![]() Is it the best ever? I don't know, I liked 'The Cameraman' (1928) even more, but still - damn good. I also thought I saw bits of Woody Allen in the scene where he urges her to be quiet, only to knock things over and make noise himself.Īmbitious, awe-inspiring, influential, clever, and still funny 90+ years later. As he makes his escape with Mack, he stuffs her into a large sack that he had emptied of shoes, only to lose his own shoe in the process and struggle to locate it. When he's hiding under a table surrounded by Union officers, he's subtly kicked and jostled in funny ways. He uses one of the large railroad ties intended to derail him to knock another off the track, as his train is moving. In addition to those "big" moments, there are also innumerable little things Keaton does which highlight his genius. There is also of course the scene with a Union train going out onto a burning bridge which then collapses, one of the most iconic (and expensive) scenes of the era. In another, he packs a cannon on his train with a massive charge, and as its angle slowly descends before firing, it appears he's going to blow himself up, until his train at the last minute hits a curve and he nearly hits his intended target. In one of the memorable early scenes, Keaton is sitting on the connecting rod of the locomotive, lost in thought, when it starts up, bobbing him up and down. When his train is stolen by Union soldiers, he immediately gives chase, on foot, then a handcar, briefly a bicycle, and then finally another train, not knowing quite yet that his girlfriend (Marion Mack) was inadvertently also kidnapped. ![]() ![]() The premise is that Keaton, a train conductor, has volunteered to fight for the South at the outset of the Civil War, but been turned down. There are some truly wonderful scenes in this film, which is full of adventure, comedy, and some pretty impressive stuntwork on moving trains by Buster Keaton and the other actors. When Johnny's fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton's boundless wit and dexterity. So the next night I watched the whole movie again, and this time I see it for the first time: It's Stupendous! It's Sensational! It's Sublime! Three great comedians! Todd dances! Durante sings! Keaton speaks! Sure it ain't poifect.but there's a lot of laughs in this picture.One of the most revered comedies of the silent era, this film finds hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. ![]() Again, I was laughing out loud, appreciating Keaton's clowning and tumbling. Buster in his blissful innocence botches every act. He starts out as a bit player but quickly becomes famous as he acts in and directs his own films. So I watched another scene, their show is opening on Broadway. Buster Keaton leaves his family vaudeville act for the movies. After being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines. With Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley. A very funny scene, the actors excellent, their faces, their eyes, their silly expressions. The General: Directed by Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton. The next night I watched a scene with Thelma Todd as a conniving chorus girl trying to impress Buster and Jimmy with her sex appeal. I couldn't get Durante's song out of my head, I kept trying to better remember Thelma Todd's first scene, I considered that maybe Keaton did do some funny falls and physical comedy. Directors: Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Buster Keaton Stars: Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Buster plays a gardener who puts out a fire started by Roscoe, then a delivery boy who fights with the cook St. Roscoe, his wife and his mother-in-law run a seaside resort. The next day I kept thinking about the movie, though. The Rough House (1917) 19 min Comedy, Short. Maybe Buster Keaton strangely speaking threw me off, or the labored line delivery of a leading lady. Before Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson, before Chuck Jones and Jackie Chan, there was Buster Keaton, one of the founding fathers of visual comedy. I watched 'Speak Easily' one night and thought it was o.k., but missing something. 0:00 / 24:37 Buster Keaton - One Week (1920) Silent film Classics of World Cinema 15.3K subscribers Subscribe Subscribed 18K 1.4M views 6 years ago silentfilms A newly wedded couple attempts.
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