This cache is complentary to my other Buster Keaton cache, "The Goat" 1921 film by Buster Keaton, GC9NJ36. This cache will dive into some trivia about Buster Keaton, his movies, and his life. Answer the questions Format for the cache is North AB CD.EFG West HI JK.LMN
Buster Keaton was known as The Great Stone Face because of his deadpan expression on stage and camera. He never wanted to be photographed with a smile, even in his wedding pictures. Even though he was known for his stoic expression, his face was also very expressive in the scenes of his movies. Born in 1895, he began his acting career at a very young age, 4 years old, on the Vaudville stage with his parents. Buster discovered early on, that when he didn't laughed or smiled at his own jokes on stage, his audience found it funnier than when he did. It was very natural for him to carry this on into his movies. Throughout his years, Buster was a comedian, a filmmaker, an actor, director , writer, and stunt man, for himself as well as other actors. Once the talkies movies appeared, his stardom faded, and he became a writer for the MGM a studio. In his later years, he did commercials and star appearances on TV and in movies. He died February 1, 1966. Even after all these years, books and videos are still being published about Buster Keaton, and his movies have been said to be the most modern of the silent era. All I know is that he's still funny after all these years. He truly dedicated his life to entertaining others.
NORTH
A.This is quite a scene to watch. In the movie, Seven Chances, 1925, Buster is trying to get away from hundreds of brides chasing him, and he runs down a hill with hundreds of rocks and boulders all around him, also going down the hill as well. He dodges them as best as he can. These boulders were created out of paper mache, from the size of grapefruit, to 8 feet in diameter, weighing 400 lbs. How many rocks and boulders were created? ~500 rocks =0. ~1,000 rocks= 2 ~1,500 rocks= 4. ~2,000 rocks= 3
B. The silent movies used title cards to describe scenes and dialogue in the movie. Buster was a visual story teller, and he used title cards as little as possible. The average movie used about 240 title cards. What was the most title cards used in one of Buster's movie?
~75 cards= 5 ~102 cards= 9 ~29 cards= 6 ~56 cards= 0
C. As I mentioned before, Buster's parents were Vaudeville actors, and Buster was part of the act from a young age. The act The "Three Keaton" was a very rough and tumble show, where Buster's father would actually throw his son on the stage, into the scenery, and into the audience. A suitcase handle was sewn into Buster's jacket for this purpose. Buster became an important part of the act, and was advertised as what on the billing of the show?
~The Human Mop= 4 ~The Brat= 3 ~Buster Britches= 2 ~Bitsy Buttons= 1
D. By chance, Buster met Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle on the streets of New York City. Buster had broken up the family's Vaudeville act, and went to New York City to start on his own. Arbuckle was a famous film star and director of his films. He invited Buster to come to his studio to show him the business, and to eventually play a part in one of Arbuckle's films. Which film did Buster began his movie career in 1917 with Arbuckle?
~A Reckless Romeo= 0 ~The Butcher Boy= 1 ~The Rough House= 5 ~Coney Island= 9
E. In the movie "Sherlock Jr" there is a scene where Buster was at a dead end, with other people chasing him. There was no way out, but maybe, there is. A peddler woman, wearing a long dress and a sales suitcase around her neck, points to the suitcase, suggesting Buster to jump through in order to escape. Buster dives through the suitcase, and escapes, and the peddler woman walks away while the men chasing him are bewildered. This is an old Vaudeville trick, can you guess how it was done? To answer this question for the coordinates, what was the peddler selling?
~cigarettes=8 ~candy= 0 men's neckties= 3 jewelry= 6
F. In which movie did Buster ended up breaking his neck. He didn't realize when it happened, and he found out many years later, that he did break his neck Buster was used to bumps and bruises, and often, when he got hurt bad enough, he just took some time off to rest and recover. The scene showed Buster walking on the top of a moving train, and at the end of the train with no place left to go, he grabbed onto the spout of a train water tank. The force of the water from the spout forced him to the ground, where he hit his neck on the rails.
~~"One Week"=5 ~"Sherlock Jr" =8. ~"The Railrodder"=2 ~"The General"= 0
G. What movie did Buster almost drown in? The scene showed Buster getting swept away in fast flowing rapids. For safety, he was tied to a wire, but it broke due to the force of the currents. Buster was thrown over rocks and boulders, and into foamy waters. Buster always instructed his cameramen to continue shooting no matter what happens. It was all caught on film, and was used in the final cut of the movie. There was a bend in the river, with some branches hanging over, and Buster was able to pull himself up out of the water.
~"Steamboat Jr" = 1 ~"The Boat"= 9 ~"The Navigator"= 6 ~"Our Hospitality "= 7
WEST
H. Buster's most well known stunt is in Steamboat Bill Jr. The front facade of a house fell on Buster, but he was saved by an open window. The house facade weighed over 4,000 lbs, and was hinged at the bottom of the facade to keep Buster safe. While filming, the cameramen turned their backs, as they couldn't watch. The stunt was carefully planned and measured ahead of time. Buster was to stand on some nails as a marker in the ground. How much clearance around him did Buster have?
~3 inches= 6 ~6 inches= 5 ~2 inches= 7 ~1inch= 8
I. Buster has been described as an artist in the way he approached his films. Buster's use of cinematography, stunts, and gags has influenced future generations of actors, stuntmen, and directors. Who has NOT expressed being influenced by Buster's work?
~Rob Reiner= 3 ~Mel Brooks= 4 ~Jackie Chan= 2 ~Woody Allen= 9
J. In the 1920's, everyone wore hats and in the silent era comedies, actors adopted a certain style of hat. Charlie Chaplin always wore a particular kind of hat in his films, and nothing else. It was his trademark. Buster's character also had a particular hat style as well. Occasionally, you can find him in another hat style, such as a top hat, but Busters's hat was a flat hat. Buster would purchase a fedora hat, flatten out the head part, trim the brim, and use sugar and water to stiffen the brim. He did this himself. What is the name of the hat style that Buster is known for?
~bowler hat= 4 ~trilby hat=3 ~porkpie hat= 2 ~fez hat= 0
K. Buster did all of his own stunts, and sometimes for other actors as well. The only time Buster used a stunt double was in "College " because he didn't want to spend months learning and training for the scene. He used the 1924 Olympic gold medalist Lee Barnes for the scene instead. What Olympic sport did Barnes win?
~100 meter hurdles= 0 ~throwing discus= 9 ~rowing= 8 pole vaulting= 7
L. What Buster movie had a scene which was the most expensive scene during the silent film era? The scene cost $42,000, with the movie costing $750,000. There was a forest fire, which caused delays, as they waited for the smoke to clear, and they hired 400 Oregon National Guards for the scene, and the destruction of a steam locomotive.
~"The General "= 4 ~"Go West"= 5 "The Paleface"= 7 ~"Day Dreams"= 9
M. Buster didn't really use a script when he produced his films. He has a general idea of a beginning and an end, and the rest would "take care of itself " During those times, when he was stuck on ideas and didn't know what to add into the film, he and the crew would take a break. What did they do during the break until they knew what they wanted to do?
~ play baseball= 7 ~play Bridge, or cards= 6 ~they would sit and discuss ideas= 2 ~they would grab a bite to eat= 1
N. Buster decided to sell his own studio in 1928, a decision he later regretted, and went to work for MGM studio. He felt stifled at MGM, and at the same time, his marriage fell apart. It was too much for him to handle, and he became an alcoholic for a few years. He finally cleaned himself up, became a gag writer for MGM, writing gags for Red Skelington, Marx Brothers and others, and helped Lucille Ball in her role of "I Love Lucy". He remarried a woman named Eleanor in 1940. By the 1950's he did guest appearances on TV and in movies, and made an income for himself doing commercials. Which commercials did he do?
~Alka Seltzer= 5 ~Milky Way= 3 ~Kodak Camera= 8 ~All of these and more!= 2
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