Old Comic and Pupil
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How to Play Keaton
By Buster In Person
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Life Magazine May 6th 1957
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 The
slight somnolent face of Buster Keaton, perched
in sad indifference atop a body in furious motion, kept a generation of
silent film fans in stitches. He could somersault backwards with a cup
of coffee in his hand and never spill a drop, or slide for yards on either
one of his ears. Now Paramount Pictures has tried to recapture in a new
movie these ancient glories on the playing fields of Keaton. They hired
the 60-year-old Buster to teach Donald O'Connor how to play 30-year-old
Buster and everybody (as these pictures show) had fun. But as a movie,
The Buster Keaton Story is sadly lacking. Most importantly it lacks
Keaton.  
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Keaton's comic postures were repeated over
and over for his films.
Here he shows O'Connor a fighting stance he did for "Battling Butler" of
1926
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As a soda jerk Keaton in 1927 staged a
hillarious mess in a soda fountain. He found O'Connor loved the delightful
business of smashing eggs.
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Bound to the stake in "Paleface", a 1922
two-reeler, Keaton pulling up stake and clobbering the Indian Chief. Here
in a lesson, he clobbers O'Connor.
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The Art Of The Wallop
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A comedy punch, as demonstrated here by
Keaton, must be done with careful technique. "You reach back," he says,
"Clear to East St. Louis, then follow through with a sweeping swing to
an inch of the guy's nose. You stop short and he goes into a stagger, letting
his hat fall down before his eyes."
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