Buster Keaton films on TCM on 8/19/19

TCM will be showing a big selection of both his silent and sound films:

Silent films: Battling Butler, The Cameraman, The General, Sherlock, Jr., Seven Chances, Steamboat, Bill, Jr., The Navigator

They’re all great. The General is considered the best. I am partial to Steamboat Bill, Jr. which has the amazing stunt of the house front falling down around him (see below). The Cameraman was his first film for MGM and is as good as his earlier films which were made without studio restrictions. I have seen rumors that it will be released by Criterion.

The rest are sound films. I haven’t seen the ones from the 1930s that were made for MGM but they are not nearly as well thought of as his silent features.

TCM is also showing the excellent recent documentary, The Great Buster.

His pre-MGM films have been released on Blu-ray and DVD by Kino Lorber. Cohen has begun issuing Blu-rays with new transfers. The MGM films from the 1930s have been released on DVD by Warner Brothers.

We’re counting down every day this week until #BusterKeaton Day on #TCM’s #SummerUnderTheStars on August 19th; a whole day crammed full of Keaton movies! Here’s the line up, for those who like to plan ahead #TCMParty pic.twitter.com/F33gJDCfx2

— Buster Keaton (@BusterKeatonSoc) August 12, 2019

7 Days to Go til #BusterKeaton Day on #TCM’s #SummerUnderTheStars! #BattlingButler kicks off proceedings at 6am. An adaptation of a stage play, it featured a very well-built Keaton who trained hard to look the part. Given even the dummy fought back, he needed to! #TCMParty pic.twitter.com/0QtDczRNaF

— Buster Keaton (@BusterKeatonSoc) August 12, 2019

6 Days to Go til #BusterKeaton Day on #TCM’s #SummerUnderTheStars! At 7:30am it’s #TheCameraman; Buster falls for the girl, literally, in this picture. His first film for #MGM, he still had creative control & another box-office hit on his hands. #TCMParty pic.twitter.com/q3t9sTmxNV

— Buster Keaton (@BusterKeatonSoc) August 13, 2019