Buster Keaton begins film making

The Year is 1917. The United States has just signed a declaration of war against Germany, officially joining world war one. J. F. Kennedy will be born. And, a twenty-one-year-old veteran vaudevillian, Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton, breaks his life long family act to strike out on his own. Where does he go? New York City. There, he's hired on by a producer for a stage show at somewhere around 150 dollars a week, a decent salary for the time. Then, a few days before rehearsals begin, Buster decides to go for a walk one day.
It's not clear whether he met Roscoe Arbuckle that day, but he met an old vaudeville friend of his and his family's, and Roscoe may have been with him. They talked for a while, and they got on the subject of films. His friend was working in a film studio, and he casually invited Buster to come down and tour the studio. Buster agreed.
The next day, buster showed up at the film studio. There he was greeted by one of the greatest and least recognized comedians, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Roscoe showed him around the place and offered to let him film a scene with them. Buster, who was fascinated by the cameras, agreed.

You walk into the little store, a bucket in one hand, the other fingering the coin in your pocket. Your eye catches the barrel containing several brooms. You grasp one, testing the bristles. To your surprise, several come out into your hand. You drop the broom and bristles and inspect another. Losing interest, you walk away, tossing the broom back almost as an afterthought, and using your foot to lift the other, toss it back as well. 
A large barrel labeled in large letters, Molasses, catches your eye. stepping over, almost shyly, you touch a spot on the floor with your foot, a spot where the contents have dripped from the nozzle. Bringing your foot up, you use your finger to wipe the molasses off, and taste it. You get a little more off the nozzle itself. 
Walking to the counter, you place your coin in the bucket and set the bucket down, your hat next to it.

Intertitle

{Molasses, please}

The clerk nods and takes the bucket. You look around, noticing two men playing chess off to the side. Your curiosity gets the better of you, and you walk over. You can see a play that would increase one man's chances of winning. Tentatively, you quickly move the piece, earning several outcries of anger from the men around you. You try to explain but they don't listen. Then you hear the clerk tap on the counter to get your attention. You turn and picking up the bucket, nod to the clerk in thanks, and turn to leave. Suddenly, you feel yourself pulled back, harshly. You turn to the clerk, questioningly.

Intertitle

{Where's your money?}

You frown, checking your pocket for the coin. You remember where you put it. 

Intertitle

{In the bucket.}

The clerk frowns, and you wave your hand in dismissal, returning to the checkers game. The men look at you warily. Then the clerk taps the counter again. you turn and take the bucket, placing your hat back on your head. The clerk raises his hat politely. You try to raise your hat, but find it will not raise. You tug harder, trying to place the bucket on the counter, but instead dropping it on the floor. The clerk tries to help, but in vain. Suddenly, he pauses, sticking a finger in the sticky substance in your hair and hat. He tastes it and then lets you taste it. Molasses. Then he tugs harder.

The hat comes off, suddenly, making you fall to the floor. You stand and shake hands with the clerk, only to find a moment later that your foot is stuck fast in the molasses on the floor. You pull with all your might, to no avail. The clerk comes around to help you, pulling in your leg, with no success. You scratch your head, only to find your hand covered in molasses. Disgusted, you wipe your hand on the clerk's shirt. 

The clerk frowns and then walks to the stove, grasping the kettle in one hand, pouring boiling water all over one of the checker's players, and on the floor. When he gets to you, he pours the steaming water on your foot. You yelp in surprise and pain, but feel your foot move slightly. With a hard shove, the clerk pushes you free of the sticky mess... And out the door into the street. You stand, dazed, and walk away.

Buster was a natural. Arbuckle enjoyed it so much, he invited Buster to film another scene with him. Buster enjoyed it so much he said yes. That night, Buster asked if he could bring one of the cameras home. He did and disassembled the whole thing, putting it back together. when he returned the next week, he asked for a job. And a job he got. 40 dollars a week was a far cry from the 150 he had been lined up for, but he didn't care. Movies fascinated him, and he just had to work with them. and work with them, he did.

Roscoe (Right) and Buster (Left) tasting the molasses.

Roscoe (right) and Buster (Left), wondering how to free Buster's foot

A publicity photo from the filming of The Butcher Boy (1917). Buster is on the far left, with Roscoe to the right of him. Al St. John is the man holding the pitchfork. He was Arbuckle's nephew and a common antagonist in their films.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog.

To whom it may concern:

First off, I will write a disclaimer. I may occasionally get a detail wrong, or miss a detail in my rambling. Please excuse this, as I am human.

Second, this blog will probably be a bit biased toward Buster Keaton, so, If I ever get on the topic of His first wife, please understand that I do not like her, and sometimes act harshly against her, but she wasn't a bad person.


Whew. Now that that's out of the way, Hello fellow Buster-Keaton-ers! If you're new to him, then you've just barely stepped into one of the greatest discoveries of your life. Buster Keaton was one of the most important men in history!

...

Okay, I guess that's exaggerating a bit.

But, being serious now, Buster Keaton was an extremely influential man in the world of cinema. Who knows where the world of film would be now if he hadn't lived?

To those new to him and his work, let me explain. Buster Keaton was a silent film comedian. He originally worked on the stage in vaudeville between the ages of three and twenty-one. He began making independent films in the year 1917 and continued steadily until 1928. Then he "made the worst mistake of his life" and signed a contract with the production studio, MGM. From there, his career took a dive, as he was no longer afforded the creative freedom he was used to working with. He was fired in 1934, shortly after a brutal divorce with his second wife, and he descended into alcoholism. For a long while, he made no more films, working as a gag writer for other comedians.  Then one day he met a wonderful young lady named Eleanor Morris. They have married soon afterward. (Many credit her with bringing him stability.) A while later, he was asked to write a gag: an appropriate way to smash a violin. He designed a complex, yet believable way and the directors loved it. The only problem was, Buster was the only one who could do it. So they wrote in a small part in the movie for him.
When the movie premiered, people suddenly took notice of him again. ("Is that Buster Keaton?" "I haven't seen him in a film for years!") Suddenly, he was receiving offers to be in films and on TV shows, and in commercials. the public became more acquainted with him again. he enjoyed a rise in fame in the years before his death and there was an increased effort to locate surviving copies of his silent films. In the end, he had regained most of his fame and been able to buy a small 'ranch', where he kept chickens and grew vegetables. he never was quite what he had been in the silent era, but he was happy.

I will be writing about particular events in his life, people he knew, or anything, really, that had anything at all to do with him. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Now, come with me, into the fantastic world of Buster Keaton...