ET 3 CHARLIE AND BUSTER

Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were two of the most prolific comic actors of the silent film era. Chaplin was not only one of the most creative and influential actor of the silent film era films, he was also a critically acclaimed director later on in the span of his remarkable career. His working life in entertainment spanned over 75 years, from the Victorian stage and the music hall in the United Kingdom as a child performer, until close to his death at the age of 88. Keaton, although his career took a different path from that of Chaplin's, was no less successful. While his element of humor may have differed from Chaplin, it was no less effective as evidenced by being ranked the 21st greatest male star of all time by the American Film Institute.

Anyways, each of them had their own unique persona that they brought along in every single performance they gave. Yet, their faces, were what truly shone and gave life to their comedic performances. Let's take a look at ol' Buster

He looks as though he is in a daze most of the time, with no expression whatsover on his face. Yet, it is this deadpan expression that makes it all the more hilarious whenever he encounters misfortune, such as tripping on a banana peel, or being blown over by the wind. His stoic demeanor would later become his trademark, along with his brand of physical comedy. When he is acting, he throws himself around a lot with little or no regard to his physical safety, which totally gives a new meaning to the word "dedication". He is impulsive, and often reacts to troubles by rushing headlong into things, without giving much thought to the matters at hand, as evidenced in The General, where he rushes after a freaking armada of Confederates by himself, never mind the fact he is only half their size and had no previous military training whatsoever, just to save his ho'.

He had the Hitler mustache down

Chaplin, on the other hand, is British. This, however doesn't mean he's dull or, God forbid, boring , the same way not all Asians have small eyes and yellow skin. Which is beside the point. Anyway, Chaplin has this consistently mischievous look on his face, as though not content with the amount of mischief he is currently causing at any part of the movie. He also has this air of innocence about him, as though proclaiming all the chaos going on around him had nothing to do with him whatsoever, which, in my opinion makes him all the more endearing. He's basically this little kid we all root for and laugh at when he does something silly. Anyway, the way Chaplin copes with challenging situations, the way I see it in The Cure, is to basically just be himself. He doesn't change much in terms of behavior. He might show a bit more wit and cunning than normal, but he doesn't deviate much from how he would usually act. Mime and slapstick are usually the main elements of his comedy because that was where he truly excelled.

While they may have many differences in terms of looks, characteristics, and elements of comedy, they both had one thing in common, that is, their aim and purpose in life was to bring joy and laughter into the lives of the people who watched them. They truly wanted the audience to laugh, if only for a moment, in the war-torn era they built their career upon. Which makes it hard for me to pick a favorite, but if I had to choose between the 2 I would go with Chaplin.

There is something about Chaplin's facial features and movements that tickles me every time I gaze upon him in the screen. His mischievous eyes that sparkle with wit and mischief, his unique style of walking, which is actually part strutting and part trying-not-to-fall-flat-on-his-face. My favorite scene in The Cure is when he manages to avoid the grasps of the evil masseuse, who intends to do him a world of pain, by nothing more than a combination of dumb luck and sheer guile. There are numerous other little examples of how he makes me laugh, but the scene above really says it all. For that reason, I prefer Chaplin over Keaton