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| Buster Keaton: Member of my shame list |
Leaving behind 1916 (which I really had fun with) and moving on. And a lot is happening in the world in 1917. The U.S. is pulled into World War I and Hollywood supports the effort by having its biggest stars attend Liberty Bond rallies. T.E. Lawrence (aka, Lawrence of Arabia) led Arab forces against the Turkish army, which becomes important to film fans much later.
In terms of film, not as much was happening in 1917. However, a comedy star gets his first film credit as a bit player in Fatty Arbuckle's The Butcher Boy. Buster Keaton is often mentioned in the same breath as Charlie Chaplin and, while he's not the headliner here, this is the film that put him on the path to stardom. Keaton is another one on my personal shame list. I know I have seen clips of Keaton (notably from 1926's The General), but I have not seen an entire movie featuring the actor.
In other film news, Cleopatra starring Theda Bara was the top grossing movie of the year and Chaplin joined Mary Pickford in the million dollar contract club. Director John Ford made his first western The Tornado (which is unfortunately considered a lost film). For Superman fans, Max Fleischer invents rotoscoping, which turned live action movements into cartoons. Fleischer is most known (to me anyway) for his amazing cartoons starring the Man of Steel. And the Lincoln Motion Picture Company becomes the first African American owned studio.
So what are we watching? Definitely, The Butcher Boy. And Easy Street, featuring Chaplin. There's not a lot that excites me beyond that. The Little American, directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Mary Pickford is available through Netflix. I'll also try to track down Tom Sawyer.
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