From the Archives of Keystone Memory Slapstick and Re-membrance at Columbia Pictures’ Short-Subjects Department

If one asks the naïve question “When was American film comedy’s golden age?” one encounters the paradox that there has only ever seemed to be one answer: the silent era, specifically sometime between the ascent of Chaplin in the mid-1910s and the coming of sound. Often cited, James Agee’s eloquent 1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHokum p. 157
Main Author Rob King
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published University of California Press 07.04.2017
Subjects
Anthropology
Applied anthropology
Archives
Artists
Arts
Behavioral sciences
Business
Cognitive psychology
Comedians
Comic theater
Cultural anthropology
Cultural industries
Cultural institutions
Cultural studies
Economic disciplines
Economics
Emotion
Emotional states
Employment
Entertainment industries
Film studies
Industrial sectors
Industry
Labor economics
Literary elements
Literature
Motion picture industry
Movies
Musical theater
Narrative plot
Nostalgia
Occupations
Performing artists
Performing arts
Political ideologies
Political philosophy
Political science
Populism
Psychology
Short films
Theater
Theater history
Theatrical genres
Vaudeville
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Summary:If one asks the naïve question “When was American film comedy’s golden age?” one encounters the paradox that there has only ever seemed to be one answer: the silent era, specifically sometime between the ascent of Chaplin in the mid-1910s and the coming of sound. Often cited, James Agee’s eloquent 1949Lifeessay, “Comedy’s Greatest Era,” is a turning point in this regard, a nostalgic paean that, once and for all, elevated silent comedy as a symbol of the past glories of popular culture. “Anyone who has watched screen comedy over the past ten or fifteen years is bound to