SILENT SPECTACULAR

Genre

Silent Film

Running time

70 minutes

Year

1916

Language

English Intertitles

Subtitle

Arabic

Country

United States of America (USA)

Director

Charlie Chaplin, Leo Mccarey, Buster Keaton, Eddie Cline

Bio

Producer

Cast

Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Buster Keaton, Sybil Seely

Scriptwriter

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin found fame between 1914 and 1916 with his iconic Tramp character, made out of ill-matching clothes he found in a dressing room after joining Mack Sennett’s Keystone Studios in Hollywood. Born into abject poverty in London, he used his experience to underpin his comedy. He directed his own short film stories for the Mutual Film Corporation from 1916, of which The Immigrant is one, and went on to create classic features such as City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936) and The Great Dictator (1940).

Leo Mccarey

Leo McCarey was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 films, including the critically acclaimed Duck Soup, Make Way For Tomorrow, The Awful Truth, Going My Way and An Affair To Remember. While focusing mainly on screwball comedies during the 1930s, McCarey turned towards producing more socially conscious and overtly religious films during the 1940s, ultimately finding success and acclaim in both genres. McCarey was one of the most popular and established comedy directors of the pre-Second World War era.

Buster Keaton

Starring in his family’s vaudeville troupe from the age of four, Buster Keaton learned how to tumble, fall and get laughs from an early age. In 1917 he bumped into his old friend Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle in New York, who put him in front of a camera the same day. By 1920 he was directing his own stories with increasingly elaborate stunts, including the classics Sherlock Jr. (1924), The General (1926) and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928). One Week (1920) was the first short film he released.

Eddie Cline

Edward 'Eddie' Cline began his film career as one of the Keystone Kops. The former vaudevillian appeared in films as an actor until 1922, before becoming active behind the camera as a gagman and scenario writer for Mack Sennett. From 1916 he worked as both an assistant director and director for comedians such as Buster Keaton, Ford Sterling and Mack Swain. An expert in slapstick comedy, Cline was in demand by Hollywood studios during the 1920s and served short-term contracts with Fox, Pathé, First National, MGM and Paramount.

Neil Brand, the preeminent silent film accompanist, will stage a live show for the first time ever in Saudi Arabia. An event for all the family, this concert will bring the slapstick of a century ago back to life — just as audiences saw it at the time. Featuring classic sight gags from short films by Charlie Chaplin (The Immigrant), Laurel and Hardy (Liberty) and Buster Keaton (One Week), this silent spectacular is a testament to the enduring power of the silent film age. With Brand providing his own introduction and piano score and a live drummer hitting the marks, this show will be a must-see — and a must-laugh. An interval will be included.

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