Charles Chaplin's First Slapstick Film

Films containing mainly physical comedy is often called slapstick. The phrase comes from a prop, the slapstick, which was invented in the 16th century, but physical comedy has probably been a liked topic. In ancient Greece, festivals of parades with masked characters, and endings with a comedy often happened. In these comedies, characters wearing lots of padding would get laughs by performing larger-than-life mock violence. Even today, movies and television continue the tradition of silliness.
The first known comedy film was called “Watering the Gardener” by the Lumière brothers in 1895. We watched this one in class and it was pretty good. It was about a gardener who was watering his plants when a boy jumped on the hose, stopping the water.
Chaplin’s first slapstick comedy film was called “Making A Living”, which was made in 1914. The film was about a thief who stole a picture and said it was his, the rest of the film consists of the thief being chased, and even getting caught in a girls bedroom. “Buster” Keaton, born in the same era as Chaplin, was extremely successful for his silent, slapstick comedy films. Except his approach and trademark style was physical comedy. He liked to use his body to portray humour for example walking into walls or falling over. This style of comedy is quite similar to entertainment aimed at young children. Keaton always has an expressionless face in his films, which added to the comedic effect . He was given the nickname “The Great Stone Face” for his subtle face. Buster’s approach to comedy is simple, and was quite effective. Harold lloyd, born on April 20, 1893, is another legendary slapstick director. Not only was he a director, he also acted in his films and did all of his own stunts, including hanging off of super tall buildings! We watched one of his films, Safety last, in class, and i am quite a fan of his