This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This is one of Robert Youngson's compilation features from the early 1960's. Youngson took clips from the silent slapstick films and spliced them together in a nostalgic look back at comedy of yester year. Youngson turned out a good number of these films and they all work to varying degrees. Broad spectrum look at the comedy of silent days is an excellent look at the early days of comedy with looks at Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Snub Pollard (in the influential Its a Gift) and others. While not necessarily the best work of all of the performers, Chaplin has mostly his early Sennett stuff, which shows off why he was a star but isn't the funniest stuff he ever did, Keatons's Cops is cut up and while it is a really funny film, it may not be his best work either. Then again they are actually the things I would probably show someone to begin to foster a love of silent comedy. I like this film a great deal and consider it probably Youngston's second best film after Days of Thrills and Laughter. Definitely worth a a look

When Comedy Was King (1960) *** (out of 4) Robert Youngson "documentary" showing various clips from the silent era including performers such as Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, The Keystone Cops, Laurel and Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, Gloria Swanson, Harry Langdon, Mabel Normand among various others. The film is a good way for newbies to see these legends in their prime but for me it's rather frustrating because I'd rather be watching the entire films rather than just little clips. I also always have a problem with these sorts of things because the clips are never as funny as they are in the entire movie. Either way, a decent doc that shows how great these guys were.

This enjoyable compilation of footage from an assortment of well-known silent comedies is fun to watch, and it brings back the feel of an era well worth remembering. It would also work as a good introduction to silent comedy for anyone curious about the era. The narration works well enough for the most part, taking an obviously admiring tone, while trying to convey a feel for the era as well as providing some information.The silent movie years produced a great many fine, talented screen comedians, each of whom had his or her own particular style. Although it would not be possible to do justice to all of them - or even to mention every worthwhile comic of the era - in a single feature, this collection still does a good job of introducing several of the best-known comedians in some features that illustrate their styles and abilities.Many silent film fans will already have seen most or all of the features that this compilation highlights, but even so, it can be very enjoyable to see these clips from some of the fine classics of the era, plus footage from some comics who were a cut below the best of their time, but who are still worth remembering.For those less familiar with silent comedy, the selections provide a look at a fair number of the favorite performers of the era. It would be easy to suggest some other stars who would have been very worthy inclusions (Harold Lloyd, for example), but what there is here certainly provides some good examples. Several of the features chosen are from very funny movies that are worth seeing in their entirety if you have enjoyed the highlights.

Really astonishing feature length footage of the greatest silent comedy stars and the stunt films that thrilled millions, all lovingly set in a nickelodeon and chapters for each personality and type of film. The voice over is the 'radio with pictures' type that suits and I guess seems like the Joe MacDoakes shorts or some inventor- cartoon narrator. The scenes are hilarious and exciting and reveal a rich heritage of silent movie history and the recognizable stars that made them justly famous. Each sequence is different and equally terrific. The Harry Langdon maid in the kitchen clip is fall down funny; My personal favorite is the awesome train stunt with Gloria Swanson tied to the tracks which had me screaming.