"Director: Mack Sennett"

• The Keystone Comedies | DVD | (12/02/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  One of the early classic movie studios Keystone Pictures Studios was founded in 1912 by Mack Sennett and would find lasting fame with their brand of slapstick comedy especially the Keystone Cops. These four films which include The Bangville Police the first popular Keystone Cops film showcase their brand of slapstick to perfection. The Bangville Police: A young farmer's daughter spots some strangers hanging around in the barn and rushes off to call the police. But the police have a haphazard rush across country to get there in time. Her Painted Hero: An heiress decides to use her new found wealth financing her favourite star's new vaudeville show but on the understanding that a part is found for her. Love Speed And Thrills: An injured Walrus who has been shot is carried home by Ambrose but Walrus recovers enough to start flirting with Ambrose' wife! Wife And Auto Trouble: Bossed about at home by his wife and his mother-inlaw a meek husband finds comfort in the arms of his secretary. In gratitude he has bought her a car but unfortunately the wife spots it first.

• Keystone Komedies - Vol. 2 | DVD | (07/02/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In 1912 Mack Sennett and two friends decided to invest their money to form the soon to be acclaimed Keystone Production Company. The new film company went on to produce highly successful classic comedies which encapsulate the era with their fast furious slapstick comedy. These short movies are fondly looked upon as they include such performers as Fatty Arbuckle Mark Swain and the much loved Keystone Kops which were to become some of the most infamous movies of the silent era.

• Charlie Chaplin Marathon - The Rink, The Immigrant, Tillie's Punctured Romance, The Vagabond | DVD | (01/11/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  “The Rink”: Chaplin plays a waiter who spends his time at the skating rink where his skill and grace lead to possible romance and unfortunate mishaps. “The Immigrant”: En-route by boat immigrant Chaplin tries to make the best of the rough seas. He befriends a woman and appoints himself her protector. “Tillie’s Punctured Romance”: This is the first feature-length comedy ever made and features Chaplin as a con artist who talks Marie Dressler an innocent lass into taking her dad’s savings and running off to the city with him. “The Vagabond”: This is the story of The Little Tramp a pathetic fiddler that makes a scanty living and rescues damsels in distress. One of the first films directed by Charlie Chaplin.

• Road To Hollywood | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

• Comedy Greats | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A "two-plus-one" package from Siren, Comedy Greats features classics from the two greatest silent-screen comics, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, plus a rather dreary effort from Danny Kaye. Never the most scintillating of comedians, Kaye's personable talents are thinly spread in 1949's The Inspector General. Distantly(!) based on a short story by Russian satirist Nikolay Gogol, this tale of mistaken identity enables Kaye to indulge in obvious wisecracks and not-so-smart dialogue. Sylvia Fine's songs are mildly amusing, and Henry Koster draws capable support from Walter Slezak and Elsa Lanchester, but it's a long haul. When he made Tilli's Punctured Romance in 1914, Charles Chaplin had yet to perfect the "little man" routine which made him the most popular 1920s screen star. His loveable rogue is well displayed opposite Marie Dressler's formidable country maid, whose unexpected windfall becomes the real object of his desire. Mabel Normand contributes an attractively period chic, and if, in the hands of Mack Sennett, the humour tends to fall back on music-hall slapstick, the historical significance of the film is undoubted. Yet it's Buster Keaton's 1928 classic Steamboat Bill Jr which comes out on top here. Keaton is perfectly cast as the put upon student, whose bravery saves both his father and his steamboat-owning rival, and wins the hand of the latter's daughter. Solid support comes from Ernest Torrence and the winsome Marion Byron, with Charles Riesner getting maximum drama from the cyclone sequence, but it's Keaton's soulful expression and breathtaking stuntwork which are the most potent reminders of a talent only later to receive its due. On the DVD: Comedy Greats is acceptably remastered, with 1.33:1 aspect ratio and 12 chapter headings per film, and decently packaged, this is worth acquiring--even though Keaton's film is the only one you're likely return to often. --Richard Whitehouse

• Retour De Flamme Vol 4 - The Fabulous Days Of The Early Cinema | DVD | (04/12/2006) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-1.99 (-8.00%)   |  RRP £24.99

  You do not have to be a film buff to enjoy this fourth edition of 16 of the rarest short films of the pioneer days of cinema Featured Films: I'll say she is The talion punishment Alice in wonderland Three soundies The seine flood To spring Women MPs Mgm promotions Montmartre's kids La joie vivre Lizzies of the field Philips broadcast The flight around the world episode 4

• Charlie Chaplin Collection 2 | DVD | (26/10/2009) from £9.98   |  Saving you £0.01 (0.10%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Charlie Chaplin Collection 2 contains: Tillies Punctured Romance: Charlie Chaplin stars as a smooth city slicker conman in this silent classic and he seduces farm girl Marie Dressler into stealing her fathers money then he leaves her upon discovering that she is to be a wealthy heiress he returns to marry her but her rich uncle and the Keystone Cops make an appearance. This was Chaplins 35th film and his last for Keystone. Knock Out: A couple of tramps down on their luck and hungry decide to fake an exhibition boxing match for a promoter. Meanwhile Pug a good-hearted but boisterous fellow takes on a gang of mashers who make unwanted advances to his girlfriend. Impressed by his abilities the mashers decide to pass Pug off as Cyclone Flynn the champion and enter him in the boxing match. But the real Cyclone shows up and he and Pug battle it out in the ring. Soon the fight progresses to include pistols rooftop chases and the Keystone Kops in hot pursuit.

• Charlie Chaplin Collection 3 | DVD | (02/11/2009) from £9.90   |  Saving you £0.09 (0.90%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Including A Woman Mother Father and Daughter go to the park. The women dose off on a bench while the father plays a hide-and-seek game with a girl blindfolded. Charlie leads him into a lake. Both dozing ladies on the bench fall for Charlie and invite him for dinner. The father returns home with a friend. Charlie rushes upstairs and dresses like a woman shaving his moustache. Both men fall for Charlie. His Regeneration A rough criminal gets into an argument over a girl in a dance hall. The argument turns into a fight and the criminal is shot. As everyone else looks on a young woman comes to his aid and it turns out that he is not seriously wounded. He still remembers the woman who helped him when later he is committing a burglary and gets a surprise that will change his life The Bank Charlie does everything but an efficient job as janitor. Edna buys her fianc'' the cashier a birthday present. Charlie thinks To Charles with Love is for him. He presents her a rose which she throws in the garbage. Depressed Charlie dreams of a bank robbery and his heroic role in saving he manager and Edna ... but it is only a dream. Shanghaied A shipowner intends to scuttle his ship on its last voyage to get the insurance money. Charlie a tramp in love with the owner's daughter is grabbed by the captain and promises to help him shanghai some seamen. The daughter stows away to follow Charlie. Charlie assists in the galley and attempts to serve food during a gale.

• Charlie Chaplin Collection - Vol. 1 | DVD | (11/08/2003) from £3.03   |  Saving you £-1.04 (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  Charlie Chaplin. The name alone evokes the image of a character with a brush-like moustache in a derby oversized trousers floppy shoes and a cane. He was and is perhaps still the most memorable character in film history. He was ""The Tramp"". The story of Charlie Chaplin's rise to fame is a remarkable one. Born in South London on April 16 1889 his childhood was one of poverty insecurity and near destitution. Having a mother who suffered from mental illness and a father who dese