The comfort of Buster Keaton's short films

Buster with his classic melancholy face.

It all started with Buster--why my blog exists in the first place, and why I'm a classic movie obsessive and evangelist.  Comedic film master Buster Keaton was my gateway drug to the ever-expanding universe that is classic film.  So when Rick of Classic Film and TV Cafe announced the 'comfort movie' blogathon to celebrate 'National Classic Movie Day' on May 16th, I had a flashback to 2010 and my long, cold winter days of enjoying short film after short film of Buster's, and I knew I had my topic.  Happy Classic Movie Day everyone!

[For more reasons to get hooked on classic movies, go here to explore all the great entries in the blogathon]. 

Buster Keaton (1895-1966) was a giant of early cinema comedy, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. Like those two, physically Keaton was not a giant, but a small compact athletic man, whose trademarks include a 'pork-pie' hat, a flat facial affect that, while never smiling still conveyed a range of emotion, and jaw-dropping acrobatic stunts.  To watch a Buster Keaton film is to be transported into a surreal setting that looks rather similar to early 20th century America, only, well, surreal. Keaton's career tanked quickly after talking pictures replaced silent film, and his many-faceted later career is certainly not without interest, but his silent films remain his most visible and beloved legacy.

Keaton's film career started with short films in the late 1910s, made with silent star comedian and mentor Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Keaton starred alongside Arbuckle, but learned film direction as well during this period. Buster then came into his own as an independent filmmaker, and with his New York and Hollywood studios, assembled his stock company of actors and crewmembers and started a prolific period turning out nineteen hit two-reelers from 1920-1923.  The rest of the 1920s he focused on creating silent features, including such classics as Our Hospitality, The General, and Steamboat Bill, Jr.  Keaton was both a brilliant slapstick comedian and creative pioneer of the visual medium of film.  The features are brilliant, but an entire short only requires 20-25 minutes of your time!

So if your idea of comfort is taking your mind off your troubles, you could do worse than to settle down and treat yourself to a few doses of Keaton short film hilariousness.  You will be enraptured by what you see, just as Buster here:

Gif from http://bustermylove.tumblr.com/

Following are just a few reasons I find these short films to be so addictive, with a specific film to highlight each.

Absurdist humor: I don't typically laugh at traditional slapstick humor, with pratfalls, pie-throwing stunts and the like. What I enjoy most about Buster's form of comedy is how he creates a slightly surreal universe and then puts himself into both large and small situations that are absurd, and then reacts appropriately.  Most of his films have this characteristic, but I'd like to highlight The Balloonatic (1923).  In this, one of his last shorts in this period, Buster's character takes an unplanned ride in a hot-air balloon, maroons himself in a wilderness near a river, and finds a young woman who is enjoying her own private camping expedition. Buster is smitten and wants to prove himself to her, and runs into trouble. In this film the outdoors is the primary setting, which Buster returns to in other films (see Battling Butler for one), but there is an absurd assortment of wildlife just hanging around camp to menace our hero and heroine, including, a steer with horns, and of course a black bear.  Buster also finds himself in possession of a trick canoe that breaks into three parts at the most inopportune times. Look closely at the name printed on the canoe -- 'Minnie Tee Hee' - likely a parody of the common native American name 'Minnehaha'.  

Buster in his boat 'Minnie Tee Hee" plays a joke on the viewer. Gif from
my friend Vânia (aintthatakick.tumblr.com)

Stunts that only Buster could pull off:  Charlie Chaplin was often called 'balletic' in his movements. Keaton was the Gene Kelly to Chaplin's Fred Astaire -- more overtly athletic but still incredibly graceful. In The Scarecrow (1920), Buster is rooming with romantic rival 'Big Joe' Roberts, in a house that consists of one room, converted for multiple uses thanks to a number of mechanical 'marvels'. In a sequence that is just a warm-up for later, but hilarious in its own right, the two men sit down for dinner and all condiments and utensils hang from the ceiling, and the two men start grabbing them and swinging them back and forth to each other in a synchronized motion that clearly was not choreographed in one sitting.  It's stunning.

Gif from quietbubble.wordpress.com

Keaton's love of dangerous stunts is showcased when he is being chased by a dog ('Luke the Dog', who featured prominently in Keaton's shorts as well as earlier in the films he made with Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle).  The extended chase takes them to the top of a hollowed out brick farmhouse, where they literally run around on a narrow foundation raised on walls well above a safe distance to the ground as only one part of a breathtaking chase sequence.  Buster was known for doing his own stunts, and somehow survived breaking countless bones in his career.

Gif from quietbubble.wordpress.com

Don't look away for five seconds:  Buster's films were chock full of gag after gag, but also the physicality and kinetic energy was off the charts.  As Hal Hinson said in a 1994 Washington Post article, "Keaton's films are like elaborate laboratories set up for research into the physics of slapstick." One of the best examples is The Electric House (1922), in which recent college grad Buster is hired to 'electrify' the home of a wealthy family while they're away on vacation. You often see clips of the escalator-driven staircase with poor Buster being thrown around trying to keep his balance as the mechanism goes out of control. I particularly love the billiard scene, in which the billiard balls are cycled from the pool table bowling-ball style, and the ball rack descends from the wall on an extension arm.  All goes well early in the film, but later a series of malfunctions going on in each room simultaneously sends Buster, and the viewer, into a tailspin of hilarity. The billiard balls start jumping around, the mechanical wall arm socks a houseguest in the jaw, and Buster, trying to escape, gets his head caught in a pair of sliding doors. (Apparently, he actually did break a leg doing the stair stunts for this film). 

Buster showing Joe Roberts how to play 'Electric Pool'
in The Electric House

Warmth of character:  Despite Buster's character's 'stone face', there is never any doubt that he's a good and honorable guy who would not hurt anyone or anything. This does not mean that he backs down from a fight, but that through his exceptional pantomime and emotion-filled eyes, can immediately get you, the viewer, on his side. Many of his misadventures come about for the love of a (deserving or not) woman, and this is nowhere more evident than in one of my favorites, One Week (1920).  This short, about the trials a newlywed couple has trying to set up their new home, literally, captures all the stunts and absurd humor that he's known for, but features an unusually warm and loving relationship with his new bride, played by Keaton favorite Sybil Seely.  They share a sweet moment when Buster catches Sybil drawing interlocking hearts on the wall of the home they are building from a kit.  

Buster and Sybil Seely as cute newlyweds.
Gif from An-Unconventional-Lady.tumblr.com

They also are partners sharing the chores.

Gif from aintthatakick.tumblr.com

Seriously--marriage goals.

So if you decide to approach Buster to cure what ails you, here's my prescription based on your need using the 'Comfort Scale':

Your ‘comfort need’	Take...
Minor Annoyance	One short film (I suggest One Week or Cops). Be warned: stopping at one is very, very hard!
I might need a drink	.... at least three shorts: (add The Balloonatic or The Scarecrow)
The world might end!	You require a marathon viewing of at least 10 shorts. (add The Boat, Frozen North, The Electric House, The Playhouse, The Goat, Paleface)

Where to watch:  The short films have been published on DVD and Blu-Ray in a number of editions over the years. Several of them are available now to stream on YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.  

Five Movies on an Island -- with my Dad

This is my entry in the "5 Movies on an Island" blogathon to celebrate "National Classic Movie Day" on May 16th, hosted by Classic Film & TV Cafe.

Everyone who knew him would agree with me that my Dad was a modern Renaissance man.  A Ph.D. scientist by practice, he loved and made a study of the arts and literature in his spare time. His primary love was classical music, especially opera, and he taught opera appreciation later in his life.  I was just starting to adore classic film when I lost Dad, but nevertheless, he also loved classic film, and I have fond memories of sharing some with him, starting from when I was a child through to the last year we had together.  May 16 is Dad's birthday, and this year he will be gone five years. This post is dedicated to him, and if I ever found myself on a desert island, I'd hope to have with me these five films, that he and I shared, to remember him.

Presented in the order I watched them with Dad, they are:
SCROOGE aka A Christmas Carol (1951)
This would perhaps be on my top ten favorite films list in any case.  Count me among those who believe Alastair Sim's portrayal of Scrooge is the best ever on film, because of his treating the character as a real person.  His deeply psychological portrait of a man who hates himself, and thus everyone around him, is compellingly nuanced.  The terrific supporting cast of Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley, and Michael Hordern, and taught direction of Brian Desmond Hurst, contribute to making the film one that, in the words of Leonard Maltin, is too good to be viewed only at Christmas.  My earliest recollection of this film was when I was perhaps about 10 years old, and late on a winter's evening I tiptoed into our family room to see that my Dad was on his own watching this blurry, scratchy old B&W film on the TV.  "What's this?", I asked.  "It's 'A Christmas Carol' -- from the 50's, the best movie version", Dad replied.  I chuckled in disbelief -- "This??"  It looked so ancient and uninviting.  It must have been a very poor print.  I shook my head and walked away from the TV.  Decades later I want to tell my Dad that this film is a holiday ritual for me, and that of course, as usual, he was right.

FITZCARRALDO (1982)
I was in college and on summer break, staying with my parents in our family home, when Dad checked this film out of the video store and announced it was going to be our evening's entertainment.  When I asked him what the film was about, I knew immediately what his attraction was.  It was a story about a opera-loving man (Klaus Kinski) determined, against all odds, to build an opera house in the middle of the Amazon jungle, and to engage the eminent Enrico Caruso to sing there.  As directed by Werner Herzog, and produced in Germany, I recall it being a somewhat surrealistic journey, fraught with madness and danger, excitement and love.  I confess to not appreciating it those many years ago, but I saw my Dad smile as he watched.  It's now considered one of Herzog's best, and for me, with my new love of film, more than deserving of another viewing.  Having this on a desert island will give me more than enough time to plumb the depths of vision and meaning that Herzog brought to this tale.

THE SEARCHERS (1956)

THE SEARCHERS is a film that existed in my imagination for many years before I ever saw it.  As a teenager, I was fascinated with Buddy Holly and his music, and was familiar with the story that Buddy Holly & the Crickets' first big hit "That'll be the Day," was inspired by the phrase repeated often by John Wayne in this movie.  I hadn't heard any more about the film for many years since then, but in recent years I began to see it popping up in lists of the best films of all time, best westerns, etc.  [I was impressed --Buddy Holly and his friends had good taste in movies as well as music!]  In 2009, I decided to finally see it, prompted by a friend who was on a mission to see every film in the AFI's top 100.  I rented it, and decided to watch it one day when my parents were visiting me here in Boston.  Neither of them recalled seeing it, but thought that they might have when it first came out in theaters in 1956.  When the credits rolled, Mom, Dad, and I agreed we had seen something special--an epic performance by Wayne and a classic of storytelling, framing, and cinematography.  Knowing that my Dad appreciated seeing this as I did, made me feel like I had accomplished a mission in more ways than one. This film also has enough beauty and characterizations to make multiple desert-island viewings a great pleasure.

LA GRANDE ILLUSION (1937) -- Dad was the one who introduced this Jean Renoir film to me.  As he took advantage of his membership in the now defunct Blockbuster video mail order service, he came across this one and brought the DVD along on another trip to Boston.  I had not yet entered fully into my classic film obsession, but I remember being open to this film, as I'd heard of Erich von Stroheim, and was eager to see a war film from an earlier era; at the time, I had become a fan of WWII films and stories, being turned on to them by Clint Eastwood's filming of FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS and LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA.  This B&W film grabbed me initially by the colorful characters portrayed by von Stroheim & Jean Gabin, the multiple languages spoken, and the poignant anti-war message camouflaged by humor and romance.  It is a film that should remind us in any era that we are all human, and most of all deserve respect from one another.  The film also started Dad on an appreciation of French cinema, an interest he explored in the last years of his life by taking a course from his local 'institute of learning in retirement' on films from Truffaut and Malle.

Buster Keaton -- the Shorts Collection.
I credit Buster with setting my feet solidly on the path to classic film obsession. On a lark, I'd brought a friend with me to a local screening of STEAMBOAT BILL JR with live music.  Shortly after that, I was exploring classic film starting with the silent comedians, Buster Keaton first, followed by Chaplin, watching everything they ever made.  One of my Christmas gifts that year was this multiple disc set from Kino.  As my parents and sister were visiting for the holidays, I 'subjected' them to watching these whenever we needed some down time.  To my great surprise, my Dad and sister both enjoyed them almost as much as I did.  Our favorites were probably COPS, ONE WEEK, and THE BALLOONATIC.  Once we finished a short, it was hard to keep from watching the next one.  I remember saying to my Dad, "Up for another?"  He replied, "Yes, they're addictive, aren't they?"

Over the last months of Dad's life he and I corresponded by phone and email about classic film, both of us watching and discussing some of the Truffaut and Malle films he was studying in his short course. I wish I'd have had more time to explore with him this mutual interest, but am tremendously grateful for the love of art and classics in general that Dad made it a priority to share with me.  Along with many other memories, these films will always be linked to his memory in my mind.