Tag: toronto star

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Buster Keaton’s final word

Eric Veillette

This piece was originally published by the Toronto Star on March 5, 2013. It appears here in a slightly edited form. Buster Keaton, who rose to fame in the 1920s, directed and starred in some of the most famous films of the silent era. The General (1926) is ranked 34th on Sight and Sound magazine’s list of the 50 greatest films of all time. Nearly four decades later, during a chilly October in 1965, Keaton was in Toronto, appearing in The Scribe , an industrial safety film commissioned by the Construction Safety Association of Ontario. It would be his last film. On Feb. 1, 1966, Keaton … Continue reading Buster Keaton’s final word

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Toronto’s Burlesque Legacy

Eric Veillette

Don Evans, of Meaford, On, wrote a great letter in response to a piece I wrote for the Toronto Star on the Victory Burlesque: “Re: Less sleaze, more tease, July 18 During the 1930s the south side of Queen St. between Bay and York St. had two burlesque houses: the Roxy and later, around 1936, the Casino theatre. The Roxy was converted into a regular Hollywood second run or older movie theatre before the Casino opened. I can recall seeing Burlesque stars such as Gypsy Rose Lee, Sally Rand, Rose La Rose with straight men like Rex Doyle and Robert Alda [father … Continue reading Toronto’s Burlesque Legacy

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Ontario Film Censorship: Then & Now

Eric Veillette

In case you missed it, I wrote about the history of film censorship in Ontario for the Toronto Star last weekend. I was surprised to learn from a few friends who didn’t know we still had censors (nowadays known as the Ontario Film Review Board), but the truth is that Ontario has had constant film censorship, certification, review — whatever you want to call it — for nearly a century. I originally set out to contrast the puritanical outlook on film exhibition from the board’s inception in 1911 to its latter days in the 1980s with today’s “hands-off” approach, but … Continue reading Ontario Film Censorship: Then & Now