Mack Sennett: Madcap Mayhem!

AN EVENING OF FILM AND COMMENTARY

Presented by Seth Goldman
Spend a late summer evening with a laugh and a smile! Join us for a lively screening and discussion of pioneering comedies and slapstick silent films at The Neversink Valley Museum of History and Innovation on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 at 7:30 pm. Seth Goldman, director of the Museum’s Institute of Early Film Studies will be your host as he presents, “Mack Sennett: Madcap Mayhem!” at the D&H Canal Visitor’s Center 58 Hoag Road, Cuddebackville, NY (just off Route 209). Light refreshments will be served.

Mack Sennett (January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-born American director and actor known as an innovator of slapstick comedy in film. Known during his lifetime as the “King of Comedy,” he was responsible for developing the careers of Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Gloria Swanson, W.C. Fields, Bing Crosby and The Keystone Cops. Sennett was known for his manic, often physical brand of comedy that offered audiences laughs as well as suspense. Though making a successful transition from silents to sound films, his reluctance to move away from slapstick caused his career to diminish and bankruptcy ended his career in 1933. For his achievements, he earned an Honorary Academy Award in 1937 and is still recognized as a genius of early film.

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