Greetings and salutations Hivers. Today I thought we'd do another You Should Laugh More post.

Research has shown that laughter is good for us. It has all kinds of health benefits. Despite most of us knowing this, none of us laugh enough. Yeah, I know, being an adult is tough, and furthermore there is a lot of grim stuff happening in the world. These things may be true, but that just is all the more reason for trying to get a little laughter into our lives.

Today I want to look at a flash from the past. Three of them actually. Back in the silent era there were a lot of big names, but three in particular are still fairly well known: Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd. I suppose that last may be the least well-known of that group, but chances are good you have at least heard of the first two.

Let's look at these guys today!

Bustor Keaton

I would start with Chaplin because he is probably the bigger name, but for my money Buster Keaton was the better comic. He had a deadpan expression as he walked through every situation and he did amazing stunts years before Jackie Chan made that a more common thing.

Here is a clip of some of his best gags and stunts! All of them are real. Just like Jackie Chan would later do, Buster would meticulously plan each stunt and would prepare as much as possible. And yes, he hurt himself doing some of them.

Harold Lloyd

These days Lloyd may be the least known of these three, but he was right up with them at the time. His stunts and gags were also great. Unlike Keaton, Lloyd was fairly animated both in body language and face expression. His stunts weren't quite as epic as Keaton, but they were still great fun to watch.

Charlie Chaplin

Finally let's close with the man who is likely the most famous these days of the three, Chaplin. Everyone knows his image, even people who have never seen a silent film. He has become one of the faces of comedy, which is quite a feat. Unlike Keaton and Lloyd, Chaplin wasn't known for his stunts. The ones he did do weren't quite as grand, but they were no less funny. He played his regular comic scenes with a physical language that made everyone laugh.

Unlike the other two, I can't find any good compilation video for him, so I'll include a few of the gags I can find.

The Hat Gag

Roller Skating

By the way, there was no drop there so he wasn't really in danger. That several floor drop was created by putting a drawn picture near the camera

Barber Shop

So what do you think? You can find many longer clips, even entire movies, on YouTube so if you enjoyed any of the above, go searching for more. I recommend any Buster Keaton the most, but all are good.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon.

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