Cottage Grove sentinel., August 10, 2016, Page Page 5, Image 30

The General 90th Anniversary Keepsake Program
Page 5
'Calm in the eye of a storm'
Author reflects on Keaton's genius, likeability
By Jon Stinnett
The Cottage Grove
Sentinel
In his 2000 book, “Silent
Echoes: Discovering Early
Hollywood Through the
Films of Buster Keaton,”
author John Bengtson fol-
lows in the silent film star’s
footsteps, searching out
the secrets in places like
Cottage Grove that became
backdrops for Keaton’s
masterpieces. It was work
that required tenacity and a
commitment to uncovering
secrets and documenting
history.
In “Silent Echoes,”
Bengtson writes of tak-
ing the BART train to U.C.
Berkeley to attend a 10-week
festival of Keaton’s films.
“This was truly one of the
happiest, most exhilarating
experiences of my life,” he
writes. “Back then, I could
not have imagined in my
wildest dreams that I would
some day follow Buster’s
trail…”
So what exactly is it about
Keaton’s films and the star
himself that has so captivat-
ed Bengston and others?
“It’s hard to put into a few
words,” Bengtson told the
Sentinel, before attempting
to do just that.
“Buster Keaton was so
talented, so brilliant, so
clever,” he said. “There was
something almost other-
worldly about him.”
Keaton, he explained, had a
keen ability to remain stoic
under pressure, the “calm in
the eye of a storm,” and the
way he constructed a film
was simply masterful.
“Everything was connected,
and there was a reason for it
all,” Bengtson said. “He told
fantastic stories visually and
did all his own stunts.”
Not that any of that went to
Keaton’s head, however.
“He was an all-around good
person,” Bengtson said. “He
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was remarkably likeable and
talented in so many dif-
ferent ways, but he wasn’t
a prima donna. Instead it
was, ‘let’s play baseball.’ He
wasn’t pretentious at all, and
a lot of people found that
very appealing.”
And if accounts from the
Sentinel that summer are
any indication, Cottage
Grove enjoyed itself
immensely while Keaton
was in town.
“In a small way, the film
put Cottage Grove on the
map,” Bengtson said. “I
don’t think you can overem-
phasize how big a deal this
was in the 1920s to have
a Hollywood actor arrive
in your small town. I can’t
imagine how exciting it must
have been.”
Still, the townspeople
weren’t the only ones having
a blast back then.
“I can’t imagine how much
fun Buster must have had!”
Bengtson said. “He loved
filming trains, and this was
his masterpiece about a
train. In a small town, he
wasn’t bothered, and he
could focus on filming. And
here he was at the peak of
his career.”
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