Free screening of Buster Keaton documentary set for Frauenthal Theater
MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — A documentary on one of the country’s finest silent film stars and one of Muskegon’s own is set for a showing at the Frauenthal Theater.
A screening of “Buster Keaton: Home” is set for Sunday, June 9, in Muskegon.
WATCH: Trailer for ‘Buster Keaton: Home” on YouTube
Local historian Ron Pesch serves as one of the producers and researchers on the film and is on the board of the International Buster Keaton Society. He says while most documentaries about Keaton focus on his films, “Home” focuses on Muskegon’s connection to Vaudeville and how his upbringing in West Michigan shaped the performer he would become.
A historical marker honoring Buster Keaton and Muskegon’s Actors’ Colony stands along Lakeshore Drive in the city’s Bluffton neighborhood. (Matt Jaworowski/WOOD TV8) A portrait of Buster Keaton adorns the sign welcoming people to Muskegon’s Bluffton neighborhood, where Keaton and many vaudeville performers spent their summers in the early part of the 20th century. (Matt Jaworowski/WOOD TV8) A statue honoring silent film star Buster Keaton sits outside of the Frauenthal Center for Performing Arts in downtown Muskegon. (Matt Jaworowski/WOOD TV8) Keaton Court is one of many small nods to Muskegon’s vaudeville roots and its biggest star. (Matt Jaworowski/WOOD TV8) A 1925 file photo of American film star Buster Keaton. (Getty Images/Hulton Archive) American film star Buster Keaton is shown in a promotional still for his 1928 film “The Cameraman.” (Getty Images/Hulton Archive) Buster Keaton, left, poses with Captain Lew Cody, center and Jimmy Durante in this undated photo. (Getty Images/Hulton Archive) This 1928 file photo shows Buster Keaton, left, on set with Chicago the Monkey and director Edward Sedgwick on the MGM set of “The Cameraman.” Many critics consider it one of Keaton’s best films. (Getty Images/Hulton Archive) Silent comedian Buster Keaton was known for his ability to not break character during a scene, earning him the nickname “The Great Stone Face.” (Getty Images/Hulton Archive)
“The world doesn’t need another Keaton documentary. There are a ton of them out there,” Pesch told News 8 in 2023. “But in general, what happens is the story of Buster and vaudeville, that all occurs within the first seven minutes or less. Then, the next hour, two hours are spent telling the rest of his career. What we have done is flipped that on its head. We sum up the rest of his career in seven minutes and spend the other 80 minutes telling the vaudeville story and the Muskegon story.”
Hollywood before Hollywood: How Muskegon became the home for vaudeville stars
“Buster Keaton: Home” was selected for the Austin Lift-Off Film Festival and won best feature film at the Toronto Documentary Feature & Short Film Festival.
The screening is free and scheduled to start at 3 p.m., although donations to help set up future screenings are welcome.
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