If Charlie Chaplin and Andru00c3u00a9 Deed won you over, then get to know them better with this new course about the origins of comedy in early world cinema
Charlie Chaplin and Eric Campbell in Easy Street
Charlie Chaplin and Eric Campbell in Easy Street (1917)
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Comedy began centuries ago, with the theatre of Moliere, and is a medium that can get anybody to react. I thought it could be a good way to teach the history of the language of early cinema," says film editor Jethu Mundal. With his new course, Comedy in Early World Cinema, Mundal, a faculty member at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, is set to introduce comic nuggets from the dawn of cinema in Europe and America to participants, especially those who are not film students. While the era was full of narrative and technological innovations, the delights of early world cinema could be an acquired taste. What better than the capers of Charlie Chaplin and Mabel Normand, then, to pave the path for us?
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in Babes in Toyland (1934)
Divided into three modules, the course, which starts tomorrow at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, is planned around key moments in the development of the comedic tradition in early world cinema. The first module, this month, is an introduction to comedy in cinema, followed by early European and American comedians, and the development of the art of later comedians in February and March. "What's interesting about comedians like Chaplin is that they saw themselves as more than just actors. They also went behind the camera and directed several short films," says Mundal, who has previously showcased films at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
While we may be familiar with some early classics, such as The Gold Rush by Chaplin and works of Buster Keaton, Mundul will be bringing a series of shorts, such as Easy Street, directed by Chaplin. Also watch out for the works of André Deed, a Frenchman who was well-known for his hilarious comic expressions and rose to fame with Italian cinema. What's more, the transition of cinema from the silent era to sound also meant a need to rethink the available technology for comedians. "There were few to make the actual shift, for it would mean speaking on screen. Chaplin wasn't convinced that he would appeal so on screen - he was such a perfectionist - that he continued to make silent films even when sound was available," says Mundul.
Jethu Mundal
Meet the comedienne
What might interest participants, as we were when Mundal drew our attention to it, are the female comics that enthralled audiences back then. "Women in early comedy films, as actors or directors, have not been looked at at all, and it is an area that I am still researching. [Film director and writer] Alice Guy-Blaché was in fact the first woman pioneer in early world cinema," he explains. Guy-Blaché, for instance, was one of the earliest developers of narrative cinema and made a film about a woman who has a terrible craving. It is hinted at that she is pregnant, and the film follows the impish manner as she plucks eatables from the hands of complete strangers. Guy-Blaché also made another film in which the gender roles of men and women were reversed.
Another figure who is worth studying is Mabel Normand, who co-starred with Chaplin. "She was in some ways responsible for Chaplin's growth. She was an established actor and also directed films," says Mundal. Early female comediennes also did plenty of slapstick, a genre that developed in America. "It was initially common to see women use their full body for slapstick - falling about and even being kicked. However, as the form progressed, they were restricted to comical facial expressions and subordinates to the male comics."
When: Starts January 15, Mondays & Tuesdays, 5-8 pm
Where: Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla COST: R7,000 (three modules); R3,000 (single module)
RegistrationN: Today is the last date
Enquiries: education@bdlmuseum.org
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