It still exists as an art form in the modern era and has influenced much modern physical and visual comedy.
Silent comedy is predominantly based on physical and visual gags and jokes
with occasional written puns and jokes in the title cards.
It was heavily influenced by the broad "slapstick " humour of the popular vaudeville theatre of the 19th century ( where Buster Keaton started) and included standard routines such a "custard pie in the face " , " tripping on banana peel " as well as much comedy physical violence and acrobatics.
Buster Keaton's work in his early short films was in many ways typical of silent comedy : the influence of vaudeville, the use of slapstick, the representatation of police, the use of personae such as the outsider, everyman or romantic suitor, and the modernist use of formal and technical experimentation .
Keaton's deadpan persona was his unique selling point and he stands out in silent comedy for his careful and precise use of framing, his general refusal to repeat jokes and falls and his general refusal to fake stunts and physical jokes through editing : Keaton usually allows his jokes to take place within the frame rather than cutting.
One of the major contributions of American popular cinema to European art cinema, especially in the Soviet Union, was Silent Comedy. American Silent Comedy produced a significant body of work, now regarded as of great importance in film history. The key exponents of this movement (Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd) all knew each other, influenced each other’s work and were always experimental, pushing at the boundaries of film form and film technology. In particular American Silent Comedy further illustrates the preoccupation with modernism in the film movements of this period. In this latter case this can be seen in a similar interest to the Soviet constructivists in the machinery of cinema and the mechanics of acting. Just as German Expressionism was repeatedly engaging with genre cinema, so American Silent Comedy marries formal experimentation from popular culture, in particular vaudeville, exploiting the possibilities of cutting edge cinema technology available in Southern California in the 1920s. It is possible to place American Silent Comedy in the wider frame of the 1920s avant-garde, with particular connections to the emerging art forms of Dadaism and Surrealism in Europe, as well as its strong impact on Eisenstein and others in the Soviet Union.
KEY PRODUCERS
Mack Sennett
Hal Roach
KEY STARS
Buster Keaton
Charlie Chaplin
The Keystone Cops
Harold Lloyd
The narratives in silent comedy often developed in length and complexity from 1910s onwards as the films became longer : one reel films of about 10 minutes developed into feature length 3-4 reelers of 40+ minutes and longer.
Keaton's 20-minute 2 reel shorts of the early 1920s form a part of this process.
During this time cinematic, narrative and genre conventions, editing techniques , technical methods and other uses of film form were being developed alongside changing audience expectations and understanding of narrative cinema.
The invention of sound in cinema in 1927/8 meant that original silent comedy became less popular and was generally phased out in the industry but its influence on modern film comedy and action remains. The conventions of physical and verbal humour established in the silent era can still be seen in a range of filmmakers and stars.
LINKS
Paul Merton's film about early screen comedy is good at its origins and early technology and conventions and key early figures like Max Linder
Merton's documentaries about the key stars of the silent era ( including Buster Keaton )
Context of silent comedy in history of film comedy
The wikipedia page for silent comedy is an ok starting point for some background information.
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