Because they rely heavily on physical comedy, many Hollywood slapstick films can be understood as comic meditations on the place and nature of the human body. Focusing on the works of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Laurel and Hardy, among others, this book examines ways that the body represents or interacts with the mind, setting, voice and machines in slapstick films. Also covered are female performances in slapstick and brutality and suffering in the slapstick tradition.

Alex Clayton lives in the United Kingdom.

Alex Clayton
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 237
Bibliographic Info: 111 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2007
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3063-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0721-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v

Preface      1

Introduction: The Body in Hollywood Slapstick      5

1. Body and Mind: Charlie Chaplin      27

2. Body and World: Buster Keaton      46

3. Body and Clothes: Harold Lloyd      67

4. Body and Machine: A Wrench in the Works      91

5. Body and Frame: Laurel and Hardy      105

6. Body and Voice: Physical and Verbal Comedy      123

7. Body and Gender: Female Performance in Hollywood Slapstick      145

8. Body and Pain: Brutality and Suffering in the Slapstick Tradition      168

9. Body and Self: Embodiment and Slapstick Metamorphosis      183

Conclusion. The Body in Hollywood Slapstick      199

Appendix: Films Cited      209

Notes      213

Bibliography      223

Index      227

“explores the Hollywood genre of physical comedy…uses examples from the work of greats such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton”—Reference & Research Book News.