Early color films, particularly fantasies, were widely screened in theaters during the silent era for both artistic and practical reasons. “Artistically, the fantasy genre was quite suited for ...

Hennefeld had long been interested in comedy and film. But seeing the 1903 movie "Mary Jane's Mishap" inspired her research into the early days of silent film, when female stars used slapstick for ...

The manic, frantic world of slapstick, Keystone Cops chases, and pies in the face has been lovingly recreated in "Silent Laughter," an unabashedly affectionate homage to the early days of Hollywood.

According to early-color-film scholar Joshua Yumibe, who’s written a book on the topic and lectured recently at Light Industry in Brooklyn, the advent and development of synthetic dyes gave rise ...

Variety sang its praises, Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush maintains its status as a great and elaborate comedy.

Walt Disney was a struggling young cartoon filmmaker in Kansas City, Mo., in 1923 when he came up with the idea of having a young girl interact with animated characters in a series of silent ...

Silent Film’s Comedic Soul This year’s edition of MOMA’s annual series “Cruel and Unusual Comedy” (Jan. 13-26) offers off-the-cuff rowdiness from overlooked artists, including Mabel Normand.

The silent comedy film “Our Hospitality” was released 100 years ago this November. The film is the second feature directed by and starring Buster Keaton, one of the central silent filmmakers of his ...

A piece of film history missing for more than 100 years and thought to be lost forever was found on Long Island by an intern going through old boxes. The 16-millimeter film is believed to be the ...