travsd

Buster Keaton in “The Haunted House”

Buster Keaton Haunted House

Today is the anniversary of the release date of The Haunted House a 1921 Buster Keaton short, directed by Eddie Cline. In case you find yourself getting too scared (spoiler alert) the house that bank teller Keaton finds himself trapped in is not really haunted…it is a hideout for counterfeiters. The gang has a ridiculously elaborate plan for scaring off intruders: they frighten them away by making them think the house is haunted. The climax is delightful, with trapdoors, stairs that fold, guys in scary devil and ghost outfits…endlessly ingenious!

The cast includes many a Keaton regular, including leading lady Virginia Fox, heavy Joe Roberts, and Keaton’s wife Natalie Talmadge!

To learn more about silent and slapstick comedy, including Buster Keaton comedies like “The Haunted House”, don’t miss my new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, 

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Published by travsd

Writer and performer Trav S.D. (www.travsd.com) is best known for his books "No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous" (2005) and "Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube" (2013). He has written for the NY Times, the Village Voice, American Theatre, Time Out NY, Reason, the Villager and numerous other publications. Trav has been in the vanguard of New York’s vaudeville and burlesque scenes since 1995 when he launched his company Mountebanks, presenting hundreds of acts ranging from Todd Robbins to Dirty Martini to Tammy Faye Starlite to the Flying Karamazov Brothers. He has directed his own plays, revues and solo pieces at such venues as Joe’s Pub, La Mama, HERE, Dixon Place, Theater for the New City, the Ohio Theatre, the Brick, and 6 separate shows in the NY International Fringe Festival. In 2014 he produced and directed the smash-hit "I’ll Say She Is", the first ever revival of the Marx Brothers hit 1924 Broadway show in the NY International Fringe Festival.

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