Films by season & age - Clowns (Ages 8-12)

Seasons are a great way to explore different ideas through watching a group of films. Why not try watching all the films in a season and make some time for discussion. Topics and discussion points are included.

Falling about laughing must be one of the purest pleasures there is, and the movies offer us plenty of chances to do just that. But while some great comedies are the results of serious actors working with a funny script, others are different - the work of true clowns, natural comics whose one great gift is to make us laugh. And it's to them that this Film Club season is devoted.

In some cases, their antics are supported by genuinely enthralling stories - in Buster Keaton's classic The General, the thrill of the chase is as much a part of the movie's magic as the comedy. But in some of the other movies here, there's no such distractions: there's only the jokes!

Throughout the whole season, kids will have a chance to compare some of the funniest men in movie history to see what really makes a great comedy - if they're not too busy just laughing, of course.

Suggested pair:

With almost any of the films in the season, it should be interesting for the audience to compare old with new - how Jim Carrey draws on the genius of the Marx Brothers, or how closely related the exploits of Mr Bean and Monsieur Hulot might prove. Also, the season gives kids a chance to see whether they prefer their comedy delivered with a straight face (as with Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau in The Return of the Pink Panther), or silently (as with Duck Soup's Harpo Marx) - or both (in the form of Buster Keaton)!

Talking points:

Is a comedy funniest when the star doesn't seem to be in on the joke?

Although some of the films here are more than 80 years old, are they still funny? Could you imagine similar scenes in a modern film?

Are the films funny because of the situation being portrayed - or is the actor so funny that you can imagine laughing at anything they do?