1920 american comedy
20th century comedians
20th century comedy teams
A01=Rob King
Author_Rob King
Category=ATFN
Category=ATXD
Category=JBCC1
cinematography
comedy films
comedy movies
comic movies
depression era film
early 20th century cinema
early sound era
early sound slapstick
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
film and tv
film industry
film studies
history of comedy
history of film
hokum
laurel and hardy
media studies
popular culture
robert benchley
silent era slapstick
slapstick
stage slang comedy
three stooges
Product details
- ISBN 9780520288119
- Weight: 408g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 07 Apr 2017
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Hokum! is the first book to take a comprehensive view of short-subject slapstick comedy in the early sound era. Challenging the received wisdom that sound destroyed the slapstick tradition, author Rob King explores the slapstick short's Depression-era development against a backdrop of changes in film industry practice, comedic tastes, and moviegoing culture. Each chapter is grounded in case studies of comedians and comic teams, including the Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, and Robert Benchley. The book also examines how the past legacy of silent-era slapstick was subsequently reimagined as part of a nostalgic mythology of Hollywood's youth.
Rob King is Associate Professor at Columbia University's School of the Arts and author of the award-winning The Fun Factory: The Keystone Film Company and the Emergence of Mass Culture.
