58: MGM Stories Part 3: Buster Keaton’s Biggest Mistake

58: MGM Stories Part 3: Buster Keaton’s Biggest Mistake

In 1928, silent comedy star Buster Keaton made what he would later call “the worst mistake of my career”: against the advice of fellow silent comedy auteurs like Charlie Chaplin, he gave up his independent production shingle and signed a contract with MGM. A vaudevillian who got his start working with Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, by the late 1920s Keaton had established himself as a solo writer, director and star who was known for doing his own spectacular but reckless stunts. Keaton joined MGM with a promise from his friend Joe Schenck that nothing would change, only to find himself in his new situation demoted from artistic boss to employee of a corporation interested in protecting its investment above all. The lack of agency and ability to personally control the quality of his own work within the confines of Mayer’s studio drove Keaton to alcoholism, which further doomed his tenure at MGM. Keaton’s experience is perhaps the first major example of an indie filmmaker “selling out” to a big studio, only to be swallowed up by the system. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Flashback: Marilyn Monroe – The End

Flashback: Marilyn Monroe – The End

This episode was originally released on March 21, 2017. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive. How did a star whose persona seemed to be all about chi...

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Henry Hathaway (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 11)

Henry Hathaway (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 11)

Henry Hathaway started directing in the early 1930s and though he made movies of all genres, he was particularly associated with Westerns. This allowed him to ride out the 1960s making pretty much the...

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William Wyler 1965-1971 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 10)

William Wyler 1965-1971 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 10)

For over 40 years, William Wyler was one of Hollywood’s most dependable classicists, culminating in 1968 with the ultimate New Hollywood-era throwback to Old Hollywood, Funny Girl. Then, for his final...

18 Maalis 20251h 8min

Flashback: Bette Davis and the Hollywood Canteen

Flashback: Bette Davis and the Hollywood Canteen

This episode was originally released on January 6, 2015. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive. This is the story of how Bette Davis evolved from a wan...

14 Maalis 202553min

Billy Wilder 1961-1981 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 9)

Billy Wilder 1961-1981 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 9)

Hollywood’s 1960s began with Billy Wilder winning three Oscars for The Apartment. But Wilder’s biggest success would also prove to be his last film to be afforded such respectability, as Wilder largel...

11 Maalis 20251h 8min

Flashback: Sammy and Dino — Generation Gap

Flashback: Sammy and Dino — Generation Gap

This episode was originally released on December 14, 2021. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive. In the mid-1960s, 47 year-old Dean Martin proves he's...

7 Maalis 20251h 24min

George Stevens 1958-1970 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 8)

George Stevens 1958-1970 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 8)

As a cameraman during World War II, George Stevens shot footage of the liberation of Dachau that showed the world the horrors of the Holocaust – and scarred Stevens himself for life. Pre-war, he had b...

4 Maalis 20251h 13min

Flashback: LIZ <3 MONTY

Flashback: LIZ <3 MONTY

This episode was originally released on October 28, 2014. Listen to help prep for the next episode of our new season, The Old Man is Still Alive. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift were best friend...

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