Sherlock, Jr. A 1924 Silent Film - Directed by and Starring Buster Keaton- 44 Minutes

 

Available on YouTube 

"The greatest of the silent clowns is Buster Keaton, not only because of what he did, but because of how he did it. Harold Lloyd made us laugh as much, Charlie Chaplin moved us more deeply, but no one had more courage than Buster. I define courage as Hemingway did: "Grace under pressure." In films that combined comedy with extraordinary physical risks, Buster Keaton played a brave spirit who took the universe on its own terms, and gave no quarter." Roger Ebert 

Buster Keaton Films I have posted upon

The Navigator- 1927 - 

The General - 1924

Our Hospitality- 1926

Sherlock, Jr. - 1925

 Sherlock Jr. is a true gem of silent comedy, and a testament to the comedic genius of Buster Keaton! This 1924 film is as hilarious as it is inventive, following the story of a hapless projectionist who dreams of becoming a detective and ends up living his fantasy i

Keaton plays both the projectionist and his dream persona, Sherlock Jr., a detective who leaps from the movie screen and into the real world to solve a robbery case. The film is filled with Keaton's signature physical comedy, from pratfalls and stunts to clever visual gags and impeccable deadpan delivery.

One of the most iconic scenes is the dream sequence, where Keaton seamlessly blends live-action with film footage. As Sherlock Jr. enters the movie screen, he finds himself navigating a world that's both familiar and surreal. He climbs ladders that stretch into the sky, walks through doorways that lead to unexpected places, and even gets chased by a giant pair of scissors

Keaton's mastery of physical comedy is on full display throughout the film. He hangs from trains, dodges falling scenery, and even gets caught in a spinning clothesline – all while maintaining his iconic stoic expression.

Sherlock, Jr. Shows the amazing stunts of Buster Keaton, often dangerous.

"Various Miracles" - A Short Story by Carol Shields first published 1985-7 Pages- Included in The Collected Stories of Carol Shields- 2013

"This ability to strike two such different chords at once is not only high art, it’s also the essence of Carol Shields’ writing—the iridescent, often hilarious surfaces of things, but also their ominous depths. The shimmering pleasure boat, all sails set, skimming giddily across the River Styx. Carol Shields died on July 16, 2003 at her home in Victoria, British Columbia, after a long battle with cancer. She was sixty-eight. The enormous media coverage given to her and the sadness expressed by her many readers paid tribute to the high esteem in which she was held in her own country, but her death made the news all around the world. Conscious as she was of the vagaries of fame and the element of chance in any fortune, she would have viewed that with a certain irony, but she would also have found it deeply pleasing. She knew about the darkness, but, both as an author and as a person, she held on to the light. “She was just a luminous person, and that would be important and persist even if she hadn’t written anything,” said her friend and fellow author Alice Munro." From the introduction by Margaret Atwood 

Next year Buried in Print, a marvelous blog I have followed for over ten years,will be doing a read through of the short stories I hope to participate fully in this event.

http://www.buriedinprint.com/

The Various Miracles" is a beautiful very imaginative story. I look forward to reading many more of the author's stories next year.

The Carol Shields Literary Trust Website has an excellent biography 

https://www.carol-shields.com/biography.html

"SEVERAL OF THE MIRACLES THAT OCCURRED this year have gone unrecorded. Example: On the morning of January 3, seven women stood in line at a lingerie sale in Palo Alto, California, and by chance each of these women bore the Christian name Emily. Example: On February 16 four strangers (three men, one woman) sat quietly reading on the back seat of the number 10 bus in Cincinnati, Ohio; each of them was reading a paperback copy of Smiley’s People."

There is no conventional plot, just a series of marvelous Miracles.

"She was the kind of young woman who reads everything, South American novels, Russian folk tales, Persian poetry, the advertisements on the subway, the personal column in the Globe and Mail, even the instructions and precautions on public fire extinguishers. Print is her way of entering and escaping the world."

Mel u

Our Hospitality- A 1923 Silent Film- Directed by and Starring Buster Keaton- 1 Hour 15 Minutes

 

Available on YouTube 

 Willie McKay, unaware of his family's longstanding feud with the Canfields, inherits an estate in the South. He falls in love with Virginia Canfield, not realizing her family are his sworn enemies. He's protected by the Southern code of hospitality within their home, but hilarious chaos ensues as he tries to navigate the feud and win Virginia's heart.

The film showcases Keaton's signature deadpan humor and incredible physical comedy. From train-related mishaps to death-defying stunts (including a famous scene where he and a Canfield brother are tied together and flung over a waterfall), Keaton kept me laughing throughout.

While the film is primarily slapstick comedy, it also satirizes Southern hospitality and the absurdity of long-lasting family feuds.

Critical reception: "Our Hospitality" was a commercial and critical success, receiving positive reviews for its humor, action, and heartwarming story. It's considered one of Keaton's best films.

Short Stories on The Reading Life in 2024- - Hopes and Plans

Short Stories on The Reading Life in 2024- - Hopes and Plans

Posts upon short stories draw far more readers to my blog than anything else.  I hope to read all of the stories in the college above and post on as many as my declining energy level will allow.

2023 Reading Life Yearly Review.

 2023 Blog Stats

Page Views since inception 7,430,189

Posts Currently online  4,428

Most frequent Homelands of visitors in 2023

1, Singapore - incredibly gratifying from such a highly educated location - per capita tremendously ahead of all other locations 

2. USA

3. India

4. Philippines 

5. Canada 

6. Germany 

7. United Kingdom 

8. France

9. Isreal 

10. Iran

The most frequently viewed posts were on short stories by Irish, Indian and Filipino authors.

In July 2023 I began to post upon movies.  I only feature movies that can be streamed for free.

The Reading Life Review- December 2023 - - December Movies

 December Blog Stats

As of today our posts have been viewed 7,428,009 times since inception 

There are currently 4,427 posts online

Blog traffic for December- 47,215 visits

Home Countries of Blog Visitors 

1. USA

2. India

3. Germany 

4. Philippines 

5. Finland

6. Singapore 

7. Canada

8. France

9. Iran 

10. Hong Kong

The most viewed posts were those about short stories 

In December two works of narrative non-fiction were featured and 13 short stories 

9  living authors were featured 3 deceased, all but one were first time features. Seven authors were men 

Homelands of December Authors

1. Gaza West Bank- 8

2. Iraq - 4

3. USA- 2

4. Poland- 1

Movies  streamed in December 

December Movies 

1. The Marriage Circle- 1924 - directed by Ernst Lubitsch 

2.  City Girl - 1930 - Directed by F. W. Murnau 

3. Sumurun-  1920 - directed by Ernst Lubitsch 

4.  Lady Windermere's Fan- 1925  - directed  by Ernst Lubitsch 

5. The Eyes of Mummy Ma - 1920 - directed by Ernst Lubitsch 

6. Mean Girls -2004 - directed by Mark Waters - no post 

7. Broken Blossoms- A 1919 Silent Film Directed by D. W. Griffith-

8. Suspense- 1913- directed by Lois Weber - no post

9.  Contempt (French: Le Mépris) is a 1963 French New Wave drama film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard

10. Cabiria -  A 1914 Italian Silent Movie directed by Giovanni Pastrone

11. Orochi- A 1925 Japanese Silent Film - Directed by Buntarō Futagawa - 1 Hour 5 minutes

12. Fellini's Satyricon- directed by Frederico Fellini 

13. Viva Las Vegas. 1964- directed by George Sidney. No post

14. Pinocchio - 2023- directed by Guillermo del Toro- Netflix - no post

15. Mr. Thank You (有りがたうさん, Arigatō-san) is a 1936 Japanese comedy-drama film written and directed by Hiroshi Shimizu.- no post

16. The Adventures of Prince Achmed- 1926- directed by Lotte Reiniger 

17. Killers of the Flower Moon- - 2023- Directed by Martin Scorese - no post

18. Japanese Girls at the Harbor - 1933- A Japanese Silent Film- Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu

19. Mr. And Mrs. Smith- directed by Alfred Hitchcock- 1936

20. The Navigator- 1924- directed by Buster Keaton 

21. The General  A  1926 Silent movie - Directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckmann 

22. Steamboat Bill, Jr. - 1928 - Buster Keaton- no post

Mel u

The General - A1927 Silent Movie - Directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman- 1 Hour 15 Minutes

 Available on YouTube In a beautifully restored version 

Director: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton

Producer: Buster Keaton, Joseph M. Schenck

Writer: Clyde Bruckman, Al Boasberg, Buster Keaton, William Pittenger, Charles Smith, Paul Smith

Release Date (Theaters): Feb 5, 1927

"The General” was voted one of the 10 greatest films of all time in the authoritative Sight & Sound poll. Who knows if it is even Keaton's greatest? Others might choose “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” (1928). His other classics include “Our Hospitality” (1923), “The Navigator” (1924), “Go West” (1925) and “The Cameraman” (1928), in which he played a would-be newsreel photographer who lucks into his career.......

Today I look at Keaton's works more often than any other silent films. They have such a graceful perfection, such a meshing of story, character and episode, that they unfold like music. Although they're filled with gags, you can rarely catch Keaton writing a scene around a gag; instead, the laughs emerge from the situation; he was “the still, small, suffering center of the hysteria of slapstick,” wrote the critic Karen Jaehne. And in an age when special effects were in their infancy, and a “stunt” often meant actually doing on the screen what you appeared to be doing, Keaton was ambitious and fearless. He had a house collapse around him. He swung over a waterfall to rescue a woman he loved. He fell from trains. And always he did it in character, playing a solemn and thoughtful man who trusts in his own ability" Roger Ebert 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-general-1927

Set during the American Civil War, "The General" follows Johnny Gray, a Southern railroad engineer who loves two things: his sweetheart Annabelle Lee and his locomotive, "The General."

When Union spies steal "The General" with Annabelle aboard, Johnny embarks on a daring solo mission to rescue both his love and his engine.

The film is a mix of slapstick comedy, action sequences, and even some pathos, as Johnny faces danger and heartbreak in his quest.

The film is known for its innovative stunts and gags, many of which Keaton performed himself without the use of special e

While "The General" was not a commercial success upon its release, it has since gained widespread acclaim and is now considered one of the greatest silent films ever made.

The film is often praised for its humor, action, and technical mastery, as well as its surprisingly nuanced portrayal of the Civil War