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Picture Show Annual 115 Ben Turpin belongs to the old school of laughter- makers, the men who starred in the old music-hall days. A horrible squint is one of Ben’s assets, and he uses it for all he is worth, but those who have had actual experi- ence of the difficulty of making people laugh know that there is more in Ben’s comedy than two cross eyes. There must be thousands of cross-eyed people in the world, but there are few who could take on Ben Turpin’s job. The Army of the Disillusioned M any alleged comedians thought that by wearing Chaplin’s boots and moustache, and swinging his little cane, they could make as big a hit as Charlie. They joined that great army of the disillusioned who thought they could become famous by imitating the famous. But Charlie has proved over and over again that though his clothes may provoke a laugh, it is his genius that makes him the premier comedian of the screen. Larry Semon is another who holds strictly to his own line of comedy, and he has a great following, though those who would roar at Chaplin or Lloyd might find Larry not so amusing. But take it by and large, as Cap’n Cuttle so often remarked, we have to thank the comedians of the screen for much. A good laugh is the finest tonic in the world. And we have to remember that in getting his laughs the screen comedian has to rely on action and facial expression. In this he is badly handicapped when com- pared to his colleague on the stage. The latter may be successful, even if he is a ” Stick ” as an actor, provided he has a budget of funny songs or stories, but the comedian of the silent stage is minus these valuable assets. It is true, on the other hand, that the screen comedian has all the advantages of trick photography, and it must be admitted that this is a great asset, but the mechanical marvels of the studio engineer and the camera-man will never make a cinema comedian, much as they may help him to get a laugh. The best comedians of the screen are really fine pantomimists, men who can convey a humorous situation by dumb show, and to be able to do that is to possess acting ability of a high order. ' Our Gang ' Jimmy Aubrey Harold Lloyd in ** Hot Water ”