![]() This Kung Fu Panda-inspiring chopstick squabble from The Fearless Hyena is a good example, combining jaw-dropping dexterity with some of the worst trolling in existence. ![]() Most of his comedy gets wrapped up in his stunt work or fight scenes, but occasionally he gets the chance to be straight-out funny. Though he’s best known for his stunts, martial arts and willingness to dress up as Chun-Li from Street Fighter II, Jackie Chan is also one of the finest physical comedians the world has ever known and a huge fan of silent comedy slapstick (see his Keaton- and Gene Kelly-riffing routine in Shanghai Knights for details). This symphony of slapstick was achieved despite director Blake Edwards and his star actively loathing each other – Edwards once described Sellers as “physically unfit” and “certifiable” – and the fact that script was based on a hastily written TV episode. ![]() Calling himself “the Pavlova of the parallels”, the bumbling French detective begins the scene by leaping down a flight of stairs before karate chopping a suit of armour, clubbing a beekeeper and wrecking a priceless Steinway piano. This much-loved interrogation scene from the penultimate Sellers-starring Pink Panther movie features some of the finest physical comedy Clouseau ever committed to celluloid. **As seen in: **The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) So remember, comedy writers, if you don’t know how to end your movie, look to pie (see also: Bugsy Malone). The bad guy of the piece, the despicable State Attorney General Hedley Lamarr, is so afraid of any foam-to-fizzog action he applies it himself within the comfortable confines of a restroom. There, a somehow inevitable slapstick pie fight commences, with cream on everyone’s faces almost instantly. lot, fighting other movies’ actors before making their way to the studio’s canteen. The end of Mel Brooks’ horse-punching Western sees the entire cast of the film break through the fourth wall and into the Warner Bros. **Performers: **The cast of Blazing Saddles Family Guy even paid homage to this skit in a 2010 episode, and despite being a cartoon, it somehow still stands up. It follows a similar routine in TV’s Martin And Lewis, as well as 1961’s The Errand Boy, which sees Lewis’ eponymous character pretending to be the big boss to the tune of Blues In Hoss Flat by the Count Basie Orchestra. Though not technically slapstick, Jerry Lewis’ pantomime act of playing the typewriter in 1963’s Who’s Minding The Store? to the tune of Leroy Anderson’s The Typewriter – which Radio 4 fans may recognise as the theme to The News Quiz – is the finest of its kind. Still, Chaplin didn't fit in so many forced puns and people falling over, so credit where it's due.Īs seen in: Who’s Minding The Store? (1963) Orson Welles even called his 1936 masterpiece, The General. The king of physical comedy, Keaton was an unparalleled original and truly one of the greatest actor/director/writers in the history of cinema. This is the real Buster Keaton being blown along in a hospital bed, narrowing avoiding death-by-falling-house-front and leaning Michael Jackson-style into the wind. Watch and marvel at the sheer insanity of some of these hijinks – and start petitioning your nearest studio to bring them back. The Farrelly Brothers’ Three Stooges reboot might not give the genre the kickstart it deserves, but it did get us thinking about the high points in slapstick history. Sometimes dismissed as a lesser form of comedy, slapstick is actually one of the hardest comic mediums to nail, requiring great timing, physical prowess and a good connection with your co-stars to get even the tiniest chortle from the audience.
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