Camera Man: Buster Keaton, The Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the 20th Century

Slate film critic Stevens debuts with a masterful mix of cultural history, biography, and film criticism to consider of the work and legacy of silent film star Buster Keaton (1895–1966). She tracks Keaton’s rise from a juvenile vaudeville performer, who as part of the Three Keatons family act skirted emerging child labor laws at the turn of the century; assesses his “solidly-constructed” two-reelers, including the classic One Week; highlights his famous roles in such films as Sherlock Jr. and Steamboat Bill, Jr.; and describes his walk-on cameos in such ’60s B-movies as Beach Blanket Bingo. His career saw him work as an MGM gagman, commercial pitchman, and a creative force, and Stevens argues that Keaton’s career arc mirrors America’s evolving cultural tastes, making a strong case that “Buster Keaton belonged to the twentieth century, and it to him.” Stevens also includes wonderful mini-biographies of Keaton’s contemporaries, among them groundbreaking silent filmmaker Mabel Normand and vaudevillian Bert Williams, who inspired Keaton’s own work. Combining the same ingredients that made Keaton’s movies indelible—an elegant narrative, humor, and pathos—Stevens’s account isn’t one to miss. Agent: Adam Eaglin, Elyse Cheney Literary Assoc. (Jan.)