Battle of the Century

Clyde A. Bruckman was an American writer and director of comedy films during the late silent era as well as the early sound era of cinema. Bruckman collaborated with such comedians as Buster Keaton, W. C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello and Harold Lloyd. Bruckman ... may be best known for his collaborations with Buster Keaton, as Bruckman co-wrote several of Keaton's most popular films, including Our Hospitality, Sherlock Jr., The Navigator, Seven Chances, The Cameraman and The General, which Bruckman also co-directed. Bruckman continued directing comedies during the sound era, his most famous credit being The Fatal Glass of Beer, W. C. Fields' esoteric satire of Yukon melodramas. Unfortunately for his career path, Bruckman's fondness for alcohol caused production delays that cost him directorial assignments. From 1935 forward, Bruckman would be limited to writing scripts. Bruckman's wealth of silent-comedy experience earned him a steady position in Columbia Pictures' short-subject department.
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