Product Description

Simon Louvish, acclaimed biographer of W C Fields, the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy, delves into the dynamic start of Hollywood comedy, tracking the life and clowns of one of cinema's foremost pioneers, and uncovering the mystery of one of the screen's legendary relationships - that of Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #324578 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
"'This is a compelling tale of ambition, lust and financial chicanery that is vividly evocative of its period.' Film Review 'The story rattles along with all the dash of a Keystone Kops chase... Louvish is expert in vivid description and insightful interpretation, and he brings these movies to life on the printed page like no other film historian.' Sunday Times 'An enjoyable and meticulous recreation of a pioneering, mythical era in Old Hollywood... From his founding of Keystone Studios in 1913, Sennett dominated the screen comedy seene, birthing the careers of the likes of Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle while, with the Keystone Kops, defining 'madcap' comedy.' Empire"

From the Inside Flap
An Irish-Canadian of impeccably un-comic ancestry, Mack Sennett founded in Hollywood in 1912 the world's first studio devoted to movie comedy alone. For the next 20 years he presided over cinema's most famous and popular clowns - from Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin, to Ben Turpin, Chester Conklin, Mack Swain, Ford Sterling, Louise Fazenda, Harry Langdon and very many more.

Simon Louvish, acclaimed biographer of W. C. Fields, the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy, now delves into the dynamic start of Hollywood comedy, tracking the life and clowns of one of cinema's foremost pioneers, and uncovering the mystery of one of the screen's legendary relationships - that of Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand, the first great motion picture comedienne.
Be warned, though: the world of Mack Sennett and his Keystone Studio is not for those who want their entertainment refined, their comedy sweetened and their comedians properly house-trained. This is a tale of pratfalls and slapstick, of lecherous husbands and unfaithful wives, mad lovers, moustache-twirling villains, flirtatious floozies, venal vagabonds - and, of course, the perpetually inkompetent Keystone Kops . . .

About the Author
Simon Louvish is a biographer of comedians, an author of satirical and outrageous fiction, a part-time film teacher at the London Film School, and a film screenwriter. He is married and lives in Fulham, London.

Customer Reviews

Too accademic
Having read the Fatty Arbuckle biog 'I Fatty', I was keen to read about the man, and ego behind Keystone, that of Mack Sennett; and so fell towards this publication.

The book has great detail of everything you may need for an accademic dissertation at al, and like the man Sennett, it has great passion for the subject, but thoroughly lacks any sense of warmth or humour. We get an idea of the man and his character, but time upon time, I wished I were reading Sennett's own biography (even with its supposed exagerated storytelling as hinted at by Louvish).

Not to knock the biog, for it is thorough an relentless in its detail, but as I said at the start, having come off I FATTY, where you feel like you are sat at a bar hearing the man tell you what's what, this biog felt too up tight and pedantic for me.

Was this really Mack Sennett?
As a Mabel Normand fan I had to read this book but was not sure how much was fact and how much author opinion. A good read but as per most silent movies biographies I feel they have again missed the essence of what made this person so successful. Mack Sennett was the undisputed King of Comedy but this book did not give that impression. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it as like all these silent movie biographies they tell a brilliant tale but I didn't feel a very revealing one.