Easily" [Hal Roach/M.G.M. Aug 1932] a sendup of 'The Blue Angel'; directed by Edward Sedgwick; co-starring Jimmy Durante, Thelma Todd, Ruth Selwyn & Hedda Hopper Warner Archive Triple Feature b&w DVD [3/2012] 2 disks for $22.98 with "PBBath" & "Passionate Plumber" Triad Prodns 'enhanced' b&w DVD [1/2009] for $19.95 Alpha Video b&w DVD [6/2004] for $7.98 Warner b&w VHS [1/93] for $24.99 full credits from IMDb |
 | "What! No Beer?" [M.G.M. 1933] Buster's last star billing; directed by Edward Sedgwick; co-starring Jimmy Durante & Roscoe Ates Warner b&w VHS [1/93] for $19.99 full credits from IMDb |
Works about Buster Keaton
 | "My Wonderful World of Slapstick" [Doubleday 1960] Buster Keaton autobiography, with Charles Samuels Da Capo Press pb [4/88] for $11.20 |
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"Keaton" biography [1966] by Rudi Blesh
Macmillan 6x9¼ hardcover [1966] out of print/used |
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"Four Great Comedians: Chaplin, Lloyd, Keaton, Langdon" [1968] by Donald W. McCaffrey A.S. Barnes pb [1968] out of print/used A.S. Barnes pb [1968] out of print/scarce |
 | "Buster Keaton" biography [1969] by David Robinson Indiana Univ Press pb [2/69] out of print/used Indiana Univ Press hardcover [2/69] out of print/used B.F.I./Secker & Warburg hardcover [1/69] out of print/used |
"Buster Keaton & The Dynamics of Visual Wit" [1976]
by George Wead & Garth S. Lowett
Ayer Company hardcover [4/76] out of print/used
"The Best of Buster: Classic Comedy Scenes
Direct from the Films of Buster Keaton" [1976]
Crown/Darien [10/76] out of print/used
"The Film Career of Buster Keaton" [1977]
by George Wead
Redgrave Publng [1977] out of print/used
"The Look of Buster Keaton" [1983] by Robert Benayoun
St Martin Press [10/83] out of print/used
 | "Buster Keaton: Cut To The Chase" [1985] by Marion Meade Da Capo Press 9¼x6 pb [10/97] for $12.60 Harper Hardcover [9/85] out of print/used |
 | "Keaton: The Man Who Wouldn't Lie Down" [1988] by Tom Dardis Univ MN Press 8¾x6 pb [2/2002] for $13.27 Proscenium Publng 9x6 pb [11/88] for $17.95 |
 | "The Complete Films of Buster Keaton" [1993] by Jim Kline
Carol/Citadel Press 11x8.4 pb [6/93] out of print/used |
 | "Buster Keaton Enters Into Paradise" [1994] by Dick Higgins
surreal, poetic work based on eleven games of Scrabble & Buster's movie titles Small Press Distribution pb [10/94] for $13.99 |
"Buster: A Legend In Laughter" [1994] by Larry Edwards
paperback | hardcover both [11/94] out of print/used
"Buster Keaton en España: Images From Keaton On The Set of 'A Funny Thing...' "
A documentary film produced in Spain and released in September of 1995
"The Fall of Buster Keaton: His Films For MGM, Educational Pictures, and Columbia" [July 2010] by James L. Neibaur
http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Buster-Keaton-Educational-Pictures/dp/0810876825/
 | "Buster Keaton's Silent Shorts, 1920-1923" [2013] by James L. Neibaur & Terri Niemi Kindle Edition from Scarecrow Press [1/2013] for $34.49 {sic} Scarecrow Press 9x6 hardcover [1/2013] for $57.00 |
"Bluffton: My Summers With Buster Keaton" graphic novel [ages 9 & up; 7/2013]
Written & Illustrated by Matt Phelan; an inspiring graphic tale of blossoming talent and friendship starring
a young Buster Keaton, whose family spent several summers in Bluffton, Michigan.
http://www.amazon.com/Bluffton-My-Summers-Buster-Keaton/dp/076365079X/
Movies & Television, and Other Media
About Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton posters category at AllPosters.com
"The Buster Keaton Story" [Paramount Pictures May 1957]
starring Donald O'Connor; lousy script • video/DVD not available • full credits from IMDb
watch 1/2012 upload of full movie [1:27:03] online at YouTube
 | "The Great Stone Face" [indep 1968] 93-minute documentary film about the works of Buster Keaton; co-produced, written & directed by Vernon P. Becker; narrated by Henry Morgan; with archive footage of Buster Keaton, Renée Adorée, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Glen Cavender, Edward F. Cline, Jim Farley, Virginia Fox, Phyllis Haver, Marion Mack, Steve Murphy, Agnes Neilson, Joe Roberts & Al St. John Phoenix Learning Group b&w DVD-R for home viewing only [8/2008] for $24.99 credits at IMDb |
 | "Four Clowns" [Fox b&w docu feature 1970] Written & directed by Robert Youngson; co-starring Laurel & Hardy and Charley Chase video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Golden Age of Buster Keaton" [documentary film 1975]
Produced by Raymond Rohauer & Jay Ward
video not available; full credits from IMDb
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"Buster Keaton: A Hard Act To Follow" [H.B.O. mini-series 1987] Written & directed by Kevin Brownlow & David Gill H.B.O. b&w VHS box set [8/89] 3 tapes for $34.99 "From Vaudeville to Movies" b&w [8/89] for $19.99 "Star Without a Studio" b&w [8/89] for $19.99 "Genius Recognized" b&w [8/89] for $19.99 full credits from IMDb |
"Buster's Bedroom" [1990]; co-written & directed by Rebecca Horn
video not available; full credits from IMDb
"Busters Bedroom: A Film Book" [1991]
by Rebecca Horn, Sven Nykvist & Martin Mosebach
Distributed Art Publrs hardcover [10/91]for $39.95
"Rebecca Horn: Diving Through Buster's Bedroom" [1990]
by Germano Celant & Davide Fabbri
hardcover [1990] out of print/used
"Buster Keaton and Fatty Roscoe Arbuckle" [France 2002]
26-minute TV documentary written & directed by Laurent Preyale; full credits at IMDb
Christopher Bird's documentary "So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM" [2004]
"Buster Keaton: From Silents To Shorts" [2006 featurette]
"The Great Buster: A Celebration" [Cohen Media Group Oct 2018] 
 | `102-minute documentary film in b&w and color •
Written, directed & narrated by Peter Bogdanovich; featuring Mel Brooks, Bill Hader, Werner Herzog, Johnny Knoxville, Nick Kroll, comedian Richard Lewis, Carl Reiner, Cybill Shepherd, French Stewart, Quentin Tarantino, Dick Van Dyke, Jon Watts, with archive footage of Buster Keaton; won the Venezia Classici Award for Best Documentary on Cinema
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • credits at IMDb • official movie website watch 9/2018 official trailer [1:48] online at YouTube |
"Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton" stageplay [2012]
 | Written by Vanessa Claire Stewart, produced by Brian W. Wallis, directed by Jaime Robledo world premiere performance in May 2012 at Sacred Fools Theater Company in East Hollywood starring French Stewart, Donal Thoms-Cappello, Scott Leggett, Erin Parks, Tegan Ashton Cohan, Rena Strober, Jake Broder, Conor Duffy, Pat Towne & Guy Picot watch 2012 official promo video [2:07] at YouTube also performed at The Pasadena Playhouse [est. 1924] in June 2014 |
jump to Buster's Later Films on page 3
here on Magic Lantern's Buster Keaton [1895-1966] Pages
on page one: top of page • short profile • video & DVD collections • silent shorts • links
here on page two: top of page • silent features • sound films 1929-33 • works about Buster Keaton
on page three: sound films 1934-66 • image gallery • friends & family
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