silent comedy
Wordless physical humor
Silent comedy is a style of film comedy from the early twentieth century, before synchronized sound, relying on physical humor, exaggerated gestures, and visual gags rather than dialogue.
Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd were its major practitioners.
The term now describes any comedy that works through action rather than words: The scene played out like silent comedy, all pratfalls and mugging.
- pratfallComedic fall on buttocks
- slapstickExaggerated physical humor
- pantomimeDrama through gesture alone
- nickelodeonsFive-cent entertainment venues
- movie palaceOpulent vintage cinema
Charlie Chaplin · chase · speeded up · Laurel and Hardy · visual storytelling · intertitles · Buster Keaton · Keystone Cops · preservation efforts · vaudeville · Lumière brothers · golden age · City Lights · comedic timing · gag · sight gags · mime · flickering
- comedyjokes, humor, puns, sarcasm, stand-up
- Silent FilmCharlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, intertitle, title cards, title card
- slapstickpratfall, banana peel, pie throw, falling down, custard pie
- Visual Comedyslapstick, pratfall, pratfalls, sight gag, sight gags
- gesturesgesture, hand gestures, applause, hand raise, tap on shoulder
- Pink PantherInspector Clouseau, diamond, Henry Mancini, theme song, Peter Sellers
silent comedytalkie
Film with audio
sound film · talking picture · screwball comedy · witty repartee · stand-up comedy