ALAN DWAN: The great thing about those silent comedians—Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, all of them—they made it look like they weren’t trying to be funny. The minute you’re trying to be funny—well, take for instance, a character like Chaplin. His scenes were sad little scenes. He was a pathetic little fellow. He never went around trying definitely to be a buffoon. His being one was an accident. And Keaton was always serious. Straight-faced. You see these comedians on TV today, and they are striving so hard and the only way they can ever make you laugh is to talk about their mother-in-law
...more
