Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad But Many Errors
Review: ...the most annoying perhaps eing the myth that Buster Keaton was illiterate. True he was not educated, but to say he was illiterate is false. I've seen photocopies of his journal he kept during WWI, and it's clear he studied his Army manuals and learned Morse code and practiced it. The author also makes the mistake of relaying to us conversations that took place between Buster and his mother-in-law, both deceased of course. How would she know what was said? These were about things Buster would have discussed with no one else. It's an intro to people unfamiliar with Buster, but by no means accurate. She could have skipped the hearsay about his early life "with women" as that is unfounded too.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent evenhanded biography
Review: As you can see from other reviews here, this book has raised a LOT of hackles among sentimental Keaton fans who prefer to think of Keaton the man as synonymous with the Keaton we all love on film, the angelic innocent with the gift of flight. Meade (who is no showbiz sensationalist but the gifted and eminently respectable biographer who gave us the authoritative life of Dorothy Parker "What Fresh Hell Is This?") lifts the veil here to reveal the brilliant but seriously messed-up man beneath the porkpie hat. There is solid research and reason behind this book, and though the nostalgically inclined may prefer the emasculated Keaton of Rudi Blesh and "My Wonderful World of Slapstick," there's no reason to doubt this is the real Buster.

Rating:
Summary: A mix of inaccuracies and lies
Review: Despite many refference notes and acknowledgements, Meade's claims range Meade's wild claims make any other "new discoveries" suspicious. The book insists on presenting Buster as a pathetic figure, despite the happiness he had in most of his years (barring the MGM talkie period.

Rating:
Summary: Buster Keaton : Cut to the Chase
Review: Fascinating to read if you enjoy reading celebrity tabloids, i.e., lots of dirt, unfounded rumors and outright untruths misrepresented as a biography. (Some nice photos, though.) Biggest lie is that Keaton was illiterate, which is absolutely absurd. A much more acurate picture of Buster's life can be obtained from his own autobiography which is the truth, at least as Buster himself experienced it. The 3-tape video "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow" is also recommended by this reviewer as well as the documentary of the making of "The Railrodder" titled "The Life and Times of Buster Keaton." Yes, Buster did some self-destructive things in his life, but they are far outnumbered by the gifts and talent which he made extraordinary use of during at least 65 of his 70 years of life.

Rating:
Summary: The Doctor is Out
Review: I was actually surprised to find myself enjoying this one better than I expected to. Meade's tactic of laying some pretty heavy charges against dead people leaves something to be desired though. The dead can't defend themselves (and neither can their dead friends set the record straight, unfortunately) and while I'm sure there's something satisfying in claiming that Keaton's unswerving loyalty to his father, his mentor (Schenck) or his hero (Arbuckle) was the result of drunken beatings he suffered as a child, it all falls apart messily when Meade (who started to remind me a little of that other pop-psychologist Lucy Van Pelt) tries to insinuate that as a result, Keaton shuffled through life wearing a downbeaten expression because he was an emotional cripple. All you have to do is watch his films to put the lie to that bit of nonsense. The mirth is evident in his eyes in more scenes than I care to recount.

Still in all, I give Meade some major points for the sheer volume of fascinating Three Keatons Vaudeville era information, for laying out the social landscape of early Hollywood so effectively, and for filling in the gaps in my own knowledge of Keaton's life after MGM. And the recipes at the end are a nice touch, too.

I only wish she'd been able to finally name the actor who plays the barber in Steamboat Bill Jr.

Rating:
Summary: The Doctor is Out
Review: Meade paints Keaton as a pitiful man and never seems to get at the heart of his passion for the cinema. The only emotion I felt towards Keaton, one of my personal heroes, after reading this book was pity. I don't recommend it for anyone who has never previously read anything about the Great Stoneface.

Rating:
Summary: Buster's Baggage
Review: This is not an ideal book for sensitive Buster fans who feel over-protective of him and cannot tolerate criticism of the darker side of his personal life. The book is at times an offensive target into that, and does not always paint him as flattering. Marion Meade does not hesitate to label Buster as somebody with vanity, and likes to use the term "extreme egotism" to describe him. It may be that Meade has drawn on this conclusion because as a child, Buster was the center of attention at all times, as a result of becoming a vaudeville star at about the age of 5, and with this, he was the main breadwinner in the family, therefore, the center of attention which may have grown into extreme egotism. Meade also states that Buster was illiterate. Buster may have been unschooled because of his traveling vaudeville show, but he wasn't illiterate. I've seen his penmanship, both handwriting and printing. Also, he was able to read the part of "Little Lord Fauntleroy" when he was 11 years old (another family-breadwinner situation).

But other sources I've read and seen have proven that Buster's behavior was as a modest level-headed guy, a miracle to occur in the world of show business. During his successful years, he did not hesitate to loan money to leeches, rarely getting paid back. He also financially supported his entire family, siblings and all, even after they were well past adulthood.

However, because I thrive on Hollywood trash, I recommend this book to anyone interested in old Hollywood gossip because it's a page-turner. It's dense with information. It does not skip any part of his 70-year life, which previously written books have done. Meade gives us a lot of background information on the people in his life. Buster was married 3 times, and it's hard to find information in other books about his 2nd wife, Mae. This one gives us her full background, and also what became of her after the marriage ended in 1935. Two periods in Buster's life that are skimmed over in other books that he'd cooperated in the making of are his MGM years (1928-33) and the drinking problem years with Mae (1933-36), probably because they were too painful to talk about. In "Cut to the Chase", we get full explanation of those years.

Rating:
Summary: Cut to the Chase
Review: This would be a much better book, except questionable statements (i.e. Buster was illiterate) and some vulgar speculations (i.e. Rappe & Arbuckle) make me doubt the validity of other information. She does not paint a pleasant picture of Buster especially after his decline after joining MGM. However, the fact remains that except for a few brief moments, post-Spite Marriage, Buster rarely rose to great heights again. The Filmography is very good.

Rating:
Summary: Has it's moments, but for the most part, it's annoying
Review: Though Meade seems to enjoy Keaton's screen work, most of what she writes about him personally is written with either scorn or the most obnoxious form of pity. She really doesn't write like she cares much for her subject. Meade also makes a claim that Keaton was illiterate but the proof isn't substantial. It's a miracle I even finished the book. Meade's comments just become too annoying. One thing though, the filmography is very good.

If you do read this and it is the first book that you've read about Buster, you should follow it up with another biography. Try digging up a copy of Rudi Blesh's "Keaton."