Buster Keaton, Roscoe Arbuckle, and Al St. John, 1918. Once his deadpan persona became established, Keaton avoided smiling in front of a camera.turdferguson3891 t1_j6kwu0c wrote
Reply to comment by clce in Buster Keaton, Roscoe Arbuckle, and Al St. John, 1918. Once his deadpan persona became established, Keaton avoided smiling in front of a camera. by L0st_in_the_Stars
As far as I've heard the proximity to Mexico thing is mostly a myth. In a 1910s car on 1910s roads I think it would have taken half a day to get to the border, if that were the motivation you'd just put the studio in San Diego.
clce t1_j6kxphs wrote
Yeah, that's probably true. Besides that, I don't think you can just avoid a whole lawsuit by slipping over the border. It's maybe a bit of a romance fantasy, maybe echoing the western trope of someone being pursued by the police and making it across the county line or more significantly across the Rio grande. I find it hard to imagine that back in the wild West, at sheriff posse or military contingent would simply let you go because you crossed the border. Much more likely they would hunt you down, string you up, and return your body and say they caught you just shy of the border. But it makes for a good movie scene
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