Review: Silent star Buster Keaton rides again in 2 new books

This combination of cover images shows "Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the 20th Century" by Dana Stevens, left, and "Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life” by James Curtis. (Atria via AP, left, and Knopf via AP)

“Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the 20th Century” by Dana Stevens (Atria; on sale now); and “Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life” by James Curtis (Knopf; Feb. 15):

You might not know his name, but you probably carry an image of Buster Keaton in your head.

He’s the guy being chased through the streets by hundreds of policemen in the movie “Cops” (1922). He’s the lovesick train engineer sitting on a rising and falling locomotive rod as the engine pulls away in “The General” (1926). And that’s Keaton standing before a house as its front collapses in “Steamboat Bill Jr.” (1928), an open window saving him from being crushed.

The 1920s were the years Keaton became an international star. The luster that comes with a centennial is reviving interest in his darkly funny view of life — a far cry from the sentimentality of Charlie Chaplin — and seems perfectly suited to today’s pessimism.

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