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The Buster Keaton Collection presents three of the first films (one, The Cameraman, a near masterpiece) Keaton made for MGM beginning in 1928, an arrangement that gradually ushered the great comic actor and director into the sound era but ultimately deprived him of creative control. The Cameraman, considered by many to be Keaton's last important silent work, is an unusual story about a tintype portrait photographer (Keaton) who becomes a newsreel cameraman in order to win the heart of a secretary (Marceline Day). After flubbing an assignment by double-exposing some action footage, the hapless hero tries to prove himself in several memorable sequences of Keatonesque knockabout comedy (including a Chinatown street battle). There are also a couple of grace notes, such as a scene set in Yankee Stadium in which a solo Keaton exquisitely mimes the moves and attitudes of a pitcher. But The Cameraman's strange, almost subconscious power is in its variation on an old Keaton refrain: The hero's conflict over different kinds of authenticity, represented here on either side of a motion picture lens--the difference between capturing something real and living it.

The Cameraman shows obvious and unfortunate signs of MGM's insistence that Keaton, long accustomed to improvising scenes, conform to prepared shooting scripts. But it is less stifling than the second feature (Keaton's last silent movie) in this set, the 1929 Spite Marriage, a slight farce about a pants-presser (Keaton) who borrows his customers' fine threads to attend the theatre every night. There he worships an actress (Dorothy Sebastian) so furious with her caddish lover and co-star (Edward Earle) that she asks Keaton to marry her. The predictable results are unworthy of a Keaton film, but he does shine in several hilarious sequences, such as a disastrous turn as a bit player in his soon-to-be-wife's stage dramas. Finally, 1930's Free and Easy, Keaton's talkie debut, is a garish MGM valentine to itself, trotting out celebrity actors and directors (Lionel Barrymore, Cecil B. DeMille, Fred Niblo) in a wooden story set on a movie lot. But while Keaton struggles with dialogue and a script that frequently sidelines him, he has many good moments causing havoc on film sets. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Description

Consistently ranked among the best films ever made, Keaton's "The General" (1926, 75 min., stereo) is so brilliantly conceived and executed that it continues to inspire awe and laughter with every viewing. Rejected by the Confederate Army as unfit and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle Lee (Marian Mack), young Johnnie Gray (Keaton) sets out to single-handedly win the war with his cherished locomotive. Also includes "The Playhouse" (1921, 23 min., mono), a technical tour-de-force in which Keaton plays every member of a stage company, the entire audience and an undisciplined chimp to boot! "Cops" (1922, 18 min., mono) is the quintessential chase film, with Buster tumbling into a series of marvelous mishaps while fleeing hundreds of uniformed policemen. Digitally mastered from archival prints, with original musical scores. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

Johnnie get your gun!
"The General" is a film that is so well-paced and well-crafted, you don't even realize you've been watching a film that is an hour and a half in length. This is easily one of the best comedies ever made (silent or otherwise) and among my favorite films of all time. Buster Keaton plays Johnnie Gray, a train engineer in the south during the Civil War. Johnnie's two loves in his life are his train, The General, and his girl, Annabelle. Imagine the horror when, after a daring plot by Union army spies, Johnnie's train is hijacked and his girl is kidnapped in the process. It's Johnnie to the rescue as he gives chase by another train to save his beloved General, get the girl, and maybe even become a hero. With an ever-present blank expression on his mug, Keaton treats the viewer to feats of daring, physical comedy. The movie itself zooms from gag to gag as if riding a train from station to station. And what a delightful ride it is.

ONE OF THE MOST COMPLETE SILENT MOVIES OF ALL TIME.
"The General" is a silent movie, starred by the fantastic Buster Keaton, widely considered as one of the greatest, if not the best silent movie of all time.

The film is set during the U.S.A. Civil War. Johnnie Gray (Buster Keaton) is a Southern engineer of a train engine named "The General". When the war starts, Johnnie's love interest, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack) invites him to enlist in the Confederate Army, but he is rejected by the war office because he is too valuable as an engineer. When Annabelle knows this, she thinks that Johnnie is a yellow and immediately stops talking to him. Months later, the Northern decides to steal "The General", taking Annabelle in the process.

The next segments are two of the most impressing sequences ever filmed, Johnnie chases his own train engine to rescue his beloved Annabelle, and after he reaches her, they now must escape in "The General". The acrobatic chases in the rails are without a doubt the heart of the movie, and proof of the athletic ability of Buster Keaton. "The General" is the testimony of the greatness of one of the most legendary movie heroes, the fantastic Buster Keaton.

Quest and Love
This movie is ranked in top twenty best films ever made. It is a tribute to Keaton that words matter so little in what must have been a technological marvel for its day. The incredible danger that Keaton and Marian Mack endured while skipping and lurching on top of very real trains and locomotives would not be duplicated by preening stars today. Part of the charm of a story of quest and love, is the danger endured by the hero and heroine against all odds. As in most films of this era, there is a naive quality to romance. The action however, especially on a big screen is fascinating. How did Keaton think up all the possibilities of locomotive spills and chills? This film is totally original and has influenced 100's of films that followed.

"This fellow Keaton seems to be the whole show!"
The first time I watched Buster Keaton's Civil War movie, THE GENERAL, I was a bit disappointed. I didn't hate the film, but it didn't exactly grab me as one of the "greatest films of all time" as the front of the DVD cover states. When gearing up to review this disc, I decided to pop the film back into the player to refresh my memory and to take a few notes. No notes were taken; I ended up glued to the screen, and didn't write down a single thing.

I'm not sure what was different that second time. Maybe I knew not to expect an out-and-out comedy. THE GENERAL isn't a series of constant knee-slappers; rather it's more of a comic action-adventure. And once I got myself into that frame of mind, I was able to enjoy the film for what it is: a great romance-comedy-action-adventure.

On top of the fun story and the zany sight gags, the film just looks great. The cinematography is superb. Just look at that scene of Buster Keaton obliviously chopping wood on the back of his train while passing by two separate groups of Civil War battalions. The soldiers are moving in one direction. The train is moving in the other. The camera slowly tracks along beside Buster's train, not quite matching the speed, allowing us to concentrate both on the foreground and on the march in the background. I can't imagine it was easy to get this shot, but Keaton's perfectionism was to the film's great benefit.

Speaking of the train (the title refers to one of two loves in the life of Keaton's character, his girlfriend, and the train he's an engineer on, "The General"), it's clear to see Buster Keaton's love for our locomotive friends. You'd never believe that the train chase sequences could possibly be as exciting as they are, but Keaton uses all of his skill as a director to ensure that they are. Put together, the two train chases make up a significant amount of screen time, but they're far and away the most entertaining part. Obstacles and traps are set. Ground is gained and then lost. Cars are diverted, but then reappear. I just can't get over how clever some of this stuff is. And I also can't get over how difficult it must have been to stage.

On the other hand, it is somewhat odd to see silent comic Buster Keaton clowning around while there's a massive Civil War battle reconstruction going on around him, complete with canon-fire, swords and pistol fights. Hundreds of extras are being mowed down while he messes about with a sword that will not stay attached to the handle. And it's downright surreal to see him grabbing a Confederate flag banner and racing towards the front lines waving it.

This disc also features two short features from Buster Keaton. In THE PLAYHOUSE, the action opens with a long dream sequence, where Keaton plays everyone in a vaudeville show, as well as the entire audience. I had thought that this sort of split screen was supposed to be revolutionary in Disney's THE PARENT TRAP (1961). But forty years before Hollywood expected us to be impressed by two Hayley Millses, this short feature gives us nine Buster Keatons on screen at once!

The other short feature is COPS, described as Keaton's finest short film. I wouldn't argue with that position (although I think I might put THE SCARECROW up there), as this is absolutely hilarious. Beginning with a few quick sight gags and misunderstandings, the film has Keaton eventually earning the wrath of every policeman in the city. The film continues on, getting increasingly outrageous as every attempt at escaping from one set of policemen ends up annoying a further group. It's very reminiscent of his feature length film, SEVEN CHANCES, only instead of enraged brides chasing Keaton through city streets, it's -- you guessed it -- cops. Packed with energy and wonderfully inventive, COPS could stand multiple viewings without boring an audience.

This disc might be the best place to begin appreciating Buster Keaton. He's certainly at the top of his game in all three movies. I would only suggest to newcomers not to expect THE GENERAL to be a laugh-a-minute slapstick fest. Certainly, it's an amusing film, but there's a lot more here to appreciate than just some simple physical comedy jokes. The attention to detail is surprising and welcome. Even today, it is still rare to see a "comedy" done in such a large cinematic scale, with such epic production values. Thanks to Keaton's care and attention, he created one of the best-looking films ever made in any genre.

One of the all time classic silent film comedies
If anyone could have made a comedy about the American Civil War and pulled it off, it was BUSTER KEATON. This is one of the all time classic silent comedies. Buster plays a steadfast trainman whose loyalty is with his girl and the South, but fate manages to throw their plans assunder. Rejected from the service because he was too valuable to the Confederacy as an engineer. Branded a coward, Buster manages to become the hero in a roundabout way. Look for classic routines like Keaton frantically trying to find his shoes in a hopelessly tangled pile of footwear, trying to load a cannon with limited success and finally, being promoted to an officer and having brigades of soldiers salute him, all the while he trying to kiss his true love. Granted, Civil War purists will fault some of the technical points, such as uniforms and weapons, but for once, OVERLOOK IT and enjoy the film! Even if it was 100% authentic, it is still a treasure worth seeing. ... Read more

Description

Musical remake of "Shop Around the Corner" involving two feuding store employees who are unknowingly engaged in a romantic relationship as anonymous pen pals. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

No bad scenes - good family video
"In the Good Old Summertime" featuring Van Johnson and Judy Garland is a good video for the entire family viewing. There are no immoral scenes and no improper language. For families that have members that love musicals and members that hate musicals, this story will satisfy everyone. There is some singing in it, but not enough to drive you crazy. This is not a musical where everyone in the cast breaks into spontaneous singing--any music performed is germaine to the story.

Contrary to its title, "In the Good Old Summertime" can be considered a Christmas film and I recommend it for holiday viewing.

For those who like modern story lines, some people say it is similar (in a vague was) like "You've Got Mail."

Buy, view, and enjoy a delightful film.

P.S. Buster Keaton (who played the Scarecrow in "Wizard of Oz")does a magnificent job in this movie. 5 starts for Buster, too.

This is a cute film and you really must pay attention to the secondary characters as well. Especially Buster Keaton.

IMPRESSIVE LOOKING TRANSFER OF AN AVERAGE GARLAND FILM!
"In The Good Old Summertime" is a musical remake of "The Shop Around The Corner" (also available from Warner and the preferred version of this movie). In place of the obviously poignant and tender chemistry that James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan brought to the original we are given shrill ineptitude, a la the usually brilliant Judy Garland and mean spirited inclinations via the embittered Van Johnson. Really, I can't see how anyone would believe Garland and Johnson could be in love, much less have a child, by the final fade out. (Film trivia: the child in the last shot of this film is Liza Minnelli.) The remake, while short on the sprite gaiety of the original, nevertheless has its moments. Garland - although wrong for the part, is nevertheless in good voice and her songs sparkle with a vintage and professionalism that only a great artist like she could make of them in an otherwise uninspired production. In the supporting cast we have one of the cinema's great joys to watch - S.Z. Sakall, as the portly, easily flustered Mr. Oberkugen - proprietor of the music shop where both Johnson and Garland work and spar. Buster Keaton is wasted in his role.
THE TRANSFER: Warner gives us a very clean looking DVD. Colors are somewhat dated and in spots faded, but overall the Technicolor is rich and vibrant. Age related artifacts are present throughout but do not distract. Black levels are solid. Contrast levels tend to be just a bit too low for a picture that doesn't quite deliver as much visual punch as it should. There are no digital anomalies. The audio is mono but nicely balanced.
BOTTOM LINE: This is another film that die hard Garland fans will snatch up quickly. But one wonders why Warner chose "In The Good Old Summertime" over say, "Summer Stock" or any of the Mickey Rooney/Garland vehicles.

Captivating Christmas Story With Judy Garland In Fine Form
Despite this charming film's misleading title the majority of the story takes place in winter in the lead up to the Christmas season. It does however feature one of Judy Garland's best later performances made in an all to rare trauma free moment in the late 1940's for this legendary actress/singer when her health problems were affecting her ability to perform before the camera. Amazingly none of that is evident in "In the Good Old Summertime", which finds her delivering a wonderfully controlled and at times wistful performance as a young employee of a music store in turn of the century Chicago who is having a romantic letter correspondance with a penpal who addresses himself simply as "dear friend". Given its setting of a music shop "In the Good Old Summertime", also offers Judy Garland a number of opportunities to present some fine musical interludes in her unique style.

It was a stroke of genius by MGM to decide to remake as a musical it's earlier 1940 classic "The Shop Around the Corner" which starred James Stewart and another highly strung female performer in Margaret Sullavan. The results here are almost as effective as in the earlier film and Garland and Van Johnson make a delightful screen team. Based on the play "The Shop Around the Corner ", by Miklos Laszlo, the action this time has been moved from present day Budapest to turn of the century Chicago. Indeed this beautiful film bares a strong resemblance to Garland's earlier classic "Meet Me in St. Louis",and here the atmosphere is just as rich where the action centres around Oberkugen's Music Store run by the memorable Otto Oberkugan (S.Z.Sakall), and his colourful group of employees in the store. Chief among them is Andrew Larkin (Van Johnson) who is a promising store clerk. Andrew however has a very prickly relationship with new employee Veronica Fisher (Garland)and both seem to always find something to disagree about. However what both dont realise is that the romances they are respectively enjoying via the mail out of work hours and which have progressed from "intellectual topics" to real love, are actually with each other! As the pen pal letter exchange deepens into love it is agreed that the two will meet. Andrew however sees Veronica already waiting in the restaurant and in his disappointment decides not to go in. Thinking about it longer and realising Veronica is his pen pal Andrew decides to give her a hard time about it and in a funny situation enters the restaurant and engages her in conversation much to Veronica's consternation as she believes her "date", will be due to turn up at any minute. Back at the store however things slowly begin to thaw between the two and when Andrew gets into deep trouble with Mr. Oberkugan for lending his prize violin to friend Louise (Marcia Van Dyke), for an audition he finds himself fired. The staff rally around him and its up to Otto's long suffering secretary Nellie (Spring Byington)and Veronica to make him see the error of his ways. Otto relents for his behaviour and Andrew is made the new manager however Veronica decides she must be the one to leave and its only during a romantic interlude alone in the darkened shop on Christmas Eve that Andrew reveals his real love for her. Veronica also confesses her deep love for her former antagonist and the scene cuts away to the couple in a warm summer setting happily married and with a beautiful young two year old daughter (Liza Minneli).

"In The Good Old Summertime", boasts many memorable musical numbers including the title song, "I Don't Care", "Put Your Arms Around Me Honey", the comical "Play The Barbershop Chord", and my personal favourite "Merry Christmas". In all of these numbers apart from her beautiful singing style Judy Garland proves what an exceptional talent she was in comedy, pantomine and more energic pieces such as the barbershop number. Here is a talented actress in the full bloom of her capabilities who was unfortunately just about to exit the musical movie stage for quite some time. The supporting cast is exceptional with such fine comic talents as S.Z. Sakall and Spring Byington providing the top level support that they delivered in film after film in this period. Some rarities also pop up in "In The Good Old Summertime", as we see veteran Buster Keaton play Otto's brow beaten nephew to fine effect in his last MGM appearance and in the final scene reality and movie fantasy cross as Judy Garland's real life daughter Liza Minnelli plays her and Johnson's movie child in the last scene. Silent star Anna Q. Nilsson also has a small part as a woman buying one of the infuriating harps that reoccur in the story. MGM talent is abundantly on show in all departments here. The director Robert Z. Leonard who helmed the classic "Maytime", for MGM, was only brought in after Garland nixed plans by the studio to give the assignment to her husband Vincente Minnelli as the pair were having difficulties at the time. The choreography is top rate and was handled by Robert Alton who was responsible for the innovative dance numbers in Garland's previous film "Easter Parade". Cedric Gibbons' fine work in set design also deserves mention for giving the film its beautiful appearance and period flavour.

After this effort Judy Garland sadly went into a steep decline health wise and after completing only one more film "Summer Stock", and being released from an aborted attempt to film "Royal Wedding ", with Fred Astaire her MGM contract was terminated. None of this sadness is evident in "In The Good Old Summertime", thankfully and what we have here is a movie with gorgeous technicolour, many fine musical numbers delivered by Garland and a funny, and touching story set against a beautiful "MGM", Christmas. Enjoy Judy Garland at the top of her talents in MGM's "In The Good Old Summertime".

The (Music) Shop Around The Corner
I've yet to see "The Shop Around The Corner" so I can't compare "In The Good Old Summertime" to it, but I will say that "You've Got Mail" pales in comparison to "Summertime". All of the simple charm of "Summertime" is absent from "Mail". That aside, this is a good transfer of a film I've loved for 20 years. I still wish they had released it with a more fitting title, as it takes place mostly in the fall and winter, but it is a charming film filled with terrific acting and witty dialogue. It's generally thought of as a musical, as it stars Judy Garland and she does perform several wonderful songs, but the musical numbers are short and many are understated. I think the movie more correctly falls under the category of "comedy". As with a lot of 1940s era comedies, there are some kind of hokey things about this movie, such as the way the orchestra has to punctuate so many of the comic bits. But that's the way things were then and I certainly prefer it to a scene from a more recent film ("You've Got Mail" comes to mind") that shows a character dancing while a Motown song plays. (A pointless aside regarding music in "You've Got Mail": I liked the way Nilsson's "Remember" was used in the scene where Meg Ryan is decorating the Christmas tree. There. Something I liked about "You've Got Mail".)
My only complaint about this DVD seems to be a problem with a lot of DVD's these days. The music is much, much louder than the dialogue, and the dialogue isn't even cosistent in volume all the way through. So you have to keep adjusting the volume on your TV over and over. That's very annoying. I don't know if they can fix that on such an old film, but they should look into it. ("They" being the people who remaster the sound of these films for the digital release.)
I enjoyed the extras. It's nice to see the theatre previews for all three filmed versions of this story. It shows you how much more clever romantic comedies were in the 1940s compared to more recent years. I liked the Chicago travelogues as well. Great nostalgia! I will also state in agreement with other reviewers here that "Last Night When We Were Young" should have been included too.

Loses a star due to extras
The most disappointing DVD in the Signature Collection.
The included Chicago travelogues while curiosities tangentially worth including aren't worth trading off for in lieu of the missing deleted scene.
Why didn't WB include Garland's version of "Last Night When We Were Young," which was filmed but not used for this movie, on the DVD?
We know they have it .
We've seen it.
If they are saving it for the That's Entertainment Trilogy, I would have bought it anyway.
This ommision is not inadvertent and only created ill will. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The reputation of Buster Keaton's Seven Chances rests almost solely on its outrageous finale, a brilliant cascade of comic invention that begins with a church full of blushing brides and builds to a surreal chase of epic proportions. The hapless groom is pursued by a angry mob of women clad in white lace and veils and ends up dodging rolling stones and massive boulders while fleeing an avalanche, never once losing his trademark deadpan. Buster plays a struggling lawyer who will inherit a fortune if he marries by 7 p.m. of his 27th birthday--the very day he receives notice ofthe potential windfall. When his longtime sweetheart turns him down, he frantically searches for someone--anyone--to wed. While Seven Chances doesn't have the sustained inspiration of his best films, Keaton fills the picture with inventive moments and clever ideas, notably a sustained series of desperate proposals (the "seven chances" of the title) that lead to the climactic swarm of aggressive brides. The biggest weakness is an embarrassing blackface performance that has only become more offensive with the years. Jean Arthur briefly appears as a switchboard operator. The film was remade in 1999 as The Bachelor with Chris O'Donnell. The DVD also features two short films: "Neighbors," the story of young lovers who flirt across the fence that separates their houses and their bickering families, and "The Balloonatic," which despite the presence of a hot air balloon is actually a gag-filled camping comedy. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

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Buster Keaton's second feature, Our Hospitality is his first masterpiece. He plays a New York city boy who travels south to receive his inheritance, only to discover he's in the center of a generations-old feud. While his sworn enemies (the family of the girl he has fallen in love with, naturally) vow to gun him down, Southern hospitality forbids them from harming him as long as he's a guest in their home. Plenty of comic mileage is mined from Buster's desperate attempts to prolong his stay, and highlights include a deliriously surreal train (run by Keaton's father, Joe) and a heroic rescue involving a rope, a log, and a mighty waterfall.

Sherlock Jr. is a delightfully surreal fantasy of a film projectionist and amateur detective who climbs into his movie screen. Like Daffy Duck in the famous cartoon "Duck Amuck," Buster is at the mercy of sudden scene changes, sent from desert to snowstorm to lake in simple cuts while he remains helplessly fixed onscreen. (Even more astounding is that he accomplished this engineering marvel with nothing more than surveyor's tools and an exacting eye.) Settling into his dream role as a master detective and society bon vivant Sherlock Jr., he chases the dastardly villains in a world as wild and unpredictable as the French serial Les Vampires: bombs are hidden in billiard balls and Keaton leaps through the torso of a peddler woman and into nothingness! No other silent film turns logic on its head with such grace and comic hilarity. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Brilliant movies, mediocre DVD
I don't think filmmaking has reached the peak of genius set by "Sherlock Jr." since. The sheer volume of imagination on display dazzles even the most jaded modern viewer. I showed the climactic chase scene from this film to some high school students and they were flabbergasted and awed by the stunts, the set ups, the effects (including some seemless in camera special F/X that go undetected by most viewers!). "Our Hospitality" is also wonderful, though the climactic waterfall is a set (someone else on this page claimed it to be a real one-- it isn't) the risk was certainly real. And the dress on the horse gag gets me every time. The picture quality on these films is variable, with SJ looking better. I wish someone would invest $$$ to make all of Keaton's work as pristine as modern technology will allow. However, I must lament the musical score on SJ. the rest of the Keaton Kino releases have very tasteful, very supportive scores, but SJ's is so out of touch with the rhythms, feelings, and pulses of the film that it kills many gags and deadens the entire effect. OH's score is fine, however. It's not that I am such a purist I can't abide anything that deviates from the standard organ/piano meanderings, but the score has to support the film, has to punch the gags, not shift the punchlines. The atonal scratchings during the billiards scene belong in a Chaney horror film, not in one of the funniest, most awe inspiring and sublime stretches in film history.

Sherlock Jr.: A genuine legend
Keaton's "Sherlock Jr." One of the genuine legends of film history. While it's not as tragic as Erich von Stroheim's "Greed," "Sherlock Jr." is an experience that simply must be seen to be believed. Buster Keaton's mastery of physical comedy reached its zenith with this exercise in surrealism that is pure joy from beginning to end. It's only forty minutes long and there's not much of a plot to it -- Keaton plays a projectionist at a movie theater who wants to be a detective, but stumbles at his first attempt to solve a crime. He falls asleep in the movie theater, and his dream-self walks into the movie and takes part in an comedy adventure consisting of stuntwork so incredible, it made my jaw drop when I saw it for the first time. Most of the stunts here are filmed live, and Keaton uses masterful editing to bring them all together. One scene here, where he falls from a water tower onto a railroad track, actually broke his neck in real life -- but he didn't even realize it until a physical examination several years later!

Our Sherlock
OUR HOSPITALITY is an amusing little film. Buster Keaton is a New York gentleman returning to his family's ancestral seat in order to collect an inheritance. However, he falls afoul of an old rivalry; his new neighbors have vowed to kill all remaining McKays (they themselves are, of course, the Canfields), and Buster appearing in the town has given them opportunity of ridding the world of the last member of the family. Oblivious as ever to the danger he is in, Keaton ends up falling for the daughter of the house. He has a temporary reprieve during his courtship -- the Canfields won't kill a man while he's enjoying their Southern hospitality. In other words, while he stands in their house, he's safe; if he puts a foot out of the front door, he's a dead man. Catching on to the situation, Keaton goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid exiting their abode.

Any summary of OUR HOSPITALITY makes it sound like a one-joke movie, but that would be a misleading impression, as there are lots of quick little sight-gags and set-pieces that make up this film. Keaton's journey from his New York home to the Deep South of Trenton, New Jersey is a surreal voyage on a ramshackle train that travels as well on its tracks as it does on a dirt road. He faces a variety of physical obstacles, the most famous being his rescue of a woman in midair as she falls over the lip of a waterfall. Okay, so he's actually rescuing a prop rather than a real person, but the stunt is still quite impressive: Keaton with a rope around his waist swings from above the waterfall straight down into the downpour, plucks the doll from air, swings back towards a rocky outcrop and delivers it to safety.

Keaton testing the limits of the Canfield hospitality (figuratively and literally) is quite a treat. Joe Roberts, a regular in these Keaton films, makes a welcome addition to the cast playing a sort of demented Colonel Sanders. The chase scenes (a staple of any good Buster Keaton film) are fast and well executed.

Also included on this disc is SHERLOCK, JR. Sherlock Jr. is the name that Buster Keaton's character goes by in his dreams. By day, he's a rather put-upon projectionist at a cinema. But he yearns for a more exciting life. He reads books on becoming a private detective and even has a magnifying glass and a false mustache for his undercover work. However, he's quickly accused of a crime that he didn't committed, and, having lost the affections of his beloved, is soon stuck back at work with nothing to do but change reels and sleep. While napping, he dreams, and places himself inside the story of the rather dull-looking melodrama that is playing in front of him.

The first thought that strikes me about the dream sequences of SHERLOCK, JR. is that they have a very 60s feel to it, which just goes to show you how ahead of his time Keaton was. At first Buster just walks through the screen to interact with the action. But the scenes change quickly, and he remains in the center of the picture. It's a neat metaphor for the way Buster Keaton character always seemed to stay calm and collected regardless of the madness of the world around him. But you could imagine these camera tricks being done in a student film, although they'd probably be much less inspired.

The film then moves on from its surreal scene/camera changing jump cuts, and Keaton begins to interact with the movie and its characters directly. This is where the movie really feels like a 60s production. It's a James Bond spoof, nearly forty years before the premier of DR. NO! It's uncanny. We have exploding billiard balls, booby-trapped chairs, a damsel in distress, motorcycle and car chases, and a suave, sophisticated hero. I thought myself extremely clever for noticing this... until the orchestra suddenly burst into a snatch of the James Bond theme at the moment when Buster Keaton's car turns itself into a boat. These Kino Video releases usually claim to have used the original score performed by a modern orchestra. Obviously, the score here isn't from the original, but it certainly made me laugh at that point.

You can see the filmmakers (mostly Keaton, I assume) really letting loose and experimenting. One of the movie's most notable features is the film within a film, where Keaton takes great pains to point out that his character is dreaming the action. It's interesting to view in comparison to the way movies have since developed; a modern audience would have had no trouble picking up on the clues, but Keaton couldn't rely on his viewers having enough familiarity with the medium. The clues that audiences today notice without even thinking about were still being developed at this time.

I wasn't overly wild about the two films on this disc, although they are still a hell of a lot of fun. Upon reflection, I think I prefer Buster Keaton's faster paced short films, which isn't to say that there aren't some great gags here. SHERLOCK JR. seems to be the better regarded of the two, and I'll agree with conventional wisdom on that one.

Two great Keaton comedies
"Our Hospitality" and "Sherlock Jr." are two of Buster Keaton's finest silent films.

In "Our Hospitality", Buster plays Willie McKay, a naive New York City resident (if you can call New York a city in 1830) who returns to his native south to collect an estate from his mother who has just recently died. Unfortunately, McKay's family has been involved in a backwoods feud with the Canfield family who are determined to kill off the last surviving McKay.

Further complicating matters, Willie finds himself falling in love with the elder Canfield's daughter who invites him to dinner. The Canfields will not shoot McKay in their house as this violates their code of honor (there is apparently nothing dishonorable about shooting McKay outside). This leads to a series of hilarious comic situations as Willie must find ways to prolong his visit. Later, when he runs out of excuses, he must find a way to sneak out without being recognized. Wait till you see what he uses for a disguise!

The film leads up to a hilarious and exciting chase sequence ending on a river. Buster Keaton was quite the acrobat. It's amusing how throughout the film he pokes fun at the south's twisted sense of hospitality. There's also a surprisingly touching finale.

"Sherlock Jr." is another great, albeit short film. Buster plays a hapless movie projectionist and amateur detective who is wrongly accused of stealing his girlfriend's father's watch. Ostrasized by his girlfriend, Buster falls asleep in the projection room and in his dream, walks into the movie and interacts with the characters. In his dream, he imagines himself as the great detective Sherlock Jr. and attempts to find the culprit of a stolen watch.

"Sherlock Jr." is an interesting film as it deals with Keaton's fascination with the film medium. The special effects for the scene where Buster walks into the screen were incredible for their time. This scene has been copied a lot in subsequent films. Unfortunately, the film is marred somewhat by the inane music score which someone decided to tack on. Nevertheless, it's well worth viewing.

Buster Keaton was a genius. His best films matched, if not surpassed those of his rival Charlie Chaplin. They were cinematically superior and had better stuntwork (nothing wrong with Chaplin mind you). A must for any lover of silent comedies.

The art of Buster Keaton.
Personality diviners: which Beatle is your favorite? did you think *The Big Lebowski* was funny? Coke or Pepsi? Keaton or Chaplin? If you answered John, Yes, Coke, and Keaton, you're my type of person. But to focus on the topic: Keaton's films have unarguably aged better than Chaplin's. Whereas the latter's films have a good-for-you, culturally-enriching aura, Buster's movies happen to still be unpretentiously entertaining. Kino, with this double-feature set, offers a great showcase of Keaton's many talents:

*Our Hospitality* (Four Stars): Somewhat primitive but still accomplished comedy about a city boy (Keaton) who embarks on a journey Down South to claim his ancestral inheritance. The joy of the thing is in the journey, which involves an amazing, diminutive, jerry-rigged "train", replete with roof-chairs on which passengers bob and sway like reeds in a high breeze. Once arrived, Keaton discovers that he has also inherited participation of a blood feud, of the Hatfied-McCoy variety, with another family. (Of course, the girl he falls for on the train ride is the daughter of the enemy family.) Much humor (and irony) is derived from Keaton's character taking advantage of the fact that the enemy clan must not, out of Southern Honor, shoot him down like a dog as long as he's a guest in their home. Other points of interest: costumes and architectural details are surprisingly accurate (the movie takes place in the 1830's); and Keaton's stunts in this movie are among his most death-defying.

*Sherlock Jr.* (Five Stars): The first movie turns out to be a starter for the main (yet smaller, at 45 min.) course, the masterpiece *Sherlock Jr.*. Falsely accused of stealing a watch, wanna-be detective Keaton returns to his dreary projectionist job at the local movie-house and has a dream that begins with him leaping into the movie screen and becoming master detective "Sherlock Jr.", a hero of his own film. I could put my egghead's cap on and blather about the movie's postmodern immersion in its own medium; how it influenced filmmakers like Woody Allen; how it's arguably the greatest achievement in silent comedy. Or: I can tell you that the scenes involving an explosive billiards-ball and a daffy motor chase through the city are laugh-out-loud hilarious. Many of the special effects (this is 1924, mind you) still defy easy detection . . . which is more than can be said for 2002's *Spider-Man*, to use just one current example.

[The DVD is adequate. *Sherlock Jr.*, actually, has somewhat better-than-adequate picture quality. Good job, guys. And I'm rather more glad than not that there are no "special features": the last thing I need is some film scholar stripping away, piece by piece, Keaton's layers of artifice.] ... Read more

Amazon.com

Buster Keaton's career reached its creative apex with the rousing comic adventure The General. Not merely one of the finest silent films, this remains one of the great film comedies of all time. The Great Stone Face stars as Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray, a man with only two loves: the sweet Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack) and his trustworthy engine, the eponymous General. When Fort Sumner is fired upon he's one of the first to enlist, but when the war office rejects him (he's too valuable as a trained engineer) his sweetie rejects him as a coward. Johnny has the opportunity to prove his bravery when Yankee spies steal his engine and inadvertently kidnap Annabelle, and Johnny pursues with all the resources at his disposal: handcar, bicycle, and finally railroad engine. Keaton's love/hate relationship with technology and machinery shines as he becomes one with his beloved locomotive and wrestles with a finicky cannon that threatens to blow his engine off the tracks; with tremendous dexterity, he nails the humor with inimitably deadpan takes. Spunky Marion Mack makes a perfect partner for Keaton, not merely a foil but a gifted comedienne in her own right. Other Keaton films contain more laughs and inspired comic stunts, but none combines romance, adventure, and comedy into a solid story as seamlessly as this silent masterpiece. --Sean Axmaker

In Steamboat Bill Jr., Keaton stars in the story of a college-educated young man who comes home to help his father work on his Mississippi River steamboat and immediately demonstrates just what a landlubber he is. What's worse, the woman he falls for is the daughter of his father's worst rival, a bullying rich guy who wants to drive Buster's boat out of business. Keaton's slapstick is inspired and precise, particularly during an amazing sequence in which he tries to walk across town during a tornado. Watch in amazement as the front of a building falls on Keaton and he walks away without a scratch. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Great Films, Great Quality DVD.
I had seen The General twice before purchasing this DVD, and acquiring it was my main goal for this purchase. I had not seen Steamboat Bill, so this 2 in 1 DVD seemed like the best buy.

Overall, I was not disappointed. The images are extremely sharp and clean for movies of this vintage. They almost look brand new, save for some inevitable, but minor artifacts of age. The General is tinted monochrome. Mostly sepia, with some blue tinted night scenes, a common effect in silent films. Steamboat Bill is straight black and white.

Many people are not aware that The General is based on a true story about a locomotive stolen during the Civil War (see: http://ngeorgia.com/people/thegeneral.html), and that the real locomotive now resides in a museum in Kennesaw, GA. The Keaton film is one long exciting chase scene. The first time I saw it, I was actually a little disappointed. It really isn't a comedy, like most of Keaton's films. Rather it is an action movie with sight gags. Once I understood that, I really appreciated the genius of the film, and it is now one of my all-time favorites. It was filmed on location near Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Steamboat Bill Jr. is pure fun. It ranks among the best of Keaton's works, I think. Its the story of the son of a steamboat captain, who falls in love with the daughter of a rival boat operator. The climactic storm scene boasts a number of special effects that rival, or even surpass, today's computer generated effects for believeability. There is also one really hokey, but funny effect involving a flying tree.

My favorite scene in Steamboat Bill was in a hat shop, where there is an inside joke that will be understood only by those who have seen more of Keaton's work.

I would give this DVD five stars instead of four, except that I have mixed feelings about the Alloy Orchestra soundtrack. Their percussive style was very effective in The General with its rapid-fire chase scenes and mechanical locomotive movements. On this film I give them an A. However, they were far less impressive on Steamboat Bill. Here, the music often felt intrusive and distracting, drawing attention away from the action to the orchestra itself. Moreover, a couple of times the style of the music failed to match the mood of the scene. On this movie I give the orchestra a C-. I would really like to see some DVD's with a "Mighty Wurlitzer" theater organ soundtrack to mimic the performance one might have experienced in most theaters of the 1920s. Orchestral accompaniment was quite rare in the silent era, except in the largest big city theaters.

You don't even feel like watching a silent movie
Great cinematography and action for one of the most impressive early comedies. Roger Ebert calls the Alloy Orchestra "the best in the world at accompanying silent film". The orchestra provides the perfect background for this film so that I didn't even miss the dialogue. After all, 90%+ of the movie is action.

Deserves its reputation: a masterwork.
The General

Buster Keaton's love of history, engineering and operatic displays of action are put to their finest use in his masterwork, The General. However unwelcoming the concept of an incredibly accurate historical movie about the civil war may seem, or a title which refers to an army rank, rest assured that The General is imbued throughout with a wonderful sense of fun, as with all Keaton. The pervasive irony running through The General is the fact that little Buster is helping fight the civil war just by happenstance - all he really wants to do is save his girlfriend. The appeal of The General may lie in its ability to take you back to what it would have been like in frontier America, its remarkable visual beauty (incredible cinematography), or possibly Keaton's trademark operatic stunts, the climax of this movie which is one of his most impressive (the famous bridge scene was the most expensive shot in all of silent cinema).

But the thing which makes this and all Keaton films a joy to watch is the irrepressible charm and appeal of his onscreen persona. You just can't help liking little Buster, and rooting for him in all the troubles he happens to fall into. 5 stars from me - one of the all time greats.

This DVD is a great buy, b.c you get Steamboat Bill Jr also - one of Buster's best features, which sees his little character at his most charming, trying to woo the daughter of his father's rival steamboat captain. The effectiveness of the storm scene at the end are alone worth the price of entry - you'll be surprised.

Awesome visual quality and music!
While the Kino releases of these and other Buster Keaton films are entertaining, this release has the advantage of (1) being taken from excellent prints of the movies, and (2) the music (non-intrusively) complementing the story. In The General the music has a simple chugging quality, and changes tempo with the speed of the trains, while in Steamboat Bill it imitates the windstorm. It's a great effect - the music, while not a "soundtrack," onomatopoeietically (?) does what the musicians in the original theaters likely did - it helps bring out the excitement in the story.

Keaton's Best
Favorite movies, like books, plays, and music, are purely subjective. "The General" happens to be my favorite film comedy - I have seen no other to match it. I have heard the movie did not do well at the box office when first released, but, of course, neither did "Citizen Kane".

Although fine, I am not as happy as others are concerning the Alloy Orchestra and their background score. I find it a little too dramatic at times when something more whimsical is in order. Years ago, the cable channel, Showtime, ran a version of "The General" with an orchestral score and occasional sound effects. I guess I just got spoiled for something similar.

The film print is very good, but wouldn't it be nice to give this masterpiece the frame by frame restoration it obviously deserves? If Chaplin rates perfect prints, how about Buster Keaton? ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Boating With Buster
The Navigator -- a luxury liner set adrift with no crew apart from Buster Keaton and his would-be fiancé. After eventually finding each other aboard the giant craft, they must work together to survive. Totally cut off from civilization their needs are the most basic: they must use all their wits to survive hunger, thirst, and ghosts. Falling under the "not so basic necessities" category, they must also repel an invasion from a group of unfortunately characterized islanders.

This film clocks in at just about an hour. And like many the Keaton films of this length, this is very much a collection of related set pieces, only loosely connected by plot. Fortunately, the sequences here are very funny. The breakfast scene is quite amusing, with the two trying to prepare food in a kitchen that is well stocked in some things, but lacking in other, necessary items (i.e. lots of cans, no can-opener in sight). Naturally, as with any Buster Keaton movie, confusions abound; the hapless pair mistakes fireworks for candles, and a photograph for a poltergeist.

As with most of Keaton's better films, several elements all come together to create something worthy. The slapstick comedy is present, of course. But the action sequences are epic and give the store a real feeling of adventure.

In addition to the main feature, included on this disc are two of Buster's short films that also deal with nautical adventures. First up is THE BOAT, in which Buster Keaton, devoted father and husband has a dream of building and captaining a sailing ship of his own. He ultimately realizes his goal, but the opening scene shows us the first of what will become many miscalculations; he's constructed a boat in a basement, and doesn't realize that he has no way of fitting it through the door. But sacrificing everything that he has, up to (and almost including) members of his family, he eventually finds himself, his loved ones, and, indeed, his homemade boat happily floating on the ocean surface. The little scenes and short gags that make up this film are really well done. The props they built are impressive; from the outside of the boat, to its interior which rotates on its horizontal axis a full 360 degrees, making the ceiling quickly become the floor (Keaton dealing with an barrel-rolling boat is simply hilarious).

THE LOVE NEST is another of those films where a standard Silent Movie Heavy throws little guys around like rag dolls. In this case, it's Joe Roberts as the gruff captain of a whaling ship who throws his minions overboard when they displease him in the slightest (he's not totally without heart; he throws wreaths to mark his underling's watery graves).

Even though all three of the films on this disc involve seafaring, there is no real repetition. No jokes are recycled. A lot of Buster's gags involved water in some way; he was constantly falling into it, or having it dumped on him, or dropping it on his adversaries. It just goes to show you how creative Keaton was when he can take what are essentially cheap laughs and turn them into something so ticklish. Give him one simple premise (himself on a boat), and he can spin off a hundred different jokes. This disc definitely shows Buster Keaton at his comic best.

(Some of these prints are showing their age, but since that age is about eighty, that is only to be expected. I hope I'm as well preserved when I'm that old.)

How funny can one movie be?
No other movie I've ever seen - with the possible exceptoin of the first Richard Pryor concert film, which isn't quite the same thing - has ever made me laugh as much, or as hard, as this. That the gags are peerlessly set up and flawlessly executed is to be expected with Keaton, and he made better films than this ("The General" comes to mind, of course) but for sheer, painful belly-laughs, none of Buster's work, for me, comes close. A few moments of many: Buster's idiot girlfriend making coffee; their eerily hilarious meeting on the drifting boat, so perfectly timed and played it should a) serve as a model for all physical comedians and b) never be done again; and Keaton's underwater duel with a swordfish. Just don't watch it while you're eating, and keep a pillow by the couch for falling on.

A treat for all Buster Keaton fans
This collection contains six enjoyable shorts of Buster Keaton's work. Great fun for silent-film fans!

Maritime mayhem
This DVD contains one feature and two short films, all with a oceangoing theme. "The Navigator" from 1924 was the oldest film on AFI's "100 Years, 100 Laughs" list of the 100 funniest movies. Keaton finds himself adrift on a large ocean liner with the woman he had hoped to marry as his only companion. There are several funny scenes including Keaton's reaction to drinking coffee made with seawater, mistaking fireworks for candles, Keaton's underwater duel with a swordfish, and a climax involving several dozen boxes of fireworks and a tribe of island cannibals.

"The Boat" and "The Love Nest" are the two short films, with "The Boat" being the better of the two. Keaton builds a boat called "Damfino" in his house then destroys the house trying to get the completed boat outside. When he and the family get into trouble during a storm, the boat's name is used in a very funny scene with a coast guard telegraph operator.

Overall, this is a wonderful DVD more than worthy of a four-star rating. I wish there had been a four and a half star rating since I reserve the five star ratings for true masterpieces (like Keaton's "The General").

Buster's Maritime 3
THE NAVIGATOR (1924): One of Buster's best features. A fast-paced fun collection of classic gags, Buster filmed on top of "The Buford", a ship that was actually used by the U.S. govt. to dump alleged Bolsheviks out of the USA and into Russia in 1919. The film begins with Buster proposing marriage to his gal, who turns him down. The two mistakenly wind up on the ship, called The Navigator, which happens to be deserted and floundering at sea. They make do the best they can, and eventually must deal with cannibals on a tropical island. One of the funniest Buster gags I've ever seen is in this movie - while he's trying to go to sleep in his cabin, his gal throws a snarly-looking portrait of a swabo out of her cabin and it lands on a nail outside the porthole window of Buster's cabin. It swings from side-to-side, giving Buster the illusion that The Navigator is haunted. More haunted-ship gags follow (spook gags show up in other Buster films), which makes me wonder if Buster was influenced by something he saw not-of-this-world in the 1000 or more boarding houses and hotels he stayed in during those previous 20 years in vaudeville.

THE BOAT (1921): In this 2-reeler, Buster builds a boat, called The Damfino, in the basement of his home. Since the garage doors are only meant for something like a Model T, Buster idiotically collapses his house as he forces The Damfino through this small opening. No one in the family seems to be bothered that their home now looks as if it was hit by a tornado, as they proceed to drive off to launch The Damfino. "The Boat" was thought to be one of Buster's lost films. It miraculously got pieced together recently, and that is what you'll find on this DVD. There are some scenes that have a curious blue tint that alternate with b&w scenes, and a few scenes have chemical decomposition, but none of these shots lasts more than a few seconds. Watching "The Boat" sometimes gives me motion sickness because of the somersaulting camerawork in a scene near the end. If my head is not spinning from this, I'll move on to....

THE LOVE NEST (1923): Buster's had a spat with his gal, and writes her a letter that happens to end with "write me if you don't get this letter". He sets sail in a crippled boat that is stocked with junk like hard tack and zerolene. Evidence of the passage of time is shown by the fake beard painted on his face that makes him look like a half-minstrel. Desperately, he climbs aboard a boat called The Love Nest that ironically is run by a sinister captain who throws his crew overboard if they should make the slightest mistake. One of the funniest gags in this 2-reeler shows Buster standing in front of a navy target range, then grainy stock footage of active naval destroyers is shown, which blow him sky-high. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Steamboats and Slapstick
STEAMBOAT BILL, JR (1928) was Buster Keaton's final independent film -- the last feature he would make before financial issues forced him to sign what would be a disastrous contract with MGM. Therefore, it seems fitting that this film contains a quick throwaway laugh where, upon being handed a familiar looking porkpie hat (a mainstay throughout his career), he throws the headwear away in horror. This movie has a lot going for it. While it takes a little time to get started, it finishes strong with a finale that shows exactly how hilarious Keaton could be when given the creative control he craved.

Steamboat Bill is a rough, working man, trying to keep his head above water in the steamboat ferry business despite his extremely wealthy competitor. He welcomes the forthcoming return of his son, who he hasn't seen since the boy's childhood. But when short, pampered Buster Keaton (the Junior of the title) arrives, Bill Sr.'s hopes of having a strong, vigorous young man to help his trade are dashed. But to make matters worse, Keaton is madly in love with the fetching young daughter of his rival, and the two lovers continue to see one another, despite the objections of their respective families. Yes, it's "Romeo and Juliet", had Shakespeare been less interested in suicide and more friendly with steamboats and slapstick.

Three years earlier, Keaton had done a film called SEVEN CHANCES (1925), a movie I felt wasn't really memorable until the long and hilarious chase sequence that begins towards the end of the film. And like SEVEN CHANCES, this film really takes off in its wild grand finale. Not that the film is bad beforehand. It isn't. There are numerous strong sequences. But I love Keaton when his pace really starts to pick up and he madly runs from one crazy sight gag to another. And once the rain starts falling and the hurricane turns up the intensity, the film presents us with some of the most successful material of his career, as well as the most famous. Everyone has seen the scene where the exterior wall tips over and Keaton only survives by standing where the empty window falls -- that's from this film. The pace resembles one of his more frantic short films, and the timing is, of course, superb.

The disc also contains two short films from earlier in Keaton's career. CONVICT 13 (1920) involves a case of mistaken identity. A golfing Keaton is accidentally put in jail, confused with a prisoner who is due to be executed that very day. This short is devilishly funny. The sequence of Keaton being hanged by an elastic rope has to be one of the funniest few seconds ever committed to celluloid. And, of course, it's always entertaining to see Joe Roberts in another amusingly over-the-top fight sequence where he gets to throw extras (and Keaton) around like ragdolls. This ranks as one of Keaton's strongest short films.

The other short film included is DAYDREAMS (1922). Actually, it would be more accurate to say that this is merely a reconstruction of the film itself, as a complete copy did not exist at the time of this release. That said, the fact that some minutes of footage are missing doesn't hurt the film at all (although I did dislike the apparent decision to slow down the occasionally piece of footage; it really hurt some of the gags). On the contrary, this is a fabulous twenty-two minutes, and while some of the gags are a bit predictable (he writes to his girlfriend that he's really "cleaning up" Wall Street; she imagines he's become a power player, but I think anyone reading this can guess what he's really doing), they are strikingly funny in execution. Some of the jokes are quite inventive and surprising. Keaton shoveling dirt into a trash can with no bottom is amusing (and a quiet recycling of an earlier joke), but it's hilarious when he shifts position to reveal that the receptacle was sitting on top of an open manhole cover with an angry sewer worker underneath.

This disc contains material from opposite ends of the 1920s, showcasing Keaton as an independent filmmaker creating both short and feature films. It's a great look from a cinema history point of view, but it's equally effective at showing us some damn good filmmaking. STEAMBOAT BILL, JR was the end of an era, but Keaton's independent career sure went out with style.

Can't keep a good man down
Although mildly boring to begin with, the movie ends with an impressive storm-sequence, where a whole town is blowing hither and thither around a baffled Buster Keaton, giving him a chance to demonstrate his gymnastic virtuosity, making up for an othervise tiring experience. Marion Byron is sweet as the Julia of the unpopular romance. Far better than the overrated The General.

Steamboat Bill Jr
STEAMBOAT BILL JR. ranks as one of Buster's best. Great stunt work by Buster. Steamboat Jr. includes one of the greatest stunts of all-time (during the storm). Also some very funny scenes. The scene where Buster attempts to get his father out of jail is great. Ditto for the hat scene. Buster starts out as a weakling from Boston and ends up as a hero. This is the only Buster movie that has a father (Ernest Torrence) son bond that lasts. Steamboat Jr. is Buster's final movie before MGM. A great one! This tape also includes two shorts: Convict 13 and Daydreams. CONVICT 13 is very strong. Buster tangles with Big Joe Roberts in prison. For some reason Joe Roberts looks like a giant in Convict 13. DAYDREAMS is very good (but parts are missing).

A blithe farewell.
Though one of Keaton's happiest films, 'Steamboat Bill' ushers in the end of three eras. One year before the Wall St. Crash, the film pits Fitzgerald-like dreamers Mary the flapper and William the aesthete in the true culture of the 1920s, a corrupt monopoly town, where the law is in the pay of the town magnate, and whose foundations are perilously flimsy. It is also the last great American film of the silent era, and, as if to prove it, casually shows off all the things it could do, culminating in a staggering storm climax, part-surreal deus ex machina, part-wild Id. Finally, it is the last film over which Keaton had significant control: quick decline would follow. As well as boasting all his cherishable visual qualities, it features his rare intelligence too, his heroism undermined by dream and theatrical metaphors; the expected marriage crowned by a lifeboat hoop that had previously sunk.

Keaton Brings the House Down in one of his best.
As one of his last great silent films, Steamboat Bill Jr.(1928) is one of Buster Keaton's finest. Nearly a third of it's 69 minute running time is comprised of some of the most spectacular and funniest stunt work Keaton ever did. The General, Our Hospitality and the 45 minute Sherlock Jr. are better films but none are any more entertaining than Steamboat Bill Jr .

Bill (Ernest Torrence) is the tough Captain and owner of the old and somewhat run-down Stonewall Jackson river boat. He is about to be run out of business by the richest man in town, King (Tom McGuire). King has built a huge, fancy river-boat and gets the Stonewall condemned.

Bill then gets word that his son is going to visit him. He has not seen his son for many years-Bill Junior aka Willie, has been in college back east-and Bill Sr. imagines his son must be bigger than he is. He's pretty disappointed that not only does his son look like a 90 pound weakling, but he's got a city slicker hat on that has got to be replaced pronto. Father decides its time to make a man out of his son, while son Willie, has his eyes on a beautiful young lady (Marion Byron) who happens to be chief rival King's daughter.

Father Bill ends up in jail, and Buster Willie tries to break him out. He succeeds, but is almost accosted himself so Father turns himself back in and Willie is sent to the hospital with a minor injury. Just when it looks like the old Steamboat is doomed for extinction, and Willie won't get the girl the weather changes.

The final extended sequence of the film begins at the front porch of the King Hotel. King is warned that a wind storm is coming and the pier is not going to be strong enough to hold his fancy boat against the wind.

The wind blows and the death defying stunts, and inventive sight gags begin. A man tries to start his car, the wind blows the hood of the car up which makes the car into a land sail boat-with the man being dragged down the street holding onto his cars bumper. The car comes to a halt in front of the King Hotel. The Pier collapses and the King Steamboat breaks away and some of its crew leap for their lives. The entire front of the King Hotel collapses into splinters and is blown away. People on the street struggle as they run for cover and shelter.

Buster Willie who is in the hospital, remains in his bed as the patients and nurses flee out the hospital which is then entirely blown away. Buster tries to leave the area with remarkable calm but must leap onto his bed as it is propelled through the ruins of the town's streets and through a horse stable. In the middle of the street, Buster goes under the bed for cover. A man leaps from the second story of his house onto the bed. The Bed collapses on Buster. The wind blows the escaping man and the bed away.

Then the somewhat confused Willie rises to his feet, in front of the house that will be ripped apart by the winds and give us one of the most infamous and death defying stunts in all of movie history. As he stands groggy and confused, the entire two ton facade of the house falls and crashes over him. A small window opening just happens to have passed over the very spot he is standing. Buster had positioned himself with only inches to spare so that the facade would crash over him but avoid crushing him to death. If he had missed his mark by a few inches, or if something had gone wrong, Buster Keaton would have been crushed to death.

Realizing how close he has come to death, Willie tries to run, but the wind is too strong and soon he is sliding and tumbling and being blown as if he is a tumbleweed down the street. Eventually he winds up amongst stage props at what remains of the theater. More inventive gags follow leading to an exciting finale in which he must rescue his father from drowning in the Jail,the woman he loves, and more.

Keaton did all of his own stunts. He designed many of them to be shot in longshots, choreographing movements so he tumbled or was dragged from end of the frame to the other. His acrobatic ability continues to amaze. It should come as no surprise that one of Keaton's biggest fans is Jackie Chan, who carries on old stone-face 's tradition quite well.

The credits list Charles F. Reisner as the director of Steamboat Bill Jr., but it is unlikely Reisner even co-directed the feature with Keaton (Keaton did collaborate with Eddie Cline on several shorts). Keaton actually directed all of his feature films, sharing or giving away credit to a string of studio assigned directors who did very little work on Keaton's films.

Also featured on the wonderful KINO DVD (and video) are two wonderful Keaton shorts. Convict 13 and Daydreams. Convict 13 (1920) contains some clever physical slapstick choreography while Daydreams (1922) shows the early genesis of ideas that would be fully realized in the classic Sherlock Jr., and ends with an exciting chase scene in New York City.

Steamboat Bill Junior was the last film Buster made for producer Joseph M. Schenck. He would then begin his ill-fated contract with MGM. After The Camera Man and during Spite Marriage, the sound era began and MGM would team Keaton with Jimmy Durante (bad idea) and then in several mediocre comedies completely mis-using Keaton's talent and forcing severe restrictions on him. Keaton already in a bad marriage and an alcoholic, allowed his career to be destroyed.

Buster Keaton is one of the top directors, and comics who ever lived. He experimented with film in ways that none of his contemporaries even dreamed of and in doing so surpasses even Chaplin and Lloyd in terms of genius. Some of the innovations he explored continue to be used by modern film-makers today.

Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder - A steamy cyber thriller available January 2001. Please order it today. Thank You ... Read more

Amazon.com

Ronald, the klutzy high-school brain played by Buster Keaton in College, is an inspired variation on the insulated millionaire playboys of earlier films. This bookish mama's boy who couldn't throw a fit, let alone a football, vows to become a college athlete to win the heart of the campus sweetheart. Of course in this path lies disaster, and his follies in track and field (the flyweight tries to throw the hammer and winds up flinging himself) only increase when he's made coxswain of the rowing team. Keaton's mix of energetic earnestness and flailing incompetence make his athletic tryout the film highlight, but in classic Keaton fashion Mr. Two Left Feet becomes the world's greatest athlete to save his sweetie from a bullying muscle-bound brute, mastering every event he so hilariously botched earlier in a decathlon dash to the rescue. This episodic comedy is more like his early shorts than his best features, lacking the narrative backbone that supports such masterpieces as The General and Steamboat Bill, Jr., but it's full of inspired physical comedy and Keaton's unique brand of gymnastic genius. Also featured are three short films: The Haunted House, with bank teller Buster matching wits against robbers in a gadget-filled hideout; the recently rediscovered Hard Luck, which recounts Buster's unsuccessful efforts to end it all (the missing conclusion is reconstructed from stills); and The Blacksmith, where Buster disastrously attempts to apply assembly line efficiency to a village smithy. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not Keaton's Best, But Well Worth Seeing
"College", which Keaton made immediately after his classic "The General", was based on a novel whose rights had been purchased for Keaton by his business partner (and brother-in-law). Keaton didn't like the material, but he gave it the "college try". The result is a film that is not among Keaton's best, has many delightful gags. One stunt still defies belief: Keaton, who's working as a waitor, is tripped while carrying a full cup of coffee; he does a full 360-degree flip, but somehow manages not to spill a drop!

There's more to this movie than gags, though. The final 30 seconds give full vent to Keaton's deep pessimism about the human condition. It is perhaps the blackest sequence in all of cinema; certainly, after such a light comedy, it comes like punch in the stomach.

Kino does its usual fine job with the video transfer and extras. This disk is a must-have for any fan of silent comedy.

To Boldly Go Where Harold Lloyd Had Gone Before
COLLEGE came during the same period in Buster Keaton's career as did his most famous feature, THE GENERAL. Yet the difference couldn't be more startling. While THE GENERAL reveled in thrills, spills, chases, daring rescues, and fun sight gags, COLLEGE is more a random collection of physical comedy jokes that achieve varying degrees of success. Yes, there's some funny material, but I can't say that this film matches up with Keaton at his best.

The basic story is that Keaton is a High School graduate (yeah, everyone looks about twice as old as the characters they're playing) who ridicules athletics during his valedictorian speech. But desperate to win back the heart of his shallow girlfriend, he must excel at some sporting event. He goes with her to college (along with the aged High School athlete) determined to prove his worth.

I know we're expected to take it as given that Keaton is in love with his sweetheart. Yet, was there anyone in the audience who didn't want to tell him to run a mile when she came up with her "learn sports or else!" ultimatum? The gags involving Keaton's unsuccessful attempts to participate in baseball, track and field, etc are occasionally fun, but are usually quite predictable. I laughed a few times during the film, which had more to do with the fact that Keaton's body language could make almost anything funny, not that the script had come up with anything particularly strong.

Since the main feature only runs for a few minutes over an hour, there are also three short films to pad out the DVD. First up is THE ELECTRIC HOUSE where Keaton is mistaken for an electrical engineer. And like all electrical engineers of the 1920s, he is offered a job installing complicated devices in the house of a rich, fat guy. You know the sort of thing on offer here: escalators in the house, a pool table that racks itself, an automatic food server. Naturally, all of these futuristic devices are just itching to break down in a spectacular and painful manner. This short may feel a little formulaic (we see a gadget, we see it break down, we see another gadget, we see it break down, repeat and lather), but it's quite entertaining. The modern contraptions are inventive and clever.

The second short is HARD LUCK, which may hold the distinction of being the most bizarre short film I've ever seen. Keaton attempts suicide multiple times, begins a hunt for armadillos, gets involved in a Western-style shoot-out, and finally falls through the center of the Earth. I told you it was strange. The version on here is a reconstruction of the best surviving footage, and it's a pity that the film isn't complete, because I thought it was fantastic. A few of the gags seem a bit odd, but I'm willing to put that down to the missing footage (a disclaimer warns the viewer of this at the beginning). The film moves at such a frantic rate that it's impossible to guess where it's going to go next.

The third and final short film on the disc is THE BLACKSMITH, which features Keaton working as a blacksmith's lackey, destroying cars under the guise of fixing them. Following the pattern that Keaton often used, he manages to slowly wreck several expensive items, finally earning the wrath of the secondary characters. This isn't the funniest Keaton short, but it has a handful of hilarious set pieces.

This DVD release will probably be most appealing to Keaton enthusiasts. Casual fans may want to look elsewhere, as the main feature here is comparatively weak. On the other hand, it is great to have the three short films, since they are of much higher quality and help to redress the balance. As a whole, this probably isn't a great purchase, but it isn't a bad one either.

Study on Courtship.
Though COLLEGE isn't as strong a film as THE GENERAL, the movie is a great entertaining piece of cinema. In this film, Keaton plays a bookworm with a negative attitude towards athletics. However, when the girl he loves goes steady with the high school jock and leaves for college, Keaton's character follows. What ensues is total physical mayhem as he fails at one sporting event after another until he finally finds himself on the rowing team as the coxswain. Will this let him get the girl or will the brute with brawn and no brains beat him to the punch?

There is one particular scene in COLLEGE that is quite outdated (and which some will find offensive) where Keaton's character is dressed in black paint. Be forewarned and take it for what it is.

And on DVD!!
Have you mastered the art of getting the girl?
You haven't unless you've seen how Buster does it, and he does it with style!

Ignore the above!
The above review does not apply to this DVD, which is an excellent transfer of the best available materials. I give it four rather that five stars only because it is the least impressive of Keaton's self-directed pictures--which is not to say it's a bad movie. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Don't knock the Alloy Orchestra
The next reviewer is wrong about the Alloy Orchestra. They work wonderfully with these films! Even improve them (if that's possible)! They are great musicians and I'm sure Fatty and Buster would have agreed!

A great collection - but the best?
This is a very nicely done collection of the Buster Keaton - Fatty Arbuckle Comique comedies made between 1917-1919. The collection contains almost all of their existing comedies, with the exception of "The Cook" which was recently discovered.

The presentation is very well done, although there appears to be no "View All" option, so you must go to each comedy seperately. A minor problem, to be sure.

The films often come from different copies than the 2 disc Kino collection of most of these films. "The Butcher Boy" looks about the same, as does "The Rough House". "His Wedding Night" and "Oh Doctor!" are both new to this collection, and look pretty good, although they don't have a lot of Keaton in them. "Coney Island" is slightly improved, and "Out West" is from a MUCH better copy that ever seen before, more complete, much better condition - but with some splices that could have been fixed by editing in footage from the other version. Why wasn't this done?

"The Bell Boy" is exactly the same as on Kino, but "Moonshine" is very different. There are two existing copies of this film - one is a complete copy on 16mm with very poor contrast and lots of missing detail, the other a very fragmentary but high-quality version on 35mm. This set features the 35mm version, the Kino set the 16mm. Once again, why weren't these two edited together? The 16mm could use the quality improvement, and the 35mm just doesn't make sense and is really missing most of the good parts, not to mention the poorly done titles.

On Disc 2, "Good Night, Nurse", "Back Stage", "The Hayseed", and "The Garage" are all in fine condition.

Picture wise, this set is very well encoded, without much artifacting at all.

Musically, the accompaniment is very nicely done. The Kino set suffered from some very bizarre accompaniment by the "Alloy Orchestra", which really detracted from the material and tends to annoy people who are trying to do other things in the room.

The best part of this set, really, is the price, much less expensive than the Kino discs, and with more material. But really, if you are a fan, you need both, don't you? :)

Enjoy!

Keaton's Remarkable Apprenticeship
Without the generosity and support of comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, the cinematic art of Buster Keaton may never have blossomed. The 12 existing shorts in "The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection" display Arbuckle's comedic skill while revealing the astonishing speed in which co-star Keaton mastered the medium. After 15 two-reelers from 1917 to 1920, Buster was ready to fly solo with a remarkable string of masterpieces. Sadly, Arbuckle's subsequent career in features was unjustly destroyed by the 1921 scandal, yet he persevered and made an all-too-brief comeback before his untimely death in 1933. Admittedly, not all the Arbuckle-Keaton shorts are gems, but "The Butcher Boy" (1917), "Back Stage" (1919) and "The Garage" (1920) remain memorable comedies that showcase Fatty and Buster's effortless rapport. Despite some unfortunate racial humor, "Out West" (1918) is a wild, fast-paced romp that satirizes the Westerns of William S. Hart. Though the prints vary in quality, one must be grateful that they exist at all. "The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection" represents a valuable chapter in the history of film comedy.

Now We Have A Choice.
I have been awaiting this set ever since Image Entertainment announced it's release in order to make a comparison with the earlier one from Kino. Although the two volume ARBUCKLE & KEATON set is very fine (see my other reviews), this set features a new comedy not included in the other one (HIS WEDDING NIGHT) plus mostly original nitrate prints of the other shorts gathered from foriegn archives. There are more complete versions of OUT WEST and THE ROUGH HOUSE here as well as a much better print of MOONSHINE although it's only a fragment. However some of the Image prints (THE BUTCHER BOY, THE BELLHOP, and especially BACK STAGE) are not as pristine as those offered by Kino. They also lack the color tinting of the other set and feature a more traditional music accompaniment (piano and synthesizer) compared to the raucous although endearingly colorful scores by The Alloy Orchestra. The title cards are also different. While not as funny, they are probably closer to the originals. In fact the major difference in these two sets is authenticity in presentation (although in CONEY ISLAND Luna Park is misspelled as Luma). The Image shorts are even arranged chronologically so that we can see Arbuckle and Keaton progress together although the shorts are unevenly distributed among the two discs (8 on Disc 1, 4 on Disc 2). So where does that leave us? For the general public the Kino edition is probably a better introduction to Arbuckle's work although it's on two seperate discs and therefore more expensive. This set is more complete and offers more for the silent film enthusiast who will be more forgiving of its few shortcomings. While I heartily recommend the Kino edition, my nod goes to this set.The important thing is that now there are two quality sets of the Arbuckle comedies available and the choice will be up to you. It's a win/win situation.

The Great Stoneface and the Fatman
THE BEST ARBUCKLE/ KEATON COLLECTION is outstanding. The music is a perfect fit. This set includes almost all of the work (that's available/ not considered "lost") that Buster and Arbuckle did together 1917-1919. The shorts are all in chronological order.

IMHO this collection is a must for Keaton fans. It includes Busters first appearance in any movie (THE BUTCHER BOY 1917). In CONEY ISLAND "The Great Stoneface" crys, and laughs several times. He laughs in several others as well.

All but two of the shorts range from good to very good, with two exceptions. THE GARAGE is excellent and ranks near some of the best shorts Buster made 1920-23. OUT WEST is unfortunate, at best. It has a scene that is not just un-PC, it is horrible!

I recommend purchasing THE ART OF BUSTER KEATON (Kino), which covers Buster's independent work (1920-1928), prior to purchasing this collection. THE BEST ARBUCKLE/ KEATON COLLECTION shows Buster "building up" to his hayday of 1920-1928. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Buster Keaton's feature debut as a director (he shared credit with gagman and longtime collaborator Eddie Kline) spoofs, among other things, D.W. Griffith's Intolerance with a look at the trials of true love through the ages. Buster plays a hapless suitor in three different epochs: a bearskin-wearing, dinosaur-riding caveman in the Stone Age; a meek centurion with a ragtag chariot in ancient Rome; and a jazz age Romeo in Model T and black tie. In each time period, he vies for the object of his affections with burly, barrel-chested Wallace Beery, matching Beery's brawn and underhanded dirty tricks with sheer energy and ingenuity. The diminutive deadpan comic is hilarious under a shaggy fright wig and cartoon club as a thoroughly modern caveman, a dwarf among giants at the mercy of romantic Darwinism, but the more inventive sequences belong to the later ages. The rousing chariot race of the Roman segment is topped by a gymnastic chase through dungeons and throne rooms, and the modern section is capped by a mad flight from the police while he rushes to rescue his girl. Three Ages lacks the dramatic unity and sustained creativity of his later masterpieces, but the inventive gas and clever crosscutting turns what could be three individual shorts into an interactive live-action cartoon. Also included are "The Goat," a frantic "mistaken identity" knockabout comedy, and "My Wife's Relations," in which Buster finds himself accidentally married into a family of bullying Irish Catholics. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The Bus Man Cometh
This is one of the Bus Man's lesser known, but certainly not lesser works.

Three Ages is a tad jarring at first, because the three tales of romance mix ups criscross between the Flinstonic era (haha), Ancient Rome, and the Roaring 20s. Even if you don't usually like romatic comedy, the Bus man's personality and brilliant comic timing will make you smile and laugh. I'm not really sure if our man is actually being dragged by an elephant in the caveman scenes, but the lion he deals with in the Roman segment is obviously fake. The pre-Lost world animated segments of the Bus man riding the dinosaur is impressing and amusing even for modern audiences.

In either case, while this isn't exactly a knee-slapper, it's certainly an amusing and pleasant way to spend an hour and a half, as well as the shorts.

Three Films
THREE AGES is one movie told in three parts. The first section takes place during prehistoric times, showing us Caveman Buster's (riding around on his special-effect dinosaur) attempts to woo cavewomen. The second part is set during the height of the Roman Empire, while the third is contemporary (well, it's set in the then-current 1920s, w