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1910s – 1970s

Visual Comedy

Comedy built on physical performance, timing and inventive visual gags rather than dialogue.

Before sound, comedians told jokes with their bodies and the camera. Chaplin's Tramp mixed slapstick with tenderness, Keaton built impossibly exact stunts around his stone face, and Harold Lloyd's thrill comedies hung him from skyscraper clocks. Mack Sennett's Keystone studio taught Hollywood to cut gags for speed, and the tradition continued in Laurel and Hardy, in Jacques Tati's sound-era films that still use almost no dialogue, and in many later comedians. The art lies in timing, choreography and an eye for how objects and people can go wrong.

Where
United States first, then France and elsewhere
When
1910s to the 1970s
Key figures
Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Mack Sennett, Leo McCarey, Jacques Tati
Landmark films
The Kid (1921), The General (1926), Safety Last! (1923), Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953)
Legacy
Set the template for physical comedy, from Chaplin's pathos to Tati's visual satire

What to look for

  • Gags built from timing, props and movement, not dialogue
  • A small, vulnerable hero against a big, hostile world
  • Stunts shot for real, in long takes that show the whole action

Famous Directors

Buster KeatonUSACharlie ChaplinUK / USAJacques TatiFranceHarold LloydUSAMack SennettUSA (born in Canada)Leo McCareyUSA

Top films · 67 films

  1. City Lights 1931 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.5
  2. Modern Times 1936 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.5
  3. The Great Dictator 1940 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.4
  4. The Kid 1921 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.2
  5. The General 1926 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
  6. One Week 1920 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
  7. Sherlock Jr. 1924 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
  8. The Gold Rush 1925 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.1
  9. The Circus 1928 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.1
  10. Safety Last! 1923 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 8.1
  11. Make Way for Tomorrow 1937 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 8.1
  12. Limelight 1952 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 8.0
  13. The Cameraman 1928 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.0
  14. Seven Chances 1925 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.8
  15. Steamboat Bill, Jr. 1928 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.8
  16. Monsieur Verdoux 1947 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.8
  17. Playtime 1967 · Jacques Tati · IMDb 7.8
  18. Our Hospitality 1923 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.7
  19. Duck Soup 1933 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 7.7
  20. A Dog's Life 1918 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.6
  21. Girl Shy 1924 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 7.6
  22. The Kid Brother 1927 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 7.6
  23. Speedy 1928 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 7.6
  24. The Awful Truth 1937 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 7.6
  25. Mon Oncle 1958 · Jacques Tati · IMDb 7.6
  26. Cops 1922 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.5
  27. The Navigator 1924 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.5
  28. The Immigrant 1917 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.5
  29. The Freshman 1925 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 7.5
  30. For Heaven's Sake 1926 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 7.5
  31. Ruggles of Red Gap 1935 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 7.5
  32. An Affair to Remember 1957 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 7.4
  33. Shoulder Arms 1918 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.3
  34. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday 1953 · Jacques Tati · IMDb 7.3
  35. Love Affair 1939 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 7.3
  36. The Pilgrim 1923 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.2
  37. Jour de fête 1949 · Jacques Tati · IMDb 7.2
  38. The Bells of St. Mary's 1945 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 7.2
  39. The Boat 1921 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.1
  40. Go West 1925 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.1
  41. Dr. Jack 1922 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 7.1
  42. Hot Water 1924 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 7.1
  43. Movie Crazy 1932 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 7.1
  44. The Three Ages 1923 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.0
  45. Battling Butler 1926 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.0
  46. A King in New York 1957 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.0
  47. Grandma's Boy 1922 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 7.0
  48. Going My Way 1944 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 7.0
  49. College 1927 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 6.9
  50. Spite Marriage 1929 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 6.9
  51. The Tramp 1915 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 6.8
  52. Feet First 1930 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 6.7
  53. The Cat's-Paw 1934 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 6.7
  54. The Milky Way (1936) 1936 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 6.5
  55. Once Upon a Honeymoon 1942 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 6.4
  56. Belle of the Nineties 1934 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 6.3
  57. Good Sam 1948 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 6.3
  58. Tillie's Punctured Romance 1914 · Mack Sennett · IMDb 6.2
  59. Indiscreet (1931) 1931 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 6.2
  60. Easy to Wed 1946 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 6.1
  61. Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life 1913 · Mack Sennett · IMDb 6.0
  62. Welcome Danger 1929 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 5.9
  63. Parade (1974) 1974 · Jacques Tati · IMDb 5.9
  64. Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! 1958 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 5.9
  65. The Fatal Mallet 1914 · Mack Sennett · IMDb 5.3
  66. A Woman of Paris 1923 · Charlie Chaplin
  67. Traffic 1971 · Jacques Tati