Paul has got news for us: Keaton was king of comedy (From Salisbury Journal)

Paul has got news for us: Keaton was king of comedy

11:14am Thursday 26th March 2009

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PAUL Merton is best known as a comedian, dazzling with his clever use of words, whether as team captain on television’s Have I Got News For You or as a regular on Radio 4’s popular Just a Minute programme.

But for Paul, his favourite comics are the exact opposite to word magicians, they use no words whatsoever, they are the “silent clowns”, and the comedian has devised a new show featuring Buster Keaton’s feature length masterpiece, Steamboat Bill Junior, in its entirety with live music accompaniment from pianist, Neil Brand.

This will be a rare opportunity to see this film as well as seeing extracts from the films of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, and all introduced by Paul, who is passionate about the silent film genre: “What I love above all is their concentration on the visual. The stars of those films _ Keaton, Chaplin, Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy – were totally committed to their work. They were brilliant physical performers, who were perfect for silent films.

“Keaton made two films a year for a producer who let him do whatever he wanted. He had a creative freedom that filmmakers never get nowadays.”

Paul, who last year wrote a best-selling book on the subject, continues: “Silent films are just so exhilarating – particularly when accompanied by music.

“The final 25 minutes of Safety Last!, in which Lloyd does a death-defying climb up a skyscraper, is as potent a 25 minutes of cinema as you’ll see anywhere.”

Paul has limitless admiration for silent star Buster Keaton: “He had astonishing agility combined with a fantastic talent for physical comedy. No one could do comic falls like he could. Producers tried to persuade him to use stuntmen, but he always refused, saying that their falls wouldn’t be funny enough.” The comic is quick to praise his pianist, Neil, for his vital contribution to the success of “Paul Merton’s Silent Clowns.” “I always say to Neil ‘my name brings them in, but it’s you who keeps them there’.”

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