Tl

w'^mM

Remembere
Elemaor Keaton andjejfrey Vance
 C:,iii;ulaS6S.l)(l

.J
Wi^Hu r ubLXu

iown for his IcgcncUm- "stone face" and incredible physical gags.

glister Keaton ( 1S95-1%6) is one of tlic greatest artists in cinema

liistory, a eoniedx genins wlio eoneeixed, directed, and acted in

.
nineteen sliort films and ten silent features that todav

unsurpassed mar\els of comic inxention and technical precision.

Yet Keaton saw his role as simply to make people

remain

laugh. "No
n^
'man," he said, "can he a genius in slap-shoes and a flat hat." But

then, no one else could turn out masterpieces such as

Ihstjitcilih' (192^^),

General (1926), and Steamboat

Buster Keaton

Keaton's life and

Sherlock

Rewemhered
jr. (1924), i/ic Navigator (1924),

Bill,

is a
}r.

unique
( 1928).

illustrated sur\e\ ot

films, recalled h\ his wife of t\\cnt}-six years, the

Our

The

^
late Klcanor Keaton, and film historian

career was fiiseinating and dramatic, spanning the history of

t\\entieth-centnr\ American comedy. An

learned his craft in \aude\ille, he possessed perfect comic timing

Jeffrcx Nance. Keaton's

intuitixe artist w ho
^
and was an inspired inxentor of mechanical gags. Locomotixcs,

Ifi stcamshi]5s, prefabricated houses, and other inanimate objects

came to life as characters in Keaton's celluloid world.

Draw iug on jjcrsonal and professional papers, produced and

unproduced scripts, studio records, and scrapbooks, as well as

Klcanor Keaton's memories and anecdotes, the book pro\ ides a

vi\id, behind-the-scenes account of Keaton's nun ic making—

where he found his ideas, how he dc\elo])ed his elaborate stunts,

the innovative technic|nes he and his crew employed. I,i\el\ com-

mentaries on each of the films are accompanied by classic stills

and ne\er-beforc-published photographs from the Buster Keaton

C:ollection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"Buster Keaton's comedy endures," according to Vance, "not

<
jnsi because he had a face that belongs on Mount Rushmore, at

once hauntingly innnovable and classically American, but because

that face was attached to one of the most gifted actors and directors

to ever grace the screen." Ibday, a new generation is discoxcriug I

the timeless appeal of Keaton's hilarious, whirlwind coined\. set

against \ isually stunning backdrops and locations, and masked

behind an unflinching, stoic \cnecr. ,

k-iiud-whitc ijholograJjJis

fe^
<
7-*
Buster Keaton Remembered
Eleanor Keaton and Jeffrey Vance

Remembered

Afterword by Kevin Brownlow

Manoah Bowman, Photographic Editor

AL BR
Photographs from the collection of the
PN2287
.K4
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences K43
2001

Harry N. Ahrams, Inc., Publishers

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Contents

BUSI'I'.R KI'AION C;()l.l.i:c:i ION AT Seven Chances {\91S) J3-f

ACADI'.MV OK MOriON P IC: Go West {\925) 158

Battlina Butler {\92C)) M2

The General {\916) H-i

ROHF.RT CUS II MAN

PHOT OO RAP College (\921) 152

A NOI'K ON

Steamboat Bill, {\92H) i56

a;anoa// BO\v^;AN Jr.

KODLICIION Buster As a Metro-Goldwv n-Ma\cr Star / 6-f

INI 12

y VANCE Buster's Second Marriage, Le Roi des Champs-

Elysees (1934), and The Invader (1936) J 90

M ^- 1 . 1 V V. BllSTKR 5-f

Shorts for Educational and Columbia 'H

KI.KANOR KEAION
I

The Later Films, Theater, and Television 9«

R KKATON R|;M1-,MBKRKD "f-f
/

El.K AN OR KIOA/ON Y VANCE

Buster's Early Years and Vaudeville Days 4 S

The Arbuckle-Keaton Shorts 52

KNDIX: HOW TO MAKF. A PORKPIK

AFTERWORD • KEVIN BROWNLOW 2H

The Saphead (1920) 62

The Keaton Silent Shorts 6-f

NOTES 217

Marriage to Natalie Talmadge

BIBLIOGRAPHY 218

T/irce Ages (1923) 1 10 FILMOGRAPHY 219

Our Hos/jita% (1923) 116 INDEX 254

Sherlock Jr. (1924) 122

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 2?8

T/ie Ndv/gdtor (1924) 13

PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS 2?8
 -^V / '^
>/v'

h>.
*•*'

Saphead (1920), showing Bertie after he had been

tossed off of the floor of the stock exchange.

Page 2: One of Buster's earliest publicity photograph

upon entering films, 1917.

Page 4: Buster consults his script on an M-C^M sound

siii"i> iificd for S I' /•: V K" F. \ s ; i. r (19^2).

Above: The hapless projectionist is surrounded by film

in SiiKRi.acK Jr. (1924).

Collecting Keaton: The Buster Keaton Photographs at the Academy Library

IN KAKl,^ 1 9 ') S , WIII.N I HIS BOOK WAS ONI,'*' A T !•; N T \ I I \ I : I'KOJI. CI SI 11. I l\

the talking stages, I found myself taking a \ery elose look at our holdings of still photographs relating to Buster Keaton at

the Margaret Herriek Library of the Aeadeniy of Motion Pieture Arts and Seienees.'l'he L,ihrar\ owns, in its various eollee-

tions, by far the largest and most comprehensive body of Keaton photograj^hs known to exist in an\ lihrarx or archive on the

planet, hi terms of quantity, quality, range, and \ariet), the Academy's holdings are trul) extraordinar), numbering some-

where in the area of seven thousand individual items.

By far the largest concentration of Keaton ])hotographs is found in the Metro-Cioldwyn-Mavcr C'ollection, donated to

the Library by M-G-M in 1978, which arrived in 969 uninvcntoried and unorganized record storage boxes. The collection

had remained \irtuall\ inaccessible in deep storage in a New Jcrsev warehouse since the NSOs.'I'weKe vcars later, when we

completed the sorting, processing, and inventorying of the massive collection, we finalK knew preeiscK what it contained.

Among the nearly one million items, there are nearly complete files of all seven of Keaton's M-G-M talkies, as well as large

files on Spite Marriage (1929), The Cameraman (1928), Battling Butler (1926), Seven Chances (1925), and, miraculously, The

Navigator (1924). (1 say miraculously because there was very little in the collection prior to 1925, and The Navigator was not

produced, but mereh distributed, b\' Metro-Goldwyn — before the Mayer was tacked on to the companv name.) .-Xside from

these production files, the M-G-M Collection also contains a biographical file of Keaton stills, numbering more than three

hundred prints.

Another significant group of Keaton photographs is located in the Jules White Collection. White was the head of the

Columbia short subjects department from 193^ to 1958, and he donated the collection to the Librarv in 1975. The collection

consists of stills (and scripts) from 522 films and includes photographs from nine of Keaton's ten Columbia shorts

(19^9-41), containing a total of 220 prints.

A third, and possibh the rarest, large cache of Keaton stills came to the Library as a gift in the 1950s. Shortly after I start-

ed working for the Academy in 1972, 1 found these prints in the basement of our former premises at 9038 Melrose Avenue,

an old theater that the Academv had made its headquarters in the 1940s. 4'hc stills were in a box and were dirt\ and

extremely curled — 1 quickly dubbed them "Keaton's Dead Sea Scrolls," which should give a clear impression of their condi-

tion at that point. Although se\erel\ curled, thcv' had luckiK suffered no moisture damage, which would have caused them

to stick together. This made it possible for us to rewash and regloss the prints, restoring them to their original condition. We

achieved excellent results, and the photographs ha\e since resided in the Library's Core Collection Production Files. The

Keaton box proved to contain more than twelve hundred stills, including prints from nine of Keaton's silent features, dating
from 1923 to 1928, and from ten of Keaton's silent shorts, dating from 1920 to 1922. Original stills from the short films are

exceptionally rare, and most of these prints are probably unique.

Our most recent acquisition of a large body of Keaton photographs came from Keaton's widow, Eleanor Keaton, who

donated the photos to the Library in June 1998, thanks large!) to the efforts of Jeffrey Vance, who believed it was of para-

mount importance that the materials be preserved and maintained in perpetuity by an archive and not fall into the hands

of private individuals or, worse, end up on the auction block. Jeffrey was instrumental in bringing Eleanor to agree with the

wisdom of that belief.

Eleanor's material dates primarily from the time she met Buster (1938) through his death (1966), and so it was the perfect

complement to the Academy's holdings, which were strong on the earlier period but weak on the later period. She also had

some very early original vintage photographs from Keaton's infancy, childhood, and vaudeville days, as well as a Keaton

family photo album of snapshots dating from 1909 to 1917. Certainly the Academy previously had nothing like this !

Eleanor's collection consists of more than nine hundred items and provides a rich representation of Buster's last three

decades. It comprises many personal photographs, candids, and snapshots, as well as good material documenting his later

film, stage, and television work.

A happy by-product of Eleanor's donation was that it inspired Jeffrey Vance, Manoah Bowman (this book's photographic

editor and creator of the prints herein), and me to pursue outside sources and unearth additional Keaton material for the

Academy Library, with the goal of making our Keaton holdings as comprehensive as possible. Of particular help along these

lines were Marc Wanamaker, James Karen, and Robert S. Birchard, who generously and freely let us copy anything we

wanted from their own personal collections. Richard W. Bann and Kevin Brownlow also allowed us to copy several of their

Keaton stills.

So, 1 can cheerfully conclude that the Academy Library's photographic holdings on Buster Keaton are now even

greater due to the generosity of Eleanor Keaton, this book, and all the help we have had along the way. But we are always

looking for more!

Robert Cushman

Beverly Hills
The Buster Keaton Stills: A Note on the Photography

••
I N \' i: N 1 1
\- 1; WAS I III. Kiv woKO iisi;n in c; i: i, i: b k ii ^ r ii o i oc i< \ r ii i, k sin wiu'i'

about one ot his favorite subjects, Buster Keiiloii. w licii I asked hiui about his photo shoot witli the great eoniediau for U.S.

Steel ill I'^iCi^ As one of the few photographers still living who aetualK knew Keaton and photographed him, his eoniinents

reinforee a fact that is not always readily apparent; that liustcr Keaton showed just as nmeli iuiagination and ereativity for

the still photographer as he did for the eineniatographer.

For his silent films, Keaton otten used his in\enti\eness to create a cartooulike effect in his still photographs. He wanted

man\- of his publieit\ photographs to be as amusing and entertaining as possible so that the popular film magazines of the

time, such as Photoplax and Motion Picture Classic, would publish them.

hi light of this fact, Jeffre\- Vance and I, following the ad\iee of the late Eleanor Keaton, selected man\ of the photo-

graphs that display Buster's creativity and imagination. This was not an easy process, as there were literalK thousands of

images from which to choose, hiiagine the ditficultv of having to narrow down more than se\en thousand photographs to a

mere 225 (this book's limit). This process was complicated bv the knowledge that some of the most famous stills of Keaton

were cartoonish "gag" shots that did not even appear in the films thev were supposedlv representing. For example, two of the

most instant!)' recognizable photographs of Keaton from The Navigator (Keaton sitting stoicallv on the steamship, and

Keaton hanging ott the rigging ropes looking out at the sea) are nowhere to be found in the film.

Our ultimate goal became to make this book as comprehensive as possible, bv mixing the most famous and iconic images

of Keaton with behind-the-scenes and scene stills that best represented the films themselves, and finalK bv adding many

previouslv unpublished personal photos of Keaton, in an effort to create a unique and hopefullv definitive photographic

book on his life and films.

Determining the identitv' of the photographers proved to be an obstacle. As is typical of the silent era, most of the various

still photographers for the films remain unknown. This is unfortunate because manv of the photographs that appear in this

book are masterpieces of composition for which their creators deserve proper credit. We know that Byron Houck was the

still photographer for Keaton's greatest film The General, and that he w orked w ith two still cameras — an 8 \ 10 F,astman for

the stationarv and posed shots and a 5 x 7 Graflex for the more difficult action sequences, as w ell as for the candid behind-

the-scenes photographs. Sadlv, our abilitv to make an attribution to a ]xirticular photographer is an anomaly.

Although the identitv of most of the scene still photographers is a mystery, the portrait still photographers of the period

are well documented. Keaton posed for some of the world's finest photographic artists, including Nelson Evans, Arthur
 Rice, Melbourne Spurr, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Ruth Harriet Louise, George Hurrell, Richard Avedon, and, of course,

Sid A\'er\-. Witliin these pages you will find at least one portrait by most of these photographers — some credited for the

first time.

Choosing the images and identifying the photographers was only one part of assembling this book. Apart from serving as

the photographic editor of this book, I also decided to create the prints in the darkroom myself. The process of making the

photographic prints was a long and arduous one, which I accomplished over a period of about one year. In many cases we

had access to the original nitrate 8 x 10 camera negatives, from which I always printed when available. For the other images,

we had original \'intage prints as the primary source material. From these. Producers and Quantity Photo, hie. of Hollywood

produced splendid 8 x 10 copy negatives, following our specific instructions as to exposure, filtration, and polarization.

As for the prints from original negatives appearing in this book, the earliest is the shot from Cops (1922) on page 89, and

the latest is the still of Keaton and Charles Chaplin at their dressing tables from Limelight (1952) on page 204. In creating

the prints from the negatives, I attempted to make them all look better than they had ever looked before. In the darkroom,

this involved paying careful attention to varying degrees of contrast, tonal values, and all necessary burning and dodging to

bring out and retain all the detail possible. Normally, I made at least three prints of each image and chose from these. All the

prints were archivally processed and made, direct contact, on Ilford double-weight fiber paper. I truly strove for perfection

in the creation of these images and hope that I got as close to it as is humanly possible.

Although the Academy offered a wealth of material from which to choose, it should be noted that there are some small

gaps. In the case of Keaton's film The Saphead, the Academy seems to have the only extant vintage still. We were lucky that

Buster was in it! In many instances, when searching for images from each short film, we had onh' t\\ o or three stills from

which to make our selection.

Because the Buster Keaton Collection that Eleanor donated to the Academy largely contained images of a personal

nature, we had to look elsewhere to fill some of our gaps. Until the mid-1950s Keaton himself held the best collection of his

own film stills. However, as a result of his and Eleanor's generosity to various authors, researchers, newsletters, and other

publications, many of the original photographs they lent out were subsequently lost or never returned. Hence, one of the

most daunting challenges in prc]Daring this book was to locate some of this material or to find other similar first-generation

images from which to work.

Also, the reader might notice that there arc films or appearances that are not represented in these pages. Some of these

have been omitted because Eleanor counted them among Buster's lesser efforts and did not w ish to conimcniorale them in

this book. lH)r example, there are no photos included of Keaton's last starring feature film, the I'-Hf) low-budget Mexican pro-

duction /','/ Moclenu) Harbd Aziil (a.k.a.7'//e Modern Bhieheard or Bouiii in the Moon). We rcadiU concur with ElccUior that

this one will probabK not be missed.

10
 It is our tin;il liopc tli.it lliis book will Itiid t rcdcncc lo llu' idea lliat the best ol llic still plioloi^raplis ol Biisfcr Kcatoii can

slaiul as ^rcal works in llicir ow ii li^lif, alongside his inoiuniRiilal acliic\cnicnls on the niofion-pictiirc screen. 'I licsc

images ean stand alone not onU heeanse the\ are sneh wonderlnl photographs, hnl also hceause ofKealon's own eoin-

pelling personal inystiqne —a ni\sliqne so powerlnl that it transeends the era in uhieh it was erealed and sneeeeds in with-

standing the test of time.

Mcinodh Bowman

I A)s Angeles

1 wonid like to thank the tollowing people whose assistance w itli the pliotograplu' for this book was in\alnable: l^obcrt

Cnshman, Photograph Cnrator at the Academy of Motion Pietnre Arts and Sciences' Margaret I lerrick l,ibrar\, who gave

me special and repeated access to the I,ibrar\ s \ast holdings of Kcaton i)hotographs. Peter Avellino and Michael Whitfield

for their dedicated darkroom assistance in the prodnclion of man\ of the photographic prints herein reprodnccd. .\ special

thanks lo l-anra Ni\ and Windham Beacham for helping me ont in a pinch. f'inalK, I wonld like to express mv gratitnde to

Jasmine Brnnsn/.\an and Shahe Mclelian of Prodnccrs antl Onantit\ Photo for ha\ing the rcser\es of patience it mnst take

to deal w ith mc and all m\- special requests.

M.B.

Ji
 6DUCT ON I by Jeffrey Vance

Buster Keaton, c. 1920. Photograph by Hoover

ON MAY 29, 1940, AT CITY HALL IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,

an unassuming young bride named Eleanor Ruth Norris said "I do" and became the third wife of a

man twice her age, who just happened to be the legendary film comedian Buster Keaton. None of the

small group of family and friends present, and perhaps not even the groom himself, realized that

Eleanor would prove to be no less than Buster Keaton's savior.

followhig the
Keaton's tremendously successful career of the 1920s had derailed in the 1930s when,

advent of talking pictures, his artistic creativity and ingenuity were quashed by the burgeoning studio

system. Private adversity, the result of an unhappy first marriage, also contributed to his professional

decline. Keaton, who had once enjoyed great critical acclaim and the fruits of being a top box-office

draw, had become a chronic alcoholic and, by all accounts, was finished in the motion-picture indus-

try. Enter Eleanor Keaton. Eleanor kept her husband away from alcohol, remained with
him until he

and his status as one of the great artists of the

died, and helped him rebuild his career, his reputation,

represents not only

cinema. This book, upon which Eleanor worked consistently until the day she died,

her final tribute to the man she loved but also her final contribution to the Keaton legacy.
Born Joseph Frank Keaton in Piqua, Kansas, on October 4, 1895, Buster Keaton was as old as the cine-

ma when he began his career in motion pictures at the age of twenty-one. Within a few years, Keaton

over the world. Eventually, his frozen visage would be as recognizable

an
would be known all

American face as Abraham Lincoln's.

Keaton had spent a lifetime as a performer before he was captured on even a single frame of cellu-

loid. His first appearance on stage was at the age of nine months and, at the age of five, he became the

newest member of his parents' vaudeville act. The Three Keatons was among the most violent and rau-

other prop, Buster was routinely

cous vaudeville acts in the history of the American theater. Like any

into the audience, by his irascible father, Joe Keaton.

Buster
thrown about the stage, and occasionally

Keaton always maintained that it was the great escape artist, Harry Houdini, who gave him his nick-

name, "Buster," after seeing the child take a fall down a flight of stairs with little or no collateral damage.

From such a legend the name Buster Keaton was born.

"That's sure a buster!" Houdini told Joe Keaton.

made people laugh. He also learned that the more

Buster Keaton learned that his wild acrobatics

Night after night, even at

seriously he took his comedy, the more hilariously the audience regarded it.
 Top: Buster greets some of his Company studio. Long Beach.

young fans while on location, California, c. MS. Photograph

c. J 92]. Eddie Cline is the man attributed to Cudney.

wearing the cap.

Bottom: I he Keaton family in

'Center: liuster, A// Kcert'.v Hollywood, 1920. Louise,

(Charlie Chaplin's business Myra, Harry "Jingles," Buster,

manager), Charlie Chaplin, and }oe Keaton.

H. O. Stechhan, H. M.

Horkheimer, an unidentified Opposite: Buster in the aban-

man, and Lou Anger at the doned first version of The

Horkheimer Brothers' Balboa Eleci Ric Hot s;:. I92J.

Amusement Producing

\ an eai 1\ age, Buster faced whatever travails were foist-

ed upon liiin with a kind of stoic diligence. Although

nian\ of hi.s earh film shorts with Roscoe "Fattv"

Arhuckle include fleeting moments of Keaton exper-

imenting with smiling, laughing, or mugging for the

camera, b\ the time Keaton broke into the movies

in 1917, his immoxable face was already part of the

package.

By the end of their \aude\ille run in 1917, there

was no question as to which of The 1'hree Keatons

w as now the star. Ea en as early as 1901 the act was

billed in the Dramatic Mirror simply as "BUSTER,

And his assistants "' Despite its success, the act

ultimately broke up because of the erratic and often

unpredictable behavior of the elder Keaton, whose

onstage violence increasingly spilled over into his off-

stage family life.

On his own in 1917, Buster was quickly offered the

sum of two hundred fifty dollars a week to headline

at New York's Winter Garden Theater. Displa} ing

some of the exquisite timing for which he would

become famous, Buster did the unthinkable and

turned down the theater to try his hand at motion

pictures for a mere forty dollars per week.^ He was

fascinated with the technical aspects of film and

believed he could succeed in the nun ies as he had on

the stage. Motion pictures had transformed other

vaudexillians into world-famous figures w ith enor-

mous wealth in a \er\ sjiort time.

 ^^

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A/)ove: Buster (out of costume) Opposite: A dinner party held by

and a group of unknown women Joe Schenck to welcome Rudolph
ham it up for the camera on the Valentino into United Artists,

open-air stage of the Keaton stu- 1925. Clockwise from left:

dio during the production of Natalie 'lalmadge, William S.

Thk Pi.WIIOUSI: (1921). Hart, Norma lalmadge, Hiram

The hearr motion-picture make- Ahrams, Doudas i'airbanks. Peg

up worn by all the women sug- Talmadge, Allan Forrest, James

gests that they were gathered for Hood MacFarland, Buster,

a screen test or film scene and Mary Pickford. Charlie Chaplin,

not for a gag still. Charlotte Pickford, joe Schenck,

Nalactui Ranihora. Sydney

Chaplin. Rudolph \dlentino.

Constance 'lalmadge, John

Considine. Lottie Pickford. and

Arthur Kelly. Photograph by

Weaver.

10
 Keaton began working, first in New York and later gi\es them another) — first appear in the .\rbuckle

in Los Angeles, w ith Roseoe "Fatt\ " Arbnekle, a series, hi Back Stage (1919), one of the best of the

rotnnd, baby-faced man who was one of the most Arbuckle-Keaton films, Arbuckle is unharmed as a

beloved eomedians in the cinema. He was regarded as balconv facade collapses and falls around him while

the best comed\- director in films next to Charles he stands protected w ithin an open w indow that pass-

Chaplin. Like Chaplin, Arbnekle had learned film es o\er him. The precision of this gag would be repli-

comed\ from pioneer film producer Mack Sennett at cated by Keaton in One Week (1920), The Blacksmith

the Ke\stone Film Compan\, where his film career (1922), and most memorabK in Steamboat Bill, Jr.

began in earnest in \9]\'' Arbnekle, in turn, formed (1928). Also in Back Stage, the audience thinks

Keaton's conception of film. Once Arbuckle saw what Buster's bedroom is coming apart around him as he

a brilliant craftsman as well as talented comedian he lies in bed until it is re\ealed that this is not Buster's

had in Keaton, he soon had him codirccting as well bedroom at all but a stage set being struck. 'I'he scene

as acting in the Arbuckle films. They began working would be re-created in Keaton's The Playhouse (1921).

out gag routines together, and in a short time This surprise effect, in which a situation appears one

Arbuckle's work began to bear an unmistakably way but is then revealed in its total context to dis-

Keatonian touch. close that the \ iewcr has been fooled, would be

Two hallmarks of Keaton's st\le of comed\ — emploNcd b\ Keaton throughout his film career.

mechanical precision and outguessing his audience Keaton worked w ith .\rbuckle in fifteen comedies

(the audience expects one result and the comedian between 1917 and 1920 (the run was interrupted 17
'
Buster with a wooden statue
I
of himself on the steps of his
1r
M-G-M bungalow, c. 1930.
ffH
The statue was a gift from a

uA r v^
German woodcarver.

%t-

Buster in his bungalow at

M-G-M, c. 1929. Photograph

hy George Hurrell.
II

V 'I.':

]Gt^P^^S9*^

The Cameraaia.n (1928).

^:^

.;.^

J
^
>\

u
when Kccilon sciNctl iii World War I iii 19lS-1919j.

Alter this, Joseph M. Sehenek, who prochieed tlic

hhns ot Norma lahnadf^e as well as those ot

Arbucklc, began prochieiion ol two-reel eoiiiedics

with Keaion as the priiieipal star. As Arhuekle went

to Paramount to make le.itnre-len^th eomedics,

Sehenek pro\ided Keaton his own studio and tree

rein to ereate, direet, and star in his own fihns.'l'his

arrangement resuhed in nineteen shorts that attorded

Keaton a lahorator\ in whieh he enjoNed the free-

dom to expernnent w ith and e\ph)re his own

eomedie impulses, as well as to rehne his sereen

eharaeter, his eoneeptions ot lilm struelnre, and his

use of the camera and editing as comed\' dexiccs.

Keaton onee said that had he not heeome an

aetor, he might ha\e been a ei\ il engineer. His first

independent release. One Week (1920), in which

Buster attempts to build a prefabricated house, is a

brilliant film that demonstrates his engineering skills.

One Week also takes a dramatic leap in stor\- con-

struction, cinema technique, and comic in\eution —

awa\ from the films lie had made with Arbucklc just ing in front of it. Keaton's understanding of the cam-

a short time before. era as his partner, his high le\el of craftsmanship, his

Keaton alwa\s thought in terms of the camera engineering brilliance, and his imiquc performance

when de\ising comic situations. His films from this skills are apparent in e\en his earliest independent

period arc espccialK' remarkable because of his abilitx' comedy.

to tell a stor\ with the camera instead of merely plac- Some of these earl\ films, such as The Paleface

ing the camera in a stationar\ position and perform- (1922) and The Frozen North (1922), re\eal Keaton's

propensity to juxtapose his comedy against grand

landscapes, a technicjue empkned to tull effect in

the classics Our Hospitality (192^) and Ihe General

(1926). One Week The Boat (1921 ), The Electric

House (1922), and The Balloonafic (192^) show

Keaton's attention to minute detail and obsession

with complicated mechanical props. Ihe Playhouse

displays an cxperimentalism that bent the film medi-

um be\ond just capturing a performance. In one

sequence Keaton brilliautK plays every character in a

Oppusite: Pltotograph hr \aude\ille theater, an effect achiexcd b\ using multi-

Ruth Harriet Louise, c. iy2<S.
ple exposures. The Playhouse was surpassed only by

Above: Go W'K.s/ (J925)

was the last silent feature film

in whieh Buster wore his

23
porkpie hat.
 F^
his similarly innovative feature, Sherlock

]r. (1924). And the Damfino oiThe Boat,

a prop with endless mechanical possibil-

ities, presages one of Keaton's most

inspired films, The Navigator (1924).

Keaton benefited also from a superb

his vision to film. Eddie Cline codirect-

ed with Keaton most of the Keaton

shorts. His technical director was Fred

Gabourie, who was responsible for

stunts and effects. His cinematographer was tlie high-

ly skilled Elgin Lessley, a Mack Sennett veteran. Jean

Havez and Clyde Bruckman (both of whom had

worked for Arbuckle), along with Joseph Mitchell,

were his three top gagmen. The system Keaton adopt

ed was to plan everything

beforehand while leaving

room to improvise perform-

ance details and unexpected

touches that could never be

prepared in advance.

Buoyed by the success of

the Keaton shorts, in 1923,

Schenck determined that

Keaton was ready to star in

his own features.'^ Between

Upper left: Photograph by

CeoroelhirrelLc. 1950.

Ahore: Phologniph hy Clarence

ShKlair Hull. c. I92S.

m Oppoxite: Phologroph by

Melbourne Spun, c. 192-i.

 1

fW i^
1923 and 1928, Kcaton made ten independent Despite careful planning, Keaton missed a jump, hit

Our a wall, and plunged two stories during the filming of

feature-length comedies: Three Ages (1923),

Hospitality, Sherlock jr., The Navigator, Seven Three Ages. While filming Our Hospitality, Keaton's

Chances, (192 S\ Co West (192 S), Battling Butler hold-back wire snapped, and he was propelled down

(1926), The General, College (1927), and Steamboat a raging river, almost drowning in the mishap. When

(1928). These ten films showcase Keaton's executing a stunt for Sherlock ]r, Keaton broke his
Bill, ]r.

incredible imagination at its greatest heights, stretch- neck (although, incredibly, he did not realize he had

ing silent comedy to its outermost boundaries and broken his neck until he had a complete physical

ensuring his place as one of the aftistic geniuses of examination years later). The footage of the accidents

the twentieth century- proved so effective that Keaton kept the shots in the

Receiving the requisite bumps and bruises during final versions of the films. Ne\er has a filmmaker phys-

ically suffered so much for his art as did Buster Keaton

the execution of his physical]) challenging brand of

during the filming of his silent comedies, and the

comedy had always been commonplace for Keaton,

but his feature films of the 1920s nearl\ killed him. films possess a realism that clearly reflects that fact.

Bi/ster as "the three wise monkevs" c. 1921. Photograph attributed to Mhiir Rice
 A hvo-beaded Busier, c. 1921. Double-exposvre photograph by Arthur Rice.

convinced Keaton to abandon his own studio and

By the time Keaton completed Steamboat BUI, jr.,

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's stable of stars. Keaton's

Al Jolson had sung in The Jazz Singer (1927), and
join

had burst onto the movie scene. Large, mono- first comedy for M-G-M, The Cameraman (1928), is
talkies

a masterpiece and one of Keaton's funniest come-

lithic studios had already supplanted many of the
dies. The film that followed, Spite Marriage (1929),
smaller independent filmmakers. Keaton's last three
was Keaton's last silent film and the last of his films
independent films, The General, College, and
to display the intrinsic Keaton style of comcd\. Both
Steamboat Bill, ]r, were critical and commercial dis-

time— although today The films were commercialK successful.

appointments at the

At M-G-M, Keaton no longer enjoyed the artistic

General is considered one of the greatest films ever

viewed as one of freedom he had as an independent filmmaker.

made, and Steamboat Bill, Jr. is

Keaton, an instinctual artist, did not fare well in the

Keaton's finest achievements. With the Keaton pic-

tures failing commercially, and in an effort to stay regimented M-G-M workplace with its carefulK pre-

27
production, Joe Schenck pared scripts and endless timetables. Worse still, the
ahead of the shift in film
studio chose stories for Keaton without cousulting
ing broadcast of the Ed Wynn Show, which aired in

with him. hi the first talking fihii in which he starred,

tarred, December 1949. Two weeks later, Keaton had his

Free and Easy (1930), Keaton suffered the indignities

;nities own local half-hour television program, 'I'he Buster

of having to work with less talented gag men and

id of Keaton Show (later followed by a half-hour syndical-

being forced to adhere to a detailed script in advance,

Ivance, ed comedy series in 1950). it was also in 1949 that

allowing less opportunity to improvise. As he ceased

eased James Agee wrote his influential Life magazine arti-

to be a creative filmmaker and was reduced 'mam^ __ cle, "Comedy's Greatest Era," which officially

to a mere comic performer, Keaton rediscovered Keaton and established him

resorted, as he had done on earlier diffi- ^

:
with the other major silent clowns as cinemat-

cult occasions, to drink. Further adding ^ ic greats. Keaton did not think himself a great

to his unhappiness was the deterioration of artist and was embarrassed by and mis- ^
his marriage to Natalie Talmadge. The I trustful of those who did. He saw himself
'
resultant erratic behavior and long as a vaudevillian who had been fortunate

absences from the studio caused costly k enough in silent films to have had the

delays in the production of his films. W opportunity to make pictures the way he

After seven commercially successful but wanted them; but he was now an actor

artistically abysmal sound films at M-G-M, for hire, and he made himself available

which were plagued behind the scenes with for virtually anything. When asked,

Keaton's drinking, Louis B. Mayer terminat- Keaton was also willing to contribute

ed Keaton's contract. gag ideas and direction. Yet Agee's article

At only thirty-seven years old, the leg- was important for Keaton, as it was pub-

endary comedian was out of work, an alco- lished at a tiine when Keaton was the only

holic, and a shell of his former self. He was one of the great silent-film comedians avail-

employment. Chaplin produced

'

divorced from Talmadge. (The marriage had able for

ended with such rancor that she legally only occasionally and after 1940 made

changed their sons' names from Keaton to only four films. Harold Lloyd had

Talmadge.) What followed were a disas- ]

retired. During the 1950s, the Keatons'

trous second marriage, forgettable short partnership with Raymond Rohauer

comedies for Educational and Columbia, helped preserve and eventually re-

and relegation to the status of a gag man and release Keaton's classic silent films,

supporting player. Keaton was convinced ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ introducing him to new genera-

his days at the top were over. w "Buster di Milo" a gag shot from tions of film-gOCrs wllO had

become interested in Keaton

Buster Keaton's marriage to Eleanor j .

^ through guest
various &
Norris in 1940 reversed this seemingly des- n . II ^ \A I
opposih Buster, Harpo Marx, James
Opposite:
"^
" & his

perate personal and professional down- Cagney, and George Bums at a charity appearances on film and televi-

g the Motion ncture

event benefiting Picture
^^^ ^^^^^ ^,^ ^ ,^
^^^j^j^
ward spiral. Eleanor encouraged Buster to
.
nd, April 1949
Relief Fund, 1949.

summer stock, to take Just a decade later, by the early

appear on stage in

supporting roles in feature films, and, 1960s, Keaton's rehabilitation

starting in 1947, to play the Cirque Medrano in Paris, was complete. He received an honorary Academy

Award in 1960, and in 1962 a tribute at the

reclaiming his rightful place as a great clown.

was television that allowed Keaton to Cinematheque Frangaise. In 1965, the year before his
However, it

emerge from obscurity in America. His introduction death, Keaton enjoyed a successful final tribute to

to the new medium was an appearance on the initial his life and work at the Venice Film Festival.
 Keaton worked almost until tlie cla\- lie died, Top: Buster, Jacques Tati. and

Harold Lloyd, 1959.

appearing in a wide range of motion pietures and

television productions, including important films Below: With Raymond Rohauer en

such as Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950), route to the Venice Film Festival,

September 1965. Photograph by

Charles Chaplin's Limelight (1952), Michael Todd's
Chris K. Fconomakis.

Around the World in 80 Days (1956), and Samuel

work spanned the Opposite: Buster and Eleanor

Beckett's Film (1965). His entire
Keaton at their Woodland Hills
development of twentieth-century American comedy.
ranch, c. J956. Photograph by

A performer who came from turn-of-the-century Charles Schneider

vaudeville, Keaton kept adapting, making the transi-

tion from vaudeville to silent movies, to talking films,

to television, and even to commercials, hi 1956,

Paramount Pictures paid Keaton fifty thousand dol-

lars for the rights to make The Buster Keaton Story

(1957). He used the money to purchase his beloved

ranch in Woodland Hills, California, where he raised

chickens, grew an orchard, tinkered with his Rube

Coldberg-like gadgets, played cards, and lixed out his

last years happih' with Eleanor.

V)
.*-'

^ ••

P m i^^r

\
'h>' '^'^m^

m
 Blister Kcaton died on l'V'hru;ir\ 1, 1966, ;i( the age

of sc\eiit\, al liis home in W'oodhind I lills. I le was

huried at I'oiest l.awii Memorial l'ark-1 lolUwood

1 lills with a rosary in one poeket and a deck of cards

in the other. "Ihal \\a\'," remembered Klcanor,

"wherever he was going, he was read).

jfy tfi lit

in thel92()s, Bnster Keaton stood a distant third to

Charles Chaplin and Harold Lloyd in both box office

receipts and public adoration. Owing in large part to

the work of his third wife, Eleanor Keaton, 1)\ the

time ot his death, Kcaton's repntation had been

restored to the rank of tlie great film comedians,

alongside Chaplin and l,lo\d. In 199^ the centenary

of his birth, Keaton tribntes and film festivals were

held all oxer the world.

Bnster Keaton's comedy endnres not just because

he had a tace that belongs on Mount Rushmore, at

once hauntingK- immo\able and classicalK'

American, but because that face was attached to one

of the most gifted actors and directors who ever

graced the screen. Evolved from the knockabout

upbringing of the vaudeville stage, Keaton's comedv

is a whirlwind of hilarious, technicall) precise, adroitly

executed, and surprising gags, very often set against a

Buster and Eleanor Keaton at their
backdrop of visually stunning set pieces and loca-
Woodland I lills ranch in 1965.

tions—all this masked behind his unflinching, stoic Photograph by Roddy McDowall.

veneer.
Opposite: Buster in I95S.
Eleanor Keaton died on October 19, 1998, at the

age of eighty after battling lung cancer, the same dis-

ease that killed her husband. This book is EJeanor

Keaton's final tribute to the man she adored, the

artist she admired, and the legend she devoted her

adult life to advancing. The following pages reveal

the Buster Keaton she knew, told through lo\ ing

remembrances and through cherished photographs,

man\ reproduced from her personal collection.

??
 FEWITH BUSTER by Eleanor Keaton

Buster and me at Heathrow airport, London, 1959.

MY LIFE WITH BUSTER BEGAN WITH A DISAGREEMENT OVER A GAME OF CARDS.

In 1938, 1 was working at M-G-M, where I had a contract all through the war years, as a dancer in

musicals. I was there until the "purge" when everybody- writers, directors, actors— was let go; televi-

sion had come in and they stopped making musicals.

At M-G-M, all the kids used to play cards during the long waits between takes. I had played card

games of all kinds— go fish, gin rummy, pinochle -but one day, I saw some people playing bridge. I

became fascinated with the game and wanted to learn it. Art Whitney, one of the dancers, volunteered

to take me to a place where there was "always a bridge game all day every day and a good teacher."

Whitney was Harry Keaton's best friend; the bridge game was at Buster's house on Queensbury Drive

in Cheviot Hills; and the "good teacher" was Buster.

- Before long I was going to Buster's house twice a week to play bridge, whenever I was not working or

Buster was not working. At first, I just watched and learned the game. Back in the 1920s, Buster used to

Some nights up to three thousand dol-

play for a quarter a point, which can turn into a lot of money.

changed hands. Buster's mother, Myra, his brother, Harry "Jingles," and his sister, Louise, lived
lars
with him in the 1930s, and all played cards. It seemed like a bridge game was being played all the time

in that house. After a while, I felt confident enough to join in, but not without making a lot of mistakes.

For months, there was nothing between Buster and me. I was just a pair of hands to hold cards. I had

been playing in the game for about six months when someone yelled at me for playing a wrong card or

for bidding wrong. 1 got angry and yelled back. That was the first time. Buster told me later, that he

noticed me. 1 guess that is when my life with Buster really began.

At the time. Buster's lady friend was Dorothy Sebastian, his leading lady in Spite Marriage. She
was

also a regular at the bridge games. Although Buster had begun to feel something for me, he did not

off with Dorothy. He was worried would cause too much trauma for her. histead, he
dare break it it ^

hatched a plan. We used to go as a group to the wrestling matches at the Hollywood Legion Stadium.

for dinner. That

One evening, Buster invited one of the good-looking wrestlers and his manager over

was all it took. Dorothy fell for the wrestler, and Buster was clear to date me.

Our first date was at Earl Carroll's supper club Vanities on Sunset Boulevard across from the

Palladium in Hollywood. That was the first time we had ever been alone. Our typical date, however.
 was doing what Buster loved — playing bridge at his first wedding, and he was very nervous. Looking back

house. We did not go out very often. We dated a full on it, the w hole thing was very funny. Eddie had the

year before / asked Buster to marry me. We had gone shakes so bad you could hear his papers rattling.

to Palm Springs for New Year's Eve. After midnight, When we first arrived and started to get organized,

while Buster and I were dancing to the orchestra, I F-ddie tried to marr\ Buster to m\- mother (she was

looked at him and asked, "When are we going to get nearer his age than I was). Once we did get started,

married?" And he replied, "Tomorrow?" I said, "Well, the entire fire department unexpectedly came up out

not really quite that quick." He suggested that May of the basement. Everybody except Eddie, Buster,

31st would be a good day: "That's easv for me to and me ran to the window to see where the fire was.

remember because that's when I was married the first Eddie called mc "Eleanor Morris," instead of mv real

time." I said something to the effect of, "Up yours!" name, "Eleanor Norris." He also switched back and

and we settled on two days earlier, May 29th. forth between "Do you, Joseph Erank?" (Buster's real

name) and "Do you. Buster?" After it was all over, I

never was certain whether we were ever married at all.

We left that afternoon for our hone\moon, a fish-

ing trip on June Lake. Buster was making two-reel

comedy shorts for Columbia at the time, so we

squeezed in a week between shorts. The rest of our

guests stayed behind at Buster's house, where our St.

Bernard puppy, Elmer II, ate our w edding cake and

was sick for three days. Quite a beginning for twenty-

six years of marriage!

Before I began dating Buster, I had never seen a

Buster Keaton film. 1 knew that he had been a star in

the 1920s, but I have no memor\' of seeing anv of his

films as a child. My experience with movies in the

Bufiter caught amiUng on our wedding day, May 29, J940, at Los Angeles City Hall.
1920s was an occasional big feature such as The King
Judge Edward R. Brand is on the right.

of Kings (1927) and Saturda)- matinees when mosth'

shorts were shown. I watched Laurel and Hard\-

No one thought the marriage woidd last. Even shorts and Charle\- Chase, but no Buster Keaton. The

before we were married, several of Buster's friends first time 1 ever saw a Keaton film. Buster himself

(such as his doctor, Jack Shuman, and A. C. Freud) showed it to me. It was before we were married, and

sat mc down and tried to talk me out of going the film was Battling Butler, the onl\ film of which a

through w ith it. I was a polite girl, so 1 listened to print could be casiK' located, for whatc\er rea.son.

them. Then I did cxactl\- as I pleased, and Buster and The two of us watched it while l''rnie (^rsatti, an old

I v\erc married on Ma\-2y, 1940. frienti of Buster's, projected the him in the little pro-

We were married at City Hall in downtown Los jection room at the Orsatti talent agenev

Angeles. My sisler, Jane, was m\ maid of honor and 1 ha\c ottcn thought that Buster and i were loners

Leo Morrison, Buster's agent, was his best man. w ho lomul each other. W itiioul being conscious ot it

Eddie Brand, who was I larr\ Brand's (Buster's tormer at the time ot our marriage, 1 sup])ose Buster was a

]-)ublicity agent and production supervisor on Colkil^e kind of father figure to me (after we married, 1 c\en

and Sli'cmihocil Hill, jr.) son, had |nsl been made a called him "father"). M\ own Lillicr, i^alpli Xorris,

56 judge, and he pertonncd the cercmom. It was his who worked as an electrician at Warner Brothers, was
 cloned shed on llic estate. Birslcr had used the shed as

an editing room, and tlie prints had been untouched

lor o\er lwenl\ \ears. These prmts were c\entnall\

given to Ra\ mond, u ho preserved iliein as well.

Ka\ niond spent sevenlccn \ears and lots of iiiones lo

leclaim eopv rights and preserve the hliiis beloie he

made a prohl. II it were not lor the ellorts ot

Raymond Rohauer,

^"JA
nianv ol Buster's silent films

might not exist at all.

L n ...,£J^^
An importanl acknowledgment of Buster's work in

Buster and me arriving in Sautluiniplon. V.unjaud, ahoaid tlu

silent iilins was given to him m November 1955 bv

Maurk.nt.a.n/.v, June H, 1951.

the C'.corgc I'.aslmau House in Rochester, N'evv York.

A iiuiseum and research center ol i^hotographv and

killed in an acciclcnl at the studio w lien I was ten. film, I'.aslmau I louse gave gold plac|ues (called the

After Ins death, I ^rew up fast. W hen I started dating, George Award) to those who had made an important
1 had no interest in men in\ ai^e. It was like taking out contribution to the advanccmcnl ot motion pictures

a ehild. Buster was different troni an\ other man I between 1915 and 1925. Buster considered it more

had known. prestigious than an Oscar because it was a one-time

Buster and 1 lixed in Chexiot i lills until the out- award. He enjoved the event in Rochester and seeing

break of World War II. At that time, e\er\()ue was old friends and tellow recipients such as I larold

worried about a possible attack b\' the Japanese. Llovd and Marv Pieklord. I le was drinking more than

Buster did not want his mother li\ ing alone, and usual, and he had a bad chest cold and was coughing

when we could not persuade her to nio\e in with us, a lot. Soon after we returned to Calilornia, Buster

we sold the Che\iot Hills house and mo\ed into her ruptured a vein in his esophagus and started lienior-

home on Victoria A\euue. We staved there until 19S6

when we bought the ranch in Woodland Hills.

Buster and I met Ra\ niond Rohauer, liis future

business partner, at the Coronet Theater on La

Cienega Boidexard in I,os Angeles in the summer of

1954. Ra\ mond ran a film societ\ that was showing

The Gcucral, and Buster wanted me to sec the film.

After the screening, we told Raxniond that we had

^^mm prints of some of Buster's silent films stored in

our garage. Ra\ niond later came to the house to see

w hat we had, and this led to a business arrangement

wherebx Ra\ niond would preserve the films and clear

the rights to exhibit them in exchange for hft\ per-

cent of the profits. About the same time, James

Mason, who then owned Buster's Italian Villa, found

many ^^mm prints of Buster's silent films in an aban-

Bustcr and me ou the InicrQu EES Eliz\bi: i ii // upon our

arrival in Xcir Yorl; C'itr, October 2~ J952.
 ailed D(.) Vo( R; \f

dt the Wipjwdromi.- Iter, Derby. 1^)51 Photograph In ]. S. Cook

rhaging. I took him to the U.S. Veteran's General As a result of his television work and roles in films

Hospital where he almost died. The doctor told me, such as Sunset Boulevard, Limelight, and Around the

"if he lives five days I'll let )ou know what I think." It World in Eighty Days, the film industry took an

took twenty-seven hours to stop the bleeding, and interest in Buster again. Paramount Pictures paid

Buster had to have blood transfusions. By the time his Buster fifty thousand dollars for the screen rights to

condition stabilized, he looked like an octopus with his life story, with him agreeing also to work as tech-

all the tubes coming out of him. He was in the hospi- nical adviser on the film. The director was Sidney

tal for a total of four weeks. Smoking two packs of cig- Sheldon, the best-selling novelist, and Donald

arettes a day surely landed him in the hospital, but O'Connor was cast as Buster. For eight weeks Buster

alcohol contributed to his condition as well. helped Donald with the comedy sequences, and he

A lot has been made of Buster's drinking, but in had a wonderful time working with him. Howexer,

reality it only went on for about five years, from 1931 to the finished film. The Buster Keaton Story (1957), was

1935. Buster had been dry for about three years before awful. Buster and 1 attended a studio prc\ iew screen-

I met him. He had occasional drinking binges during ing, and we felt like crawling out on our hands and

the first fifteen years of our marriage. But after his knees. It was outrageous the way they fictionalized his

health scare in 1955, he never had more than a beer or life and magnified his drinking.

3H two before dinner every night. That was his "cocktail." The wonderful thing that happened as a result of
'ihc Hiislcr Kcdton Slorv \\;is IIkiI it ciiahlcci lis lo buy garage. The cars were big enough to hold a C'oea-

a six-room house on one and a hall acres ot land Cola or a hot dog, and Busier used lo drive lood

located at 22612 Sylvan Street in Woodland I lills, around lo our guests whenever we had a |)icnic. And,

California. We moved into the "ranch," as Buster oi course, he loved lo j)lav bridge tor hours on end.

called it, in liine 1956. Buster had a su imiumt; pool

built, antl, since he wanted lo raise chickens, he huilt

a chicken coop, w Inch looked like a schoolhousc,

behind the house. Woodland Hills, which is north of

IIolKwood in ihc San Kernando Valle\, did not have

many residents at that time. As he was the onlv

famous homeowner in the area. Buster was named

honorar\ ma\or of Woodland I lills.

The house in Woodland Hills was something we

both adored, and w hen Buster was not working we

enjoyed being at the "ranch." We liked having friends

over for barbecues and bridge games, and wc treas-

ured our quiet moments alone. Buster had a veg-

etable garden and fruit trees and would spend hours

watering them. He liked collecting walnuts from our

nine walnut trees and enjo\ed finding four-leaf

clovers, something he had a talent for spotting quick- Buster and me playing in the snow after a blizzard in Rochester,

ly since childhood. He had a dozen Rhode Island Red New York, where Buster received the George Award at the first

Festival of Film Artists held hv the George Eastman House in

hens that he called his "girls." He gave them names
November J955.

like Zsa Zsa, MariK n, and Ava. He had a rooster too.

Buster swam every da\ and enjo\ ed cooking, playing Buster v\as alwav s v\orking on gags, no matter

his ukulele, and watching television, which fascinat- where we were — at home, on the road, wherever

ed him. Buster lo\ed trains. His favorite film of his something came to him. Once after dinner on the lie

own was The General, and he had a toy train that ran de France ocean liner, while people were dancing, I

on tracks around our picnic table and back into the noticed Buster was gone. I looked around and finallv

found him outside in the fover standing in front of a

huge window, wiping a tin\- spot with a handker-

ijnti
chief. I watched him carefulK' clean the glass, admire

his work, and put his handkerchief away. Of course,

there w as no glass in the window. Buster was always
•ii^v
^^ doing things like that.

At home, it was the same. Buster w ould be in the

«^ den, sitting on the floor, working something out in

his head. That was the wav he "wrote." He never put

anything down on paper; he just kept it all in his

head. No matter w hat the project was — tcle\ision,

W/:. 1^0 T .
commercials, inov ies — that is the way he worked. He
Grandpa Buster joins grandchildren jim. Mike, and Melissa
would put it all together in his head and, instead of
Talmadge in a children's swimming pool at home on Mctoria
handing someone a script, he would simpK explain 39
Avenue. 1952.
 Since the publication of My Wonderful World of

Slapstick, a lot of academics have written about

Buster's films and his so-called stoic approach to

filmmaking. I do not think Buster ever knew what

these people were talking about. Someone once asked

Buster what was his "philosophy," or what he was

thinking when he made a certain scene in a film.

Buster answered simply, "To be funny." What better

"philosophy" is there than that?

One of the most meaningful events of Buster's last

years was receiving an honorary Academy Award in

April 1960. Although I knew he was going to receive

the award. Buster did not. He thought the only reason

we were invited to attend the Academy Awards was as

a result of his performing as comic relief with Robert

Cummings in an Oscar show taped at the Hollywood

Brown Derby just before the awards ceremony at the

Feeding the chickens outside the coop Buster built at our Woodland Pantages Theater. Buster received his award at the
Hills ranch, c. J956. Buster thought every chicken coop he ever saw
Governors' Ball held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel
was an eyesore, so he built one that did not look like a chicken coop.

It looked like a little schoolhouse. Photograph by Charles after the telecast. The citation on the statuette reads,

Schneider
"To Buster Keaton for his unique talents which

brought immortal comedies to the screen." Tears

to them how the scene or the gag should go. I suppose were in his eyes when Buster reached the podium to

that is the way he worked in the silent days. Somebody receive the award, and all he managed to say was

like Buster does not change the way he operates so "thank you."

easily. The most frequent question I am asked is, "Did

As a result of the inaccuracies and distortions in Buster ever smile?" Because he rarely changed his

The Buster Keaton Story, Buster wanted to set the deadpan expression, people just cannot visualize him

record straight with an autobiography. Writer Charles smiling. And, if there was a camera around, \ou

Samuels met us in Las Vegas in 1958, where Buster would never catclr him smiling. He thought it was

and I were performing at the Desert Inn in a show bad for his image if he was caught smiling or laugh-

called Newcomers of 1928, to work with Buster on his ing for the camera. But if there was no camera

book. Charlie took an apartment next to us, and they around, and if something funnv happened, he

spent practicalK' all day every day for eight weeks smiled. If it was really funn\, he laughed. Buster had a

working. When Newcomers of 1928 ended, Charlie wonderful laugh.

came back with us to Woodland Hills and worked Buster loved to make audiences laugh, but rarcK

with Buster for another three weeks until he was fin- attended a screening of his own hhns to hear the

ished. Charlie did not use a tape recorder; Buster laughter firsthand. He was actualK \er\ sin and

talked and Charlie typed. The finished book was pub- deathlv afraid ot crowds. At a 1962 retrospcctixc show-

lished b\ l^oublcda\ in January 1960 as My ing of his films at the C>inc;mathcquc I'Vauc^aise in

Wonderful World of Slafjstick. It is a simple, straight- Paris, when the lights went up and he saw a large

forward book w ith a lillc indicating Buster's devotion group coming towartl him, he took ott in a panic \\p

40 lo his work. the aisle as fast as he could run. \\ hen I hnallv

 could not bear to go to llie ihealer lo

liear it himself.

Hustcrand 1 flew to I'iurope in the

summer of 196^ to make two feature

lilms. riie Inst was \\(/r Italian Style, the

besl-torgoiien low-budget Xmerican

Inlernational Pictures feature witli

Buster phuinga Na/i general. During

I lie six-week shoot of War Italian Style,

RaNuioncl Rohauer arranged for Buster

lo appear brietl) at the Venice I'ilm

f'esti\al. Before we left for Rurope,

Buster had been given a complete physi-

cal and was diagnosed w ith bronchitis.

Biintcr, dresac'd ds a nailer (shown here at the lahle oj linimy

McHugh and jane Russell), stole the show at the Hollywood Brown By the time we arri\ed in N'enice in carK September,
Derby in a live half-hour television program that iunnedialelv pre-
his breathing was unusually hea\\-; he was tired, sick
ceded the Aeademv of Motion Pieture Arts and Sciences' third
to his stomach, and we.ik. The tremendous reception
Oscar telecast in April, I960. Buster had no idea at the time he

would be receiving an honorary Oscar later that evening. he received in Venice seemed to rein\igorate him
somewhat for A l''unnY I'hing llafipened on the Wax
caught up to liiui, lie was in an allcw \omiting. Also to the I'oriii]}, which was shot just outside of Madrid

in 1962 we went on a tour of twenty German eitics in September. It was directed by Richard Lester, and

w ith The General. Buster drove a special train, made Buster enjoved working with Zero Mostel, Jack

to look like the General of the film, into each cit\ Gilford, and Phil SiKcrs. 1 le was unable to do an\-

stop for publicity purposes. We were supposed to go thing that required much ph\sical exertion, and a

to a screening of The General in Munich. Buster double had to be used for the long shots of Buster

chickened out and decided to stay back at the hotel, running. The weather during the three weeks we
so Raymond Rohauer and 1 went to the opening

night alone. While we were standing in the lobby

with the theater manager, all of a sudden we heard

this scream of laughter. I thought to myself, "What is

that laughter all about? Ihe General is not that funn\

at the beginning." Raymond and 1 ran up the stairs to

our seats in the balcony and discovered what all the

racket was about. It was Buster's short. Cops, w hich

they had decided to show before I'he General, and

the audience just lo\ed it. When we went back to the

hotel later that night, we told Buster about the audi-

ence's reaction. He was very pleased, although he

Buster's train set at our ranch in Woodland Ihlls. September 1^59.

The toy train came out from the kitclten on a track that ran the

length of the pool alongside the fence, and cuned over a trestle to a

round table. We used it to deliver soft drinks and hot dogs to guests.

As Buster said. "It saves having waiters." Photograph bv James Karen.

\Vi//i Biwho the elephant in a photo shoot for a U.S. Steel advertisement. J96-f. Photograph
by Sid Avery.
 houses or yachts, just three square meals a day.Hiaf

was the most he ever said about nic, but I knew wiiat

he meant. Whenever I would get all gussied up for a

premiere or formal event, and I would come into the

room wearing gown with my hair done and

^.M m.0^
a long

"t my make-up
"How do I
fixed, all ready to go,

look?" And he would

I would ask him,

say, "You'll do." I

knew that was his best compliment.

More than thirty years after his death, I can still

say that Buster Keaton was the kindest, gentlest man

I have ever known. Everybody who knew him loved
i'it suppose that somewhere along the line
him, and I

n
I

:^;>4i^-
just joined the rest of the group. I think that these

qualities come through in his films, and 1 trust that

these pictures will remind everyone of what a won-

derful soul he was.

were in Madrid was unseasonably cold, and it rained Left: Buster was the subject of This Is Youk Lii i:, which

origimlly aired iiatioiially on April 3, 1957 Ralph Edwards, host of

most of the time. I looked after Buster, who was weak
the series, watches as I adjust Buster's tie.

from what we thought was exhaustion. However, he

was determined to go directly to Canada, as planned, Below: Buster and me with our 180-pound Saint Bernard, Elmer III

(whom we called "Junior"), at our Woodland Hills ranch, 1965.

to make The Scribe, an industrial safety film.

Buster became so short of breath that he had to be

given oxygen on the airplane all the way home and

taken in a wheelchair from the plane to the car after

completing work on The Scribe. I took him straight to

the hospital where he was diagnosed with lung can-

cer. He had half of one lung functioning. The doctor

said he would live anywhere from one week to three

months.

No one ever told Buster he had lung cancer for

him, but he knew he was We played

fear of scaring ill.
t'
bridge until five o'clock on January 30, 1966, the

night we took him to the hospital. He came home the

next day, and in the morning of February 1, 1966, the 1„ f

cancer that had started in his lungs from a lifetime of

smoking and had metastasized to his brain took his

life. I have missed him every day since. fi^B

Whether at home or on the road, I was almost

always with him during our twenty-eight years

together. I was his babysitter, secretary, bookkeeper,

mother— whatever he needed. Buster once told my

mother that I did not want diamonds or pearls or
Rememhered
U3ICI\d CMI^LT TtMKd AINU VAUUtVILLt UAT9

B u s 1- 1',
K w \ s A cm I I. n o !• i ii i.

theater from birth, I Ic was horn harcly offstage

between shows on October 4, 1895, in Piqua, Kansas.

His parents were both nicdieine-show entertainers.

His father was Joe Keaton, a comedian and eccentric

dancer w ifh a great pair ot long legs, wlio was known

for his hitch kick, a lugh kick that lie performed in

later years in Busters films. His mother, Myra, sang

and played several musical instruments. He was

christened Joseph FVank Keaton, as five earlier gener-

ations of first-born sons before him had been called

.^- -— ~^ fy y - -

Joseph Keaton.

Buster's father was born Joseph i lallie Keaton in

1867, in Prairie Creek Township, nearTerrc Haute,

Indiana. The Keaton forebears were Quakers of Irish Joseph I'rauk Kcalon at six iiumtlis of age. Photograph taken in

and Scottish descent. Davenport. Iowa, on April 4. Ifi96.

Joe, the son of a gristmill

owner, was a dreamer and a drifter w ho supported

himself with menial jobs. According to Keaton familv the couple quietK eloped and were married on May
legend, the twenty-six-year-old Joe participated in 51, 1894 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Myra's famil) was not

the Oklahoma land rush of 1893, staking a homestead happ\ with her choice of a husband, and the newly-

claim near Perr\-, Oklahoma, which he gave over to weds were not welcomed back into the Cutler

his father and mother. Comedy Compan\-. Joe and Myra went on their own,

Buster's mother was born Myra Edith Cutler in working in \arious rival medicine shows.

1877 in Modale, Iowa. Her father, Frank L. Cutler, It was w hile thc\ w ere performing w ith the

owned the Cutler Comed\ Compan\, a traveling Mohawk Indian Medicine Compan\' on a one-night

medicine show. Medicine shows, a form of entertain- stand in Piqua, Kansas, that Buster was born in the

ment popular in the nineteenth centur\, were usually home of Jacob and Barbara Haen, whose house was

open-air revues that combined simple singing, danc- nearest to the church hall where Joe and M\ra were

ing, and recitation with the selling of quack medicine performing and where the expectant mother w cut

(called "Kickapoo eli.xir," it promised to do just about into labor. M\ ra stayed w ith the Haens for tw o weeks

anything and everything), which was the show's onl\ after Buster's birth, after w hich both mother and

source of revenue. Myra, of English and German child rejoined the show.

parentage, performed in her father's medicine show, In 1897 Joe and Myra found work in a tra\eling

where she played piano, double bass, and the cornet. medicine show called the California Concert

Joe Keaton joined the Cutler Comedy Company, Company w ith Harry Houdini, who would become

working as both a bouncer for the show and knock- the great escape artist. Buster alwa\s said that it was

about comedian. He and M\ra soon fell in lo\c. and Houdini who ga\e him his nickname, "Buster," after
 seeing him take a fall down a flight of stairs unhnrt at logue. At eleven months of age. Buster nearly suffo-

the small hotel where they were staying. "That's sure cated when the lid of the costume trunk (which

a buster!" Houdini proclaimed. "That's a good name served as both playpen and crib) was accidentally

for him," responded |oe. There are several variations closed by a stagehand while Joe and Myra were work-
to this story, but Buster was consistent in his version. ing onstage. Buster's early life was fraught with such

Whether it was Houdini or some other family friend accidents. The most adventurous day of his child-

who gave Buster the name he would use for the rest hood took place in July 1898 in Kansas, when he w as
of his life, one thing appears to be certain: Buster just twenty months old. Buster wandered out into the

was the first person to use it as a nickname. backyard of the boardinghouse where the family was

staying. He stuck his right index finger into a nearby

clothes wringer and crushed it. The local doctor was

quickly summoned, and he amputated Buster's finger

at the first joint. He cried himself to sleep, but as

soon as he woke up a few hours later he was outside

again, trying to knock a peach loose from a tree

using a rock. The rock hit his head, and the doctor

was called again to sew three stitches in his scalp.

Finally, that evening. Buster was awakened by the

sound of a cyclone. He went to the open window of

the second-story bedroom to investigate and was lit-

erally sucked out by the storm and whirled away into

the air about one block from the house. A man saw

Buster, grabbed him, and carried him to safety. Joe

and Myra decided quickl\- afterward that it would be

safer if Buster was onstage where they could keep an

eye on him.

Joe and Myra soon left medicine shows for small-

time vaudeville. The act the) created. The Two

Keatons, had little to set it apart from other knock-
Buster underneath his father at the time of Buster's first stage
about comedy acts and was notable only for the slap-
appearance at nine months of age, July 1896.
stick Joe would perform on and around a prop table

(Joe billed himself in ad\ertisements as "The Man

Previously, "buster" was onl\' vaudeville slang for a with the Table"). The act received bookings, but it

stage fall. The name Buster Keaton even predates was not a great success. All that changed witli

R. V. Outcault's "Buster Brown" comic strip. Buster's professional debut at William Lee

loc and Myra kept the infant Buster in an open Dockstadcr's Wonderland I'hcatcr in Wilmington,

costume trunk offstage while they were performing. Delaware, the week of October 15, 1900, when 'i'hc

As soon as he was able to crawl, Buster wanted to join Two Keatons became The Three Keatons.

his parents onstage. His first appearance was at nine Dockstader encouraged Joe and M\ ra to put Buster

months, when Buster managed to gel out of the into the act, so Joe improxiscd some comic rough-
trunk and crawl onto the stage to join his father, who housing with fi\e-\ear-old Buster.

was performing a black-face monologue. Buster's 1 he act that was imprcnised in Delaware became

46 entrance received more applause tlian the mono- the standard situation used tor the entire career of
 tines, and what made people laugh, which would

serve him well ulicn he started making films.

The Three Keatons quickly became one of the

tnnnicsl and most lalked-aboul acts in \,iu(lc\ illc. As

grotescjue comedians, Joe and Buster were costumed

more as clowns than the slereot) pical immigrant

Irishmen lhe\ resembled; Busier was dressed as a |)er-

fect minialnre of joe, complete with bald-headed red

wig, Irish beard, bagg\- trousers, and slapsiioes.

Audiences did not take the plnsical danger of the

knockabout comedy scriouslv because thev could see

that no one was being hurt. A ele\er public relations

representati\e for The riiree Keatons, Joe created a

At age four, 1899.
public image of Buster as a tough kid who sur\i\cd

hotel fires, c\elones, and train wrecks. He v\as nick-

The Three Keatons in \iiude\ illc: ]()c would tr\ to named by Joe "The Human Mop" — so called

show the audience liow to bring up children correctly because joe would literalK mop u|) the stage with

hv making them "mind. " Buster was the high-spirited him — and ""riie 1 attic Bo\ Who C^^an't Be

child, and )oe was the pestered parent. Bnster would Damaged.

throw a basketball at Joe, trip him up and then step It was also during his years in \aude\ illc that

on top of him, and hit him with a broom. Joe would Buster began to dexelop the stonc-faccd manner he

then retaliate by throwing Buster around the length later used in films. Joe and Buster both realized that

of the stage, through chairs, tables, scenery, and Buster received more laughs from the audience when

sometimes into the audience. Buster's stage coat had he was serious. If Buster started to smile or laugh dur-

a harness built inside it with a suitcase handle ing the act, Joe would say, "Face! Face!" which

between the shoulders, and Joe would pick him up

b\ the handle and throw him w ith accurae\' and pre-

cision. Myra did not participate in an\ knockabout

comedw She plaved the alto saxophone or some other

instrument between the antics of father and son.

The nightl\- act was never the same, and it never

had a script. The Three Keatons performed in the-

aters that had tw o shows a daw and the act was con-

stanth' evolving during performances and was

measured against the reactions of the audience.

The success of The Three Keatons was based on

Buster's abilit\ to take spectacular falls unscathed.

Buster had learned stage acrobatics and comic falls

by watching his father and other \audeville acts. He

always maintained that because he started perform-

ing at an earlv age, his bod\- control was completely

instinctual. He also quickK dexcloped an instinct for

comic in\cntion, technique, timing of comedy rou- The Three Keatons m New yhrk. 1900. Vhulograph by ieinbero.
 meant he should become deadpan. As Buster later

remembered in his autobiography, My Wonderful

World of Slapstick:

One of the first things I noticed was that wlienever I

smiled or let the audience suspect how much I was

1
^^^^m^^
enjoying myself they didnt seem to laugh as

usual. I guess people just never do expect any

mop, dishrag, beanbag, or football to

much

be pleased by
human
as

what is being done to him. At any rate it was on pur-

pose that I started looking miserable, humiliated,

hounded, and haunted, bedeviled, bewildered, and at

my wit's end.^

By 1902 The Three Keatons was considered the

i
m-'it'--^.

!
Ir.
^Mi3 roughest knockabout

stage. They became

act in vaudeville.
a
comedy

Keatons attracted the attention of the Society for the

Prevention of Cruelty to Children, also

Gerry Society, a private organization

act in the history of the

second headliner, an important

However, with success, The Three

formed
known as the

to stop
1

the exploitation of children. The family was constant-

ly being summoned before authorities who were con-

vinced Buster was being abused. Buster later recalled:

The law read that a child can't do acrobatics, can't

walk a wire, can't juggle —a lot of those things — but

there was nothing said in the law that you can't kick

him in the face or throw him through a piece of

scenery. On that technicalitv, we were allowed to

work, although we'd get called into court every other

week.

Once thev took me to the mayor of New York City,

into his private office, with the citv physicians here in

New York, and thex stripped me to examine mc for

broken hones and bruises. }''indinii none, the mayor

lop: I'lic ilircc Keatons in San I'rancisco. 1901.

Left: I'dniilv portnill of The Tliree Keatons. c. 190\

Opposite: I he i'our Kealons: joe, Myra. Hiister, and

48
lUmy'jmglesJ'c. 1907.
 gave me permission to work. The next time it hap- quently employed his father to appear in his films,

pened, the following year, they sent me to Albany, which suggests that he liked his father and w hat he

to the governor 0/ the state. Then in his office, same did in vaudeville.

thing: state physicians examined me, and they The unfortunate aspect of Buster's life in \aude-

gave me permission to work in New York state. ville was that he never went to school or had the

Massachusetts thought I was a midget. opportunity to have lasting friendships with children

his own age. Although Buster had a tutor for a time

The Gerry Society never found any evidence of who taught him in tlie mornings, he received most of

child abuse in Buster's case. If they had, he would not his schooling from Myra. He spent only one da\ of

have been allowed to perform onstage. However, his life — when he was six years old — in a Jersey City,
accusations that Buster was an abused child have New Jersey, public school room. He was expelled on

been put forward by several biographers, despite his very first day for answering the teacher's ques-

Buster's account and all evidence to the contrary. tions with punch lines he had learned from the stage.

According to Buster, his years in vaudeville were He was very self-conscious in later years about ne\'er

some of the happiest days of his life. In his silent having gone to school and felt inferior to most people

comedies he used his vaudeville routines and fre- as a result. Buster's shyness around people outside his

joe and Buster proudly show off a fish caught in Muskegon Lake,
with Louise and Harrv "]ingles" along for the ride, c. 1910.

SO
iniinccliatc circle or slum business IukI to do in lari-c avoid probkins with the (lerrv Society). 'I'he popular

nicasiuc with Ins stunted clnldliood. hangout was a tavern called Pascoes Place, w hieh

'I'hc Three Keatons soon heeanie lour and later was famous lor its beer and tried perch.

fixe Keatons when M\ ra hore I larr\ (alter I loudini) As Buster grew up, Joe was unable to throw him
Stanle\ Keaton mi 1904 (who was niekuained around. Ihe act was still rough, with kicks, chases,

"Jiut^les" because of the and hitting each other

noise he made with his w ill) brooms. Buster

to\s) and I .ouise developed new routines

Dresser (alter I , ouise in w hieh he would

Dresser, a \aude\ illiau swirl a basketball at the

who later acted in silent end of a rope at Joe or

films) Keaton in 1906. |Mill a broom out of a

Buster's \ounger broth- knothole in the stage

er and sister joined the ,JJ floor. Buster also began

act for a short time, and incorporating parodies

the entire laniiK parad- - "rvi-i-5^<,vv-?*6"" •. ; if 1 of the other acts on the

ed onto the stage %/^i!^^i^'^~^'-ff^'yi''^X^'^ L 'I

' bill. During this period

dressed in identical cos- ^^''^HiS^^l^V^:^ V he also developed a

tumes. I lowcxer. Jingles lo\e of parodying popu-

and L.ouise never lar songs, for which he

became a lasting part of had a reputation for the

the act. Buster was the rest of his life.

star and the famiK's Ihe success of the

main support. As soon With ii neighbor's dog at the Actor's Colony at Hhifftou. Michigan, c. 19U act eoidd ha\e gone on

as the\- w ere old enough, indefiniteK. I lowcxer,

Jingles and Louise were Joe's drinking steadily

sent to boarding schools in Michigan w bile Buster increased as he became older, and he found it more

and his parents continued to tour in \audc\ille. difficult to do the ph\sically demanding act w ith

The famih did not uormalK work in the summer. Buster. His alcoholism began to impair an act that

For eight \ears, from 1909 to 1917, the entire family depended on precision timing, and bis abusive

spent summers together in Bluffton, Michigan, an beha\ ior on- and offstage soon alienated Joe from

actors' colon\ adjacent to Muskegon, where many employers as well as his family. In Januarv 1917,

\aude\ille performers owned summer homes. The Buster broke u]) the act to make a new start on his

famih' would look back on this period as the happiest own. Although he was just twcnt\-one years of age,

summers of their li\es.Thc cottage they owned was he was a veteran of the theater with many opportuni-

called "Jingle's Jimgle." There the\- would spend their ties before him. He quieklv found work w ith the

summers fishing and sw imming on Lake Muskegon, Shuberts in the musical comedv rev ue, Ihe Passing

plaving cards, and socializing with fellow \aude\ il- SJiow, at the \\ inter C.ardcn Theater in New York,

lians. During these simimcrs Buster pla\ ed baseball but he never made it to the first rehearsal. He would
like other kids and dressed his age (on tour in \aude- instead go into the movies, working w ith Roscoe

\ ille he had to dress like an adult and act like one to "Fattv" Arbuckle.

51
THE ARBUCKLE-KEATON SHORTS

for years perfecting an act, and \ ou want

to show it, a nickel a head, on a dirty

sheet?""^

In March 1917, ten days before he was

to start rehearsals for The Passing Show,

Buster was walking down Broadway

when he met Lou Anger, an acquain-
tance from vaude\ille, who was with
Roscoe Arbuckle, the screen comedian.

Arbuckle invited Buster to \'isit the

Colony Studio, where he was about to

begin a series of two-reel comedies for

producer Joseph M. Schenck. Buster

gladly accepted the in\itation.

Roscoe Arbuckle was known as "Fatty"

to the public, so called because of his

large size. He too had been a stage per-

Bus T E R MAD E N J O Y K D MO 1' 1 O N former, but started in motion pictures in 1909 for the

pictures from his earliest days in vaudeville, when Selig Polyscope Company and joined Keystone in

short films were shown as "chasers," the last presen- 1913 as a Keystone Kop for comedv producer Mack
tation in an evening of vaudeville entertainment. Sennett. B\' 1917, |oe Schenck had lured Arbuckle

However, two films in particular, Mack Sennett's away from Sennett with a contract that gave him a

Tillies Punctured Romance (1914), the first comedy higher salary and his own company— which
feature, and D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation Arbuckle named the Comique Film Corporation —

(1915), greatly impressed him. During all the Keatons' where he had greater creatixc control o\er the films.

years in vaudeville, joe Keaton had nothing hut con- Arbuckle was, at the time, second only to Chaplin

tempt for films. When newspaper magnate William among film comedians in world popularity.

Randolph Hearst proposed in 1913 to bring The Buster visited Arbuckle at the Colony Studio at

I'hree Keatons to the screen in a scries of shorts 318 East 48th Street, between Second and Third

based on the George McManus comic strip Avenues. 1 he studio was a converted livery stable

"Bringing Up Father," Joe responded, "We work leased by Schenck, where the films of dramatic

actress Norma Talmadge (Schenck's wife), Norma's

sister Constance lalmadge, and Arbuckle were

Ahove: Hunter, iin uimkiitilicil player, cind Arhuckic in o scene
made. Buster was in\ ited that da\' to play a scene in a
that either was deleted or does not sur\'ive I'li extant prints of
52 On, DoiroRl (1917). fihn, which became his first film. The Butcher Bov
(1917). in his very first film sequence, Buster walks put his head where his feet had been. Arbuckle saw

into a rural grocery store and iniinediately improvises immediately that Buster was not only a great comic

with a barrel full of brooms — he was an expert at actor but also a storehouse of vaudeville routines who

improvising comed\ with brooms, as this was a pro|) could do spectacular comic pratfalls. 1 Ic iii\ iled

frecjuentlv used in his vaude\ ille act. i le bn\ s a buck- Buster to join the compans at a salar\ of forty dollars

et of molasses from Arbuckle and becomes complete- per week. Buster canceled his contract with 'llw

ly stuck in the gooey substance. It is a classic comedy Passing SJww at two hundred fiftv dollars a week to

sequence, and Buster remembered it with great work with Arbuckle. Buster left the stage, as he was

affection, later rcstaging it for his television debut in inmicdiately captivated by the possibilities of motion

1949 and performing it on subsequent television

appearances.

Arbuckle was impressed with Buster. His debut

Buster (far right) makes his screen dehiit in 'I'll /•:

performance was perfect and done without a single

B ViClliR Bo\ (1917). Al St. John wielda the pitch-
retake. He was especially impressed by how well
on the receiving end.
fork with Roscoe Arbuckle

Buster reacted to being hit by a sack of flour, which leading lady Josephine Stevens is at center.
 ,\//(c' \hiiiii. \ihinklc. Olid Ihister in C()>ilA is/.AND (iVlTj.

54
 limter. A/ St.
^'IMkI
John, Arhiickle,

ami Alice Lake in

A Country
HiRo (1917).

• in '

n
ll

Buster, Arbuckle,

and Al St. John in

Our West (1918).

pictures, particularly the technical aspects; films first worn in The Butcher Boy. Although Buster would

immediately did away with the physical limitations frequently experiment with both laughing and cr}'ing

of theater. broadly in the Arbuckle films, he most often reacts in

For his first screen appearance. Buster kept the the deadpan manner for which he is known.

deadpan expression he had developed in vaudeville. It The titles of the comedies Buster made with

became his trademark, later giving rise to nicknames Arbuckle -T/ie Butcher Boy, Oh, Doctor! (1917),

Face." Amazingly, the Coney Island (1917), Out West (1918), The Bell Boy
such as "The Great Stone
years was (1918), The Cook (1918) -indicate Arbuckle's working
porkpie hat he would use for the next fifty
method. Arbucklc chose a particular role or setting, with i\l St. John (an original member of the Ke\stone

and gags evolved from the premise. The Arbuckle Kops and Arbuckle's nephew). He soon graduated to

films are pure slapstick, rich in gags that contain as the role of Arbuckle's comedy partner, both in front

their focal point Arbuckle himself, who had a warm of and behind the camera. Buster began to be his

and charming comic personality that capti\ated audi- assistant director and contributed many of the gags,

ences. Despite his large size, he was very graceful along with gagmen Herbert W4irren. Jean Havez, and

and able to perform great comic falls. CKde Bruckman. Arbuckle became Buster's mentor,

Buster and Arbuckle had an instant rapport both and Buster learned from Arbuckle the teclmical side

on and off the screen; they shared a generous nature, of filmmaking, everything from setting up shots, to

a love of practical jokes, and a de\otion to their work. operating the camera, to editing film.

Buster first played second-string comedy roles, along .According to Buster, he and .'Xrlmcklc hnd nnl\
 i - \

< • * rti J". r- r- r- f-

3f.

iiTiljiiCli
9 % .

. -\ <:

Arhuckle, AI St. joliu. Buster, and Arhuckle's dog, lAike. on the beach in Santa

Monica, California, c. 19]H.

Opposite top: Buster, Arhuckle, Kate Price, and Alice Lake in Goon Night,
Nurse! (1918).

Opposite bottom: Buster and Arhuckle in Back Stage (J9J9j. Also pictured

are Molly Malone (far left). Buddy Post (large man in top hati. and jack Coogan
(in background wearing a straw hat).

one fricndU disagreement in all their years of friend- Beach and later used the I Ienr\- Leiirman Studio in

ship. Arhuckle maintained that the average mental- CuKcr City.

ity of movie audiences was twcKe years. Buster Buster had made twcKc films w ith Arhuckle when

disagreed. He felt that anyone making pictures w ho World War I broke out. 1 Ic was inducted into the

believed that mo\ ic audiences had a t\\el\c-\ ear-old arm\ in luuc 1918 and assigned to Compan\ C ot the

mind would not he in the m()tion-i:)icture business 159th lnfantr\, 4()th (nicknamed "Sunshine")

very long. ni\ision. I Ic left for I'Vance in August and served for

Arbuekle's Comique company soon moved from about tour months before the war ended. llowc\cr, he

the C^oloin Studio to the Biograph Studio at "96 sta\cd (nerseas tor ucarK eight mouths. I Ic worked as

I'.ast 176th Street in the Bronx, and in October 1917 a cr\ ptogra])her, bui he maiuK entertained the

mo\ed to C'aliforuia. ThcN rcnlecl space at the troops, I lis most popular act was his "Princess Ra)ah"

I lorkhcimer Brothers' Balboa Amusement Producing snake-tlaucc routine, based on a \.uidc\illc act that

58 (]onipan\ on Sixth and Alamilos Streets in I ,ong had once phncil on the same bill w ith him. I lis skirt
59
^ma^s;:.

^ — r"- *

With Arhuckle in the team's last two- was assembled from mess-kit utensils, his brassiere

reeler, The Garage (J 920). was made of arm\' dog tags, and the "snake" he

charmed was a hot dog. (Wlien Buster returned to

California, he adapted the routine in Back Stage

I
1919 1
, one of the best films he made with Arbuekle.)

Buster's antics were such a hit that he remained in

France long after his friends had sailed, entertaining

soldiers waiting for transportation hack home.

Buster contracted a chronic car intcction w hile in

Fnmce, and when he returned to the United States

in April 1919 the arm\ sent him lo ]()hns 1 lopkins

Hospital in Baltimore tor obserxatioii. I he intcction

resulted in some hearing loss that he iic\cr recoxcrcd,

and that worscnct! e\cr\ lime he would <:ct a bad cold.

60
 Buster kept this photograph oj

Roscoe Arhuckle (c. 19 IH) in the

den of his Woodland Hills ranch.

Photograph hx W'itzel.

Upon his return to C-alitornia, Buster threw hini- career was the aftermath of what took i^lacc in the

sclt into his work w ith Arhuckle and the Comique coiu'se of a bootleg liquor part\' in Arbuckle's hotel

conipanx, which at tliat time was his entire Hfe.The\' suite at the St. PVancis 1 lotcl in San f'rancisco o\er

worked six da\ s a week and lo\ed e\er\ minute of Labor Da\' weekend in September 1921, when a bit

what the\ were doing. Buster made tliree more fihns pla\er named Virginia Rappc became ill and died

with Arhuckle. The last Arhuckle-Keaton collabora- four da\s later of a ruptured bladder. Arhuckle was

tion. The Garage (1920), Buster thought the best of accused of brutalK raping her and was tried three

the series/rhe film lias tlie two men running a com- times for manslaughter. He was e\entuall\ exonerat-

bination garage and fire station. It is filled with ed w ith an unprecedented apolog\- from the jurw

Buster's gags and looks forw ard to 77?e Scarecrow 1 k)we\er, b\ that time it w as too late. Public opinion

(1920) and The Blacksmith (1922). turned against him, his contract w ith Paramount was

Joe Schenck sold Arbuckle's contract to canceled, and for a time he was banned from appear-

Paramount Pictures, where Arhuckle was to make ing on the screen b\ the new 1\ formed Motion

feature-length comedies under a contract that guar- Picture Producers and Distributors of America (later

anteed him three million dollars o\er a three-\ear renamed the Motion Picture Association of America).

period. Schenck ga\e Buster a contract to make his Arhuckle was devastated, his great screen career

own two-reel comedies. This marked the beginning ruined. F,\entuall\ he worked as a director under his

of Buster's great career and the beginning of the end father's name, William Goodrich, and in the earK

of Arbuckle's. Arbuckle's first features were not a great 19S0s he appeared in films under his own name in a

success. His salar\ w as \ irtualK the w hole budget, so few Warner Brothers' Vitaphone comedv shorts.

the studio attempted to recoup their inxestment b\ Buster lo\ ed Arhuckle, and the tw o remained the

using him cheapK in remakes of old Paramount best of friends until Arhuckle died in 1933. Buster

properties that were inappropriate for him. The stu- kept a smiling portrait of his friend and mentor on

dio also had Arhuckle make more than one film at a the wall of his den at the Woodland Hills home, his

time. However, w hat realK ended Arbuckle's film final residence, until the end ot his life.

6J
f n ^ /•* r n ^ ^\ 1^ I
7AWj

greatly increase interest in the Keaton two-reelers.

Loew agreed and arranged to borrow Buster from

Schenck. According to Buster, it helped that

Fairbanks himself had recommended Buster to Loew

for his old role.

The New Henrietta was rewritten to make Buster's

role of Bertie the main character. Retitled The

Saphead, the film was directed by Herbert Blache,

assisted by the stage director of the 1913 Broadway

revival, Winchell Smith (who also served as the film's

producer). William H. Crane, who created the char-

acter of Bertie's father, Nicholas Van Alstyne, onstage

in the original production and in the 1913 revival,

reprised his role for the film.

Buster plays the pampered Bertie Van Alstyne, son

of millionaire Nicholas Van Alstyne, known as the

"Wolf of Wall Street." Bertie, in an attempt to make

it on his own, bu\s a seat on Wall Street. (The shel-

tered Bertie believes he is actually buying a seat, as in

chair.) However, on his very first visit to the Stock

Exchange, Bertie thwarts the scheme of the villain-

TH E SAPH /: A n \v a s a i I [ , M V i<: R S I ON ous Mark Turner and saves the family's fortune in

of the play The New Henrietta, a success in 1887 as the Henrietta gold mine.

The Henrietta, and revived on Bioadwa} in 1913 with The experience of creating a fully developed char-

William H.Crane and Douglas Fairhanks. The film acter influenced Buster's formulation of the later

was Buster's first appearance in a feature film and Keaton characters Rollo Treadway in The Navigator

established him as a film star in his own right. and Alfred Butler in Battling Butler. The Saphead

Marcus Loew, whose Metro Pictures v\as to dis- also served as a model for all the Keaton features:

tribute the new Keaton two-reelers, wanted to make the transformation of a bumbling, incompetent

a prestige production in an attempt to improve the young man into an athletic, graceful hero who proves

quality of Metro's films. Locw bought the famous play himself became the basic feature of all of Buster's

from John Goulden, a leading theatrical producer, major films.

and set out to make a seven-reel feature film at a Buster gives an excellent performance in The

time when Metro's biggest productions were only Sc; /j/iec/c/. Although he had no hand in the direction,

five-reel films. he did suggest a few tumbles and gags in what is

joe Schenck encouraged Locw to cast Buster in essentially melodrama mixed with high comedv. The

the role of Bertie "1'hc i,amb" Van Alstyne, the role film was well received, and Buster proved that he was

Fairbanks had played onstage in 1913 and in his first an actor and not just a comedian. Variety wrote of his

film, I'he Lamh (1915). I''eature films were given more performance: "As for Buster, a cyclone when called

space b\ reviewers than comedy shorts, and Schenck upon, his c|uict work in this picture is a revelation."'

knew that a high-quality feature-film role — and the Buster cnjovcd the experience ot The Saphead so

62 marketing of such a special production — would much that he suggested to Schenck that he make tea-
tiircs in the future instead of two-rccl comedies.

Selienek did not a^iee.

Wliilc Buster was making 'ihc Siij^licad, Selienek

bought Inni Ins o\\ n studio, at 102S I .illian \\'a\. at the

Oppositi': Busier (IS he looked dt llie lime oj
corner of Klcauor Avenue in I lolKwootk The studio
iiii S M'lii \n. his fcaliire lilni (lebtil.

was origiualK the Climax Sludio autl later the 1 ,oue In his jmme. lUisler stood five [eel five inches

tall, lie hod dark brown hair and hazel-

Star Studio, the "lone star" being C'harlie Cdiaplin,
colored exes. Vhoto'j^ruph In \elson Kvans.
who made his twcKe two-reel conicdies tor the

Mutual film C>)rporation there in U)16-1917. Below: In 'I'm S \i'iii W), Buster as
Bertie \'an Alstyne has his wedding to Agnes
Renamed the Buster Keatou Studio, it was adjacent
( '.ales postponed upon the arrival of some
to the Metro studios on Romaine Street. Buster shut- lueriminating love letters delivered by an

tled between the two studios toward the cud ol ihe (inoiirinoiis messenger. With William II.

Crane. Ining (.Aimniings, Kalherine Albert.

SapheacL as he was making his first two-rccl shorts
Carol liollowav. Edward johson. Buster, and
while completing the feature film. Beiihih Booker.

{Hi-

\
t 1

A
r V

((

^9!»

r> j^
^-^^E?r
inc i\CMi\^i^ .^luci-^i «jn\^i\ij

The n I n et i. e n independent treasurer of Loew's, Incorporated), Marcus Loew,

shorts Buster made between 1920 and 1923 allowed A. P. Giannini (president of the Bank of Italy, later

him complete creative freedom. There is an amazing renamed the Bank of America), and Irving Berlin.

variet\' to them, and in terms of comic invention and Buster also had an impressi\ e creative team. Eddie

technical ingenuity, no one was making comedy Cline codirected most of the shorts with Buster. Cline

shorts better than Buster Keaton at this time. The was a Mack Sennett veteran: a onetime Keystone

spontaneity of these shorts is in part what has kept Kop, gagman, and director who also appeared in

these films so wonderfully fresh to modern viewers. many of the Keaton shorts as an actor in bit parts.

Buster and his team were totally committed to their From Roscoe Arbuckle's unit Buster retained Lou

work; nothing else mattered so much. As Buster once Anger as studio manager. Also brought in were tech-

said, "When we made pictures, we ate, slept, and nical director Fred Gabourie, who was responsible for

dreamed them."^ Buster received one thousand dol- the building of the sets and for the mechanical plan-

lars a week plus a twenty-five percent share of the net ning of special stunts and effects, and head camera-

profits from the films, hi his first year, he made eight man Elgin Lessley, another Mack Sennett veteran.

two-reel comedies for release through Metro. He J.

Sherman Kell (whom everyone called "Father

went on to make eleven more two-reelers for release Sherman" because he looked like a priest) was film

through First National. editor. The scenarios and gags for the shorts in the

As producer, Joe Schenck did not interfere with first year were created by Buster and Eddie Cline. By

the new studio's operations; the Keaton shorts were 1921 Joseph Mitchell (who was in charge of the

so successful that Schenck simply paid the bills and Keaton scenario department) along with Jean Havez

relieved Buster of all business worries to make films. and Clyde Bruckman (both of whom had worked for

Everyone was happy with this arrangement, includ- Arbuckle) worked as Buster's three top gagmen.

ing the small group of impressive stockholders of the Buster's father, Joe, acted in several of the films, and

Comique Film Company (which clianged its name Joe Roberts, a \ audcxillian and old family friend

to Buster Keaton Productions in 1922), comprising from Buster's boyhood summers on Lake Muskegon,

Joe Schenck as president, his brotlier Nicholas Michigan, was a comic heavy.

Schenck as vice-president, David Bernstein as Buster supervised e\ery phase of his films. When
6-i secretar\'-trcasurer (Bernstein was also secrctarv- dc\eloi)ing a scenario, the daih story conferences
were held from 10 a.m. to 6 P.M. six days a week. He also had his cameramen keep filming even if

Buster, Lkldie Cline, Lou Anger, the gagmen, the something w cut v\Tong because that was when Buster

cameramen, and the propert}- men all participated in did some of his best improvisation. Buster liked to

the storv conferences. Buster later remembered how keep it looking and feeling fresh. The cast was small

the\- would develop a story for a corned} enough — there were usually just three principals: the

villain, the girl, and Buster— for him to work this

U77t'ri f/ie three writers [Bruckman. Havez, and way. Although his studio was one city block in size-

Mitchell] and I had decided on a plot, we could start. perfect for any of his needs — he frequently went on
We alwavs looked for the story first, and the minute location, as real surroundings alwa\'s produced the

somebody came up with a good start, we always unexpected. When he did not feel like filming or

jumped the middle. We never paid any attention to when he had a creative block. Buster and the crew

that. We jumped to the finish. A man gets into this would play baseball.

situation; how does he get out of it? As soon as we Buster never repeated a gag or a story idea in an)

found out how to get out of it, then we went hack and of the nineteen independent silent shorts. The best of

worked on the middle. We always figured the middle them — One Week, The Goat, Tiie Playhouse, The

would take care of itself' Boat, and Cops— are some of his finest comedies.

Although no formal script was prepared, the plot

and the logistics of each film were all carefully

planned in advance at the stor\ conferences.

However, the freedom to improvise was very impor-

tant to Buster. He did not like to have performances

carefulh scripted. He used to walk or talk through

scenes briefly just to block out the basic action before

filming. Unlike Chaplin, Buster did not film his

rehearsals or film many takes of an\ particular shot.

He may ha\e photographed a scene three or four

times, but Buster would ver\ often use the first take. 65
THE HIGH SIGN (1921

A I, T H o u c) H One Week was the

first of Buster's independent shorts to be released,

The High Sign was the first independent comedy

Buster produced. Dissatisfied with the film, he

shelved it for more than a year, releasing it only after

he broke his ankle while filming the abandoned first

version of The Electric House and the company need-

ed a film to release. The High Sign begins with the

title: "Our Hero came from Nowhere — he wasn't

going Anywhere but he got off Somewhere ." Buster is

first seen thrown from a passing train. Relocated at a

seaside amusement park, he helps himself to the

newspaper of a man passing by on a merry-go-round.

Buster sits on a bench and opens the new spaper. He

unfolds it and unfolds it. Its large size forces him to

sit on the back of the bench. The newspaper opens

up to a size as big as a bed sheet and envelops him.

He topples backward, and his head tears through the

paper. It is the first of many Keatonesque gags-

bizarre and surreal — that mark the difference
between Buster's dr\- and quiet comcd\ style and the

violent slapstick of Arbuckle. (In fact, unfolding the

oversized newspaper was one of Buster's ta\orite

gags, and he would return to it for li\c pcrtormances

in his later \ears.) In the giant newspaper he finds a

An unidentified actor as '"liny small help-wanted advertisement for an attendant at

Tiw," Buster, and Hartnie Burkcll

a shooting gallcr\, w here he gets the job In a trick that
in TiiK //;(.// Sic.N (192]).

allows hini to masc|ucradc as an expert marksman.

Buster is hired both b\ an mulcrworld gang called

the Blinking Buzzards and as a bodyguard b\ the

man Ihc BliuLing Buzzards want to murder, all con-

\nK
iccd Buster is a sharpshooter. Ihc climax has

66
Buster being chased by the Blinking Buzzards Buster and his crew on Tut: H;c;;/

S;G i\ signal for the still photographer

through an elaborate!}' rigged house, filled w ith seeret
aboard a boat on location off the coast of
corridors, trap doors, and re\ ol\ ing panels. The chase Venice Beach. Califonua. Eddie Cline is

through the house w as photographed on a eutaw a\' set, in the wide-brimmed hat on the left with

cameraman Elgin Eessley seated immedi-

which rc\eals the intricate in\enti\eness of the house
ately behind him.
as the backdrop to the frenzied pace of the action.

The film is filled with brilliant gags. How e\er,

Buster thought the gags were too ridicidous and

clc\ er for their own sake. He felt the film was too sim-

ilar in st\ie to the films he had made w ith Arbuckle

(Buster e\en had Al St. John appear in a cameo) and

he wanted to make his first release special. One Week,

the film he made next, would be a much stronger

film, consistent with his own stvle of comedw

 t
ONE WEEK (1920

One W i: /; k w as B u s i v. r '
s i- i r s Compan\ doeumentar\-, Uowc Made (1919), an edu-

masterpiece, and mam consider tlic film the finest cational short ahout prefahricated housing. Buster saw

short comedy lie ever made. Tlie stor\ hne is tigliter this ohseure httle tdm and decided to do a sort ot par-

than The High Sign, and a distinct \ isnal style (sueh od\ ol it. ()/;c' Week has man\ ot the de\ices used in

as the nsc of lon<; takes hhncd in long shots) and Home Made, including the wedding, the Model T,

Buster's unicine sense of the ahsmd are clearl)' e\i- and the use ot the pages from a dail\ calendar to

68 • dcnt. The nhn was inspired hy a I'ord Motor show the house hcnii" huill m one week.
 1 lie lilni opens w nil iicul\-

wcds BustcM" and S\hil Sccl\'

(an unknown actress in her

first film with Buster) leaxing

the ehurch. As a wedding gitt,

the couple is given a build-it-

yourself house kit and a plot

of land. IIand\ Hank, Buster's

disappointed ri\al, changes

the numbers on the boxes containing the house. The physical trainer, had to put him in hot and cold

structure Buster assembles is a joke unto itself; an showers and then apply olive oil and later horse lini-

irregular and confused mess. After a disastrous house- ment to eventualK get the swelling down.

warming part\, in which the house is nearly ruined One Week showcased the essential Buster, w ith

b\- rain, the newhweds discover they have built the two of his favorite elements— xiolent storms and a

house on the wrong lot. Fhey trv to tow the house train — worked into the story. He belie\ed that the

behind their Model T, but it breaks loose and stops film would be a good first release. He was right: One
on a railroad track. A train conies racing toward the Week was hailed as the comedy sensation of the year.

house, but it passes b\ on a parallel track. As the\-

breathe a sigh of relief, from the opposite direction

another train smashes the house to obli\ ion. Buster Opposite: Buster looks askance

at the house he has assembled

places a "For Sale" sign on what little is left of their
in One Week (1920).
house — along with the build-it-yourself instruc-

tions— before the two walk awa\ into the distance. Above: With Sybil Seely.

The excellent production \alues of this and many

of the subsequent Keaton two-reelers were almost

unsurpassed b\ anyone in comedv. The house set for

One Week was very elaborate; it was built on a

turntable so that it could spin around for the violent

rainstorm scene.

The fall Buster takes when he steps out the bath-

room door into air was one of the fev\- occasions v\hen

Buster rcalK hurt himself making films. The impact

of the fall was such that his arms and back swelled up

very badly just a few hours later. Al Gilmore, his 69

CONVICT 13 (1920)

70
Busii; k's si:c:()\n k i, i, i: \s !. hi.c. i\s shorts. I lis scenes with Buster in this Idm are \ery

with Inin on the golf links with ;i socialite, S\l)il much in the David and C'.olialh manner. Buster

Seek, w ith whom he is enamored. Buster is an inept appears dressed in a ])rison warden's uniform oidv to

goiter, and he manages to hit himselt on the head discover that i^oberts has knocked out an entire pro-

with his golf ball. Uneonseious, he dreams ot being cession ot prison guards as thev entered the vard.

mistaken tor escaped conxiet No. B and then taken Roberts in this film is reminiscent of Kric Campbell,

to prison w here he narrowK escapes being hanged the huge comic villain Chaplin used in his Mutual

(thanks to the help ot the warden's daughter, also comedies, and certain moments of Co;n';c/ /^ resen)-

pla\ed b\' Seel\). He changes clothes w ith a prison ble the most famous of the C^haj^lin Mutuals, Easy

guard, quells a prison-\ard riot, and defeats a giant Street imi).

convict (Joe Roberts). The film ends with Buster One scene in the film is a reworking of a routine

awakening from his dream on the golf links in the Buster did in vaudeville with his father. Onstage, Joe

arms of the consoling S\bil Seely. would sing while Buster stood on a table sw inging a

Convict B contains black comed\, particularK the basketball on the end of a long rope in a circular

scene in which Buster is about to be hanged while motion aroimd his Father's head. Buster would whirl

the prisoners sit as spectators cheering on the pro- the rope closer and closer to Joe until the ball hit Joe

ceedings and concessions are sold as if it were a ball smack in the face. In the climax ot Convict 15, Buster

game. As the giant con\ict, Joe Roberts is memorable swings a ball and chain to stop a prison riot, knocking

in his first major role in a Keaton film. He phned the the prisoners unconscious. The first convict hit in the

hea\\ in all of Buster's remaining independent film is none other than Joe Keaton.

With joe Roberts in C()y\ i c: r 1

3

(1920). Buster's younger brother.

Harry "jingles." is the prison guard

on the far right.

THE SCARECROW (1920)

Bus '! E R AND J

O E ROBERTS P L AY Domestic harmonv changes to rivalr\' as the two

farmhands who share a one-room house that is filled men both tr\ to win the affection of the farmer's

with surprising time- and space-saving devices: the daughter, played by Sybil Seely. Buster is soon divert-

phonograph doubles as a stove; the bookcase also ed from romance when he is chased by a dog

serves as the icebox; and the bed converts into an (Arbuckle's Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Luke) and gets

upright piano. Breakfast involves a series of strings thrown into a hav-processing machine, which tears

dangling from the ceiling, which pull down to an away his clothes. Borrowing the clothes of a nearby

assortment of condiments that the two men swing scarecrow. Buster kneels down to tie his shoe when

back and forth to each other over the breakfast table. the farmer's daughter encounters him. She mistakes

Buster had built similar Rube Goldberg-like contrap- his kneeling position for a formal marriage proposal,

tions as a boy at his summer home on Lake which she accepts. As the two race off on a motorcy-

Muskegon, Michigan. He made them for his own cle to elope, they accidental!}' take on an extra pas-

amusement, as well as for a lazy vaudevillian neigh- senger—a parson who pronounces the couple

bor named Ed Gray, who hated to make any unnec- husband and wife as the motorcycle is accidentally

essary movements. The devices created in The driven straight into a lake.

Scarecrow are similar to those he built as a boy, and

this scene is the film's cleverest routine.

Buster kiiccls to tic his shoe and

ends up eni!,ai;ed to Svbil Seely in

The Sc:.akj:cko\\ {1920).

72
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NEIGHBORS (1921)
N /: / c; /( H () K s b i: c, i \ s w i r ii r ii i-: Educational comecK ,\//c'z Oop (19i4). However, the

title "TIr' I'lowcr ot L()\c could find no more romau- most interesting scenes feature Buster and his father

tie spot in wliieh to blossom than in this poet's doing routines similar to those thc\ had pcrtormed

Dream Ckirden." This fades into a back\ard in a together onstage. In one scc|ucnce, Buster drops into

sliun. Buster and his girl (V'irginia Fox) are a 1921 a bottomless barrel, his head stuck into the mudcK

Romeo and Juliet, their romance impeded at e\ery tenement court\ard. Joe pulls awa\ the barrel and

turn h\ the antagonism between their feuding fami- then \anks Buster b\ the legs, trying to dislodge his

lies. The girl's father is played by Joe Roberts, and head from the mud..\t one point Joe stands on

Buster's father is pla\ ed b\ his real-life father, Joe Buster's arms as he pulls Buster b\ the legs. Joe says

Keaton/riie stor\- ends with the \oung lo\ers huall\ in a title, "He's my son and I'll break his neck an\ wa)

united in marriage. I please."

I he simple stor\- is just a loose framework for Neighbors was the first Keaton film that featured

man\ memorable gags and stunts. I'he acrobatics of Virginia Fox, his most frequent leading lady, a former

the three-man p\ ramid stunt, w ith Buster on top, Mack Sennctt pla\er who appeared in nine of

w ere performed b\- Buster and his \ aude\illian friends Buster's silent eomcd\- shorts. In 1923, she married

the P1\ing Escalantes, who he would use again in the Darr\l F. Zanuck and retired trom films.

Buster and \'irginia Fox are star-

crossed lovers trying to quietly elope in

Nf ; GHBoK .s ( 1920). Buster is

standing on the head of Joe Roberts,

who plays the girl's father.

75
THE HAUNTED HOUSE (1921

In i 1 1 I s 1' I l m , Bus v k r i s f a i. s i: i,
\'

accused of being a hold-up man at the bank where he

works as a clerk. On the run, he hides out in an aban-

doned house, where a visiting opera company of

Faust also seeks refuge. Fhe house, in fact, is the

hideout of the real hold-up men and the corrupt

bank teller (Joe Roberts), who have rigged the place

as a haunted house to frighten people away. A fast

series of clever haunted-house gags follov\— the focal

point being a staircase that flattens into a ramp, send-

ing Buster and others sliding— before Buster thwarts

the \illains.The film ends with Buster in the arms of

the bank president's pretty daughter (Virginia Fox).

Ironicalh, the best moments in The Haunted

House take place outside the haunted house.

Particularly funny is the routine of Buster as a bank

clerk accidentally spilling a bottle of glue all over his

counter and creating chaos, a sequence that borrows

from the molasses scene in The Butcher Boy, Buster's

first film. Perhaps the most memorable moment

comes when Buster is hit o\'er the head after subdu-

ing the bank robbers. Me dreams he is an angel

ascending to heaven. When Saint Peter rejects him at

the gates, he then slides down into hell where he

finds that the devil has been expecting him.

'ilic best sequence III illi: i/.\ (/.N'TED

Ho US I: (192}} has Buster as a hank

clerk spiHiiii^ a bottle o/ i^liie. nhich

results ill bank miles stuck to his hands,

the floor, ami evervtliimj, around liini.

76
Oii
HARD LUCK (1921

^.''•^i

^c.

£.*

^Of'

i^Stei^i

78
}l \nn /,('(:k w \s Bi'sii.k's i'i.ksoxm, armadillo. Needless to sa\, he hiils, and he is also

favorite of his own silent shorts, not hccausc he nusneeesslnl as a lishermau and horseman. The

thought it hetter tium the rest hut hee;inse the fihu alorcmcnlioned hilarious scc|uence comes at the cud:

eont;iinecl the greatest hiugh-gelliug sec|ueuee ot au\ re)ccted In Virginia I'bx, Buster elimhs up to the

ot his pietures/rhe film itself was eonsidered lost for high-di\iug platform ot an open-air swimming pool.

more than sixt\' \ears until it was ]:iarliall\ reeon- On the plattorm he poses and stmts lor the heuefit of

strueted from extant tootagc aec|uired h\ Ra\ inoud the girls lounging around the pool. I le then ])erl()rms

Rohauer and assemhled h\ Ke\ in Brow nlow and a great swan di\e and misses the pool completely.

David C;ill in 1987 Landing on the cement walk next to the pool, he

hi the hhn. Busier loses his joh and his girl. Down lea\es a large hole in the i)a\emcnt. The scene fades

on his luek, he tries to commit suicide. All of his and is followed In a title, "Years later." The scene
inept attempts to do awa\ w ith himselt meet w ith fades hack to the ahandoned pool, the hole still \isihle.

failure. These hilarious suicide-attempt gags are simi- Buster emerges from it, dressed in Oriental clothes,

lar to those Harold Llo\d did in his eonied\ shorts followed h\ his Chinese wife and two children. Unfor-

Haunted Spooks (1920) and Never Weaken (1921). The timatcK, this sequence was not among the footage

second half ot the film finds Buster hired In the local uncoxcred for the film's reconstruction, and onl\ still

zoo to capture the one animal thc\ do not ha\c: an photographs from the scene are known to exist.

\\7//; d Chiuctic n/'/c and children in the

missing sequence that couehides H.\rd

Luck ((921). According to Buster, this

sequence evoked the greatest laugh o/ any

scene he ever did.

79
THE GOAT (1921)

Filled with complex and is revealed in a public ceremony. Buster is seen pos-

inventive gags. The Goat is one of Buster's cleverest ing on the back of a full-scale clay horse. The horse

two-reel comedies. The film opens with Buster stand- gradually sags at the knees under Buster's weight, but

ing in a bread line, waiting for a handout he never Buster continues to hold his pose.

gets. He next stops and stares through the barred win- The Goat also features one of Buster's most memo-

dow of a police station as a photographer prepares to rable moments with a train. Pursued by the police,

take a mug shot of the murderer Dead Shot Dan Buster jumps a train and in some complicated and

(pla\ed by Mai St. Clair, who codirected the film very funny maneuvers manages to make his escape.

with Buster). The crafty Dan, seeing Buster, bends The film then irises out and in again. In an extreme

down out of camera range and triggers the camera, long shot the train is coming toward the camera. As it

photographing Buster behind bars. Later, when Dan comes into a close-up, we see Buster sitting on the

escapes, the "Wanted" posters put up b\ the police front of the engine looking straight into the camera.

and the newspaper photos show Buster as the escaped It is a wonderful moment — slow, simple, and effec-

criminal. tive—unlike anything else in the otherwise complex,

The rest oiThe Goat revolves around Buster being fast-paced comedy. Buster had a lifelong love affair

mistaken for Dead Shot Dan. One of the film's best with trains, f^e loved trains so much that he w ould

scenes has Buster, on the run in a park, hiding under often try to work one into his comedies just to make

the tarpaulin covering a sculptor's full-size model of something different from what anyone else might do

a statue that is about to be unveiled. When the statue with a train in motion pictures.

Buster is mistaken for the murderer Dead

Shot Dan in Thk Goat (1921), one of

his tincst comedies.

SO
81
THE P LAY H O V S E (1921)

Buster broke an ankle while Buster's amazing performance in the film. The

working on the film he started to make just before Playhouse is also fascinating for its numerous refer-

The Playhouse, the abandoned first version of T/:e ences to his years in vaudeville.

Electric House (which he would entirely remake and Buster found the idea for this strongly cinematic

release the following year). During his absence from film from vaudeville: the famous swimming and di\-

film production, Buster married Natalie Talmadge in ing star Annette Kellerman and her one hundred

Long Island, New York. Returning to California, he mirrors, which created for the audience the illusion

needed a corned}' that would demand none of his of one hundred Annette Kellermans.The film begins

usual physical stunts. The resulting film is The with a dream sequence in which Buster plays every

Playhouse, the most visually spectacular of all his role in a vaudeville theater: the conductor and every

short films. Aside from its technical virtuosity and member of the orchestra, the members of the audi-
ciicc — men and women — all lia\c Buster's face, as

well as the minstrel performers onstage. I'lie effeet is

astonishing w hen one sees nine Bnsters all at onee in

the same frame. In these earK cla\s of motion i)ie-

tures, all of the speeial effcets were ereated inside the

eamera on one j^ieee of film, for the seene in whieh

nine Busters danee in a minstrel aet, the same fdm

was exposed nine times. Elgin Lessle\ would hloek

out the entire frame e\ee])t for the small spaee oeeu-

pied 1)\ Buster as that one eharaeter and erank the

camera at an exact speed. Lessle\ would then rew ind

the film to the precise point, and Buster would do his

performance exacth' the same again, lb make sure

each time he did the dance it would be in synchro-

nization w ith his other performances. Buster danced

to banjo music pla\ed to a metronome.

In the film, the program for the \audc\ illc show^ 1^

In one of his most renuirkdhle pcrjorwoiKCs, Buster substitutes for a

lists all the credits as being performed b\ Buster
performiiii^ape ill Tin: P;, \ w/oc.s;-: (192/). Kddie VAine plaxs
Keafon. This sequence was a playful jab at 'I'homas
the trdiner.

H. hicc, the pioneer film producer w ho took credit

Opposite: Buster heeoiues his owu triptxch in I'lii: Pi \^ iioi'SE,
for e\er\thing in his productions, sometimes e\en a
his most visualh spectaeular eomedx short, whieh uses the muhi-
directing credit when he no longer directed the films
pheitr of a single image as one of the fihu's eonne deviees.

he produced.

Buster later regretted not ha\ ing made the entire

film w ith him pla\ ing all the parts, but he was astounding number of \ariations on gags in\ol\ ing

unsure at the time w hether audiences might tire of twins, which he tops each time. The most remarkable

the joke or think he made it as a demonstration of his moment in the second half of the film comes when

acting \irtuosit\. hi the second part of the film. Buster at the last minute substitutes for a performing

Buster awakens from his dream to find he is a stage- orangutan w hen the real orangutan escapes. Buster's

hand at a vaudeville theater. In this part of the film impersonation of the ape is one of the best things he

Buster reworks gags from Back Stage and performs ever did as an actor. The performing ape is another

vaudc\illc routines from The Three Keatons act: direct reference to his vaude\ille da\ s: Buster had

pulling a broom out of a knothole in the stage floor performed on the same bill in 1909 in London,

and also di\ ing through the backdrop, the Original England, w ith "Peter the Great," a performing mon-

Aboriginal Australian Splash (which was a parody of ke\ w ho could do ncarK an\ thing his human trainer

Annette Kellerman's famous di\ e). Buster also does an could do.

83
THE BOAT (1921)

The Boat was Buster's second The title "You can't keep a good boat down" opens

favorite of his short fihiis and one of the finest come- the next scene of the film, with Buster making repairs

dies he ever made. The fihn begins with Buster, who to the boat. The maiden voyage is a disaster for the

has built a boat in his basement, attempting to tow entire family. When a storm rises. Buster radios the

the oversized vessel out of the narrow door of his coast guard for help. When asked to identify the

house. He attaches the boat to his Model T, and as name of the vessel, Buster's response oi "Damfino"

the boat pulls through the doorway, the foundation of gets the sharp reply: "Neither do I."

the house tears apart, and the house collapses. The boat sinks in the storm, and the family is set

Undeterred, Buster, his wife (Sybil Seely), and two adrift in their lifeboat (a small bathtub). When they

children (wearing little porkpie hats) take the boat, realize that the\' are floating in water just a few feet

named the Damfino, to the harbor. deep near land, they leave the tub and walk to shore.

The launch of the Damfino is one of Buster's most "Where are we?" asks Sybil Seely in a title as they walk

celebrated sequences. He stands proudly on the deck ashore. "Damfino" mouths Buster, and the film ends

as the boat slides slowly down the ramp to the bottom as the family disappears into the darkness of night.

of the harbor. It took three days to get the scene to go As perfect and self-contained as The Boat is as a

the way it was intended. Fred Gabourie constructed two-reeler. Buster had the idea of combining One

two thirty-five-foot boats for the film — one to float Week and The Boat as a four-reel feature involving

and one to sink— but each boat managed to perform the adventures of a husband and wife, with Buster

the function intended for the other. To get the boat to and Sybil Seely. (Seely, who had been replaced by

slide properly to the bottom of Balboa Bay, Gabourie Virginia Fox as Buster's leading lady, was rehired to do

dropped a sea anchor into the bay with cables The Boat.) However, the feature ne\er materialized.

attached to the stern of the boat and a rigged pulley

that pulled the boat under water.

Buster fitaiuls proudly next to his hand-

made boat, named D.AM/'iiN'f), in

Tui:Boat (J92)). I'he launch of the

Damfino is one of his most celebrated

sequences.

84
85
THE PALEFACE (1922

86
7'///; /' \ / /: ;\(;/.- is Busii.r's r i, \v i'u i.

look at llic Western lilins thai were pojjular at the

time. I he liliii he<;in,s\\ith some leii^thx seeiies ot

exposition that show a group ol oil prospeetors eheat-

ing some nati\e Amerieans out of their own lands,

The Indian ehiet ()oe lloherls) proelaims to his tribe:

"Kill the first white man who eomes through the gate."

Buster, ot eourse, is the hrst white man to pass

through the gate ot the reservation. Managing to

thwart the desire of the Indians to burn him at the

stake, Buster is made their leader and organizes a

suecessful raid on the oil prospectors' offiee. All

e\entuall\ ends well w ith Buster marrying the ehief 's

daughter.

The Paleface is wonderfully ridieulous, full of very

funn\ cartoonish gags, perhaps the best being w hen

Buster makes himself asbestos underwear that

enables him to calniK wait out the blaze at the stake

unharmed. The film is also filled with some speetae-

ular stimts by Buster, including an incredible leap

into a tree and a terrific fall from a suspension bridge

into a ra\ine.lb achieve the stunt. Buster first had to

fall eight\-fi\e feet from the bridge into a net. The

next camera setup shows Buster from twenty feet up

but out of camera range, and the shot was of him

falling into the ravine. The special effects used are

eouN'ineing, and the grand outdoor settings of The

Paleface, mixed with gags fraught w ith danger, antici-

pate Our Hospitality and The General.

As"LittleChief Paleface" in a gag still from Tui P me face (1922).

87
COPS (1922

Cops is one of Buster's best bomb, which lands right next to Buster. The scene
and best-known comedies. Its chase scene, in which with the bomb was actually daring for its time, for it

Buster is pursued by hundreds of cops, is regarded as directly refers to the Wall Street bomb explosion that

a classic sequence of screen comedy. The film opens killed thirty people and injured many more in 1919,

with a surprise-effect gag. Buster is first seen looking one of many bomb scares immediately following

very sad behind bars, leading the audience to think World War I.

he is in prison. The next shot, however, reveals him to Buster lights his cigarette from the burning fuse,

be a free man standing behind the bars of the front and then casually throws it aside, not realizing it is a

gate to the home of his sweetheart (Virginia Fox). It is bomb ready to explode. The explosion ruins the

a clever visual gag, so good in fact that Harold Lloyd parade, and the chase is on by the entire police force

would open his most famous film, Safety Last (1923), to capture Buster. The frenzy of the chase itself was

in a very similar way. carefully staged, and it is photographed and edited

Scorned by his girl as a failure in business, Buster beautifully. The chase ends with Buster running into

sets out to make good. Almost immediately, he gets the police station, an army of policemen close

into trouble when he accidentally finds and ultimate- behind. The doors to the station close behind them.

ly pockets the money from the wallet of a burly plain- A solitary uniformed figure emerges from the station

clothes policeman. He next becomes the victim of a house and locks the door: Buster. His girl passes by

con-man who sells Buster the furniture from some- and snubs him completely. He unlocks the door to

one else's house. The real owner happens to be a the police station and enters. A "The End" title is

policeman in the process of moving into a new home. chiseled on a gravestone, on top of which rests

Buster acquires a horse-cart to load his newly Buster's porkpie hat. The strange ending of the film is

acquired furniture and drives his broken-down horse similar to the effect Buster would later achieve in the

and cart into the middle of a police parade. An anar- ending oi College.

chist on the roof of a nearby building throws down a

Buster is chased by the entire police force

in a classic moment from Co PS (1922).

88
89
MY WIFE'S RELATIONS (1922

'Ml
M>' V¥//'/:'.s Ri:i. Allocs wn mm: si\ The him ends w ilh Buster making his getaway on a

films that followed did not equal the c|iuilit\ ot the train bound tor Reno.

best ot the earlier shorts. B\ this lime, Buster had The scene Buster liked best m the Idm is the tami-

mastered the t\\ o-reeler and was anxious to start l\ dinner: Buster is not fast enough to get am thing
makinc^ features, as C^haplin and Harold l,lo\(l had bu! ciuph scrxing plates until he changes the calen-

alreacK done. All ol these remainint^ shorts ha\e dar to I'Vidax, pro\iding him his onl\ op]X)rtunit\ to

wonderful momeuts, hut the eomie inxention is not get a steak from the dcxoul Irish (Catholic family.

sustained as in the earlier films. rhe\ gi\e one the Buster would rework this same material for his

feeling that Buster and his team were in need of new- Educational comed\ Palooka (roiu Paducah (1935),

challenges and w ere growing restless with the two- with his own father, mother, and sister in the cast.

reel torui. Kate Price, who pla\s the \irago wife in My Wife's

In My Wife's Relations Buster is falsely accused of Relcifiotjs, was in fact a sweet character actress w ho

breaking a window. A large, rugged Irishwoman (Kate had worked w ith Arbuckle and Mary Pickford, and

Price) hauls him into court where the judge — who w ith w honi Buster enjo\ ed working. She had a good

does not speak Faiglish — marries them b\ mistake. sense of humor, and caused the cast and crew to

She takes him home to her father and four brothers, burst into laughter in the scene in which she brings

who treat him w ith contempt until the\ mistakenly Buster home to meet her famil\, and as they enter

believe he is about to inherit one hundred thousand through the door her hungr\- family asks her for din-

dollars, rhe famiK then loans the bewildered Buster ner. She shouted, "Dinner m\ ass! L^ook w hat I mar-

monc\ to move the entire clan into an expensive ried!" Unfortunately, Kate's line did not make it into

apartment, and there they li\e a life of luxury until it the film's intertitles.

is disco\ ered that Buster's inheritance is nonexistent.

Buster meetn his new in-laws in \1\

Wife's Rk/,a7/o\.s (/922i. Harry
Madison, loin Wilson. Buster. Wheezer

Dell, and joe Roberts.

91
THE BLACKSMITH (1922

The Blacks m it h , which B u s t e: r

directed in collaboration with Mai St. Clair (who had

codirected The Goat), is similar to the type of films

Buster made with Roscoe Arbuckle, particularly A

Country Hero, The Hayseed, and The Garage. The

film opens with titles from the famous Henry

Wadsworth Longfellow poem, "The Village

Blacksmith" (a poem Buster knew since childhood,

and which he used in a comic recitation onstage in

vaudeville). There are some funny moments with

Buster as an assistant smithy, such as the scene in

which he fits a beautiful white horse with new shoes

as if he were a kindly salesman in a shoe store.

One scene, involving a gleaming white Rolls-

Royce in need of minor repairs that Buster manages

to completely ruin, he later admitted was a mistake.

Audiences do not enjoy watching something valu-

able—something that they themselves wish to own —

being destroyed. Owing to the failure of this scene,

Buster did not enjoy the film very much and did not

rate it high among his films. The film concludes with

Buster eloping with the owner of the white horse

(Virginia Fox). As we see the two depart on a train, a

title reads "Many a honeymoon express has ended

thusly," and a small train derails and falls from a

bridge. In a surprise ending, the train is revealed to

be but a toy train, and Buster and Virginia are shown

as contented parents of a small child.

Buster ciihI Joe Roberts ill Tin Bi \c.KS\t 1 1 ii (1922).

92
93
THE FROZEN NORTH (1922

94
'/'/;/' /''k()/;:\ Nor in is \ i'xkodi
of Western iiielotlramas and ol their laiiioiis star,

William S. I larl Tlie openini; shots of the hhn were

pliotogra])lie(l on location at Honner Lake outside

Trnekec, C>alifornia, in niid-w inter. Buster is first

seen eoniing out of a New V)rk subway station into a

big bank of snow in the middle of fro/eu I')onner

Lake. The hhn abounds with silly slapsliek iiuoKing

snow and is ^i\cn a moek-serious tone h\' the opening

intertilles, w hieh are trom "'j'he Shooting ot Han

McGrew" by Robert W. Ser\ iee.

The film's best seene is Buster's parod\' of two-gun

Bill Hart arri\ ing home to diseo\er a eouple embrae-

ing. Wearing a small \ersion of Hart's eampaign hat

from the Spanish-.Xmeriean War and a six-shooter on

each thigh. Buster is eomineed he has diseo\ered his

wife v\ith a lo\er. I le is dcxastated. GKeerin tears roll

down his faee (Hart nearK' aK\a\s managed to have

at least one seene in eaeh film in whieh tears rolled

out of one e\e and down his eheek). Enraged at the

man who has wreeked his home and the wife who has

bctra\ ed him. Buster pulls out both guns and shoots

them; the\ spin around in the st\lc of a poorly aeted

melodrama before collapsing onto the floor. Buster

walks o\er to look at the lifeless forms and diseo\ ers

that the woman is, in faet, not his wife. An intertitle

reads, "M\' God! I'm in the w rong house."

Audiences of the 1920s recognized the parod\ and

thought the film hystericalK' funn\. How e\ er. Hart

himself was not amused bv Buster's antics — particu-
larK the crying seene — and did not speak to Buster

for two \ears after he saw the picture.

Buster assumes the famous t\m-gun stance of William S. Hart,

the silent-screen Western star, in his pcirody The Frozen

North (1922).

95
D AY D RE AM S (1922)

In Daydreams (1922), Buster

writes letters to his sweetheart in a

way that allows her to misinterpret his

adventures as successes. She imagines

him as a surgeon at a hospital, a

Wall Street tycoon, a great actor, and

a chief of police. Surviving prints of

the film are incomplete, and the

scenes depicting the surgeon, the Wall

Street tycoon, and the police chief are

missing from extant prints.

D AY DREAM S BEGINS WITH A SHORT

scene of country-boy Buster resolving to leave for the

big city and make good in order to marry his girl

(Renee Adoree, one of the few actresses of note to

play in a Keaton fihn), who waits back home for him

to become a success. Throughout the rest of the film.

Buster writes letters to his girl that allow her to misin-

terpret his adventures as successes: she imagines him

as a surgeon at a liospital, a Wall Street tycoon, a

great actor, and a chief of police, when in actuality

he works at a dog and cat hospital, as a street sweep-

er, and in the chorus of a show, and then ends up a

fugitive from the law.

96
 The sequence in which Buster is on tlie run con-

tains a chase similar to the one in Cops, but it ends

with one of Buster's most memorable images. Buster

thinks he lias eluded the police b\ jumping aboard a

ferr\ boat. How e\er, the boat is not going out but

rather coming into port. He escapes from the deck of

the boat and onto the ferr\ 's great paddlcw heel,

which begins to rotate. lo a\oid going under water,

he climbs inside the paddlewheel and walks in place

as the wheel turns, like a hamster on a treadmill. It

eventualh' speeds up to the point that Buster tumbles

and rolls within it, and the scene ends with him

clasping onto one of the blades and twirling around

the outside ot the w heel.

97
THE ELECTRIC HOUSE (1922)

Bus T E R B R C:) K V. IMS A N K L E W 1 1 K N

his foot was cauglit on the top of the escalator while

filming the abandoned first version of The Electric

House. When he returned to the idea of the film,

none of the old footage was used and new sets were

created by Fred Gabon rie.

'Flic film begins with Buster receiving the wrong

diploma at his college commencement. Believed to

be a qualified electrical engineer, he is commissioned

by the college dean (Joe Roberts) to modernize his

home with an assortment of electrical conxeniences

while he and his famih are away. Upon their return,

Buster demonstrates the electric staircase, sliding

doors, mechanical ball rack for the billiard table, and

automatic swimming-pool drain. The family is

pleased with Buster's work until the house is eventu-

ally sabotaged by his fellow graduate — the real elec-

trical engineer— who creates chaos by switching the

wires. Booted out of the electric house and into the

automatic swimming pool. Buster is sucked down the

plug-hole and floats out a drain pipe.

The exteriors of the house were filmed at Buster's

own Tudor-stvle home on Westmoreland Place.

Although Buster did not have fond memories of this

film, owing to his broken ankle (he thought it a lack

of professionalism to be hurt on such a routine stunt

and to cause a halt to production), he loved the scenes

of the electrical in\entions. Buster re-created the little

dinner-table railwa\ in the film tor the picnic table at

his Woodland Hills ranch thirt\-h\c \cars later.

Kvc'ii the poor is not sale when Ihister's iiicchuuicul crailions go

berserk in I'lii: F,i.i:c:i kk: Uouse (}^>22).

98
99
THE B ALIO O N AT C (1923 I

-iS*-^

T / / /•: BA /. I. oo NA T / (; i? i<; gins w i th fall. All ends well as the two lo\ers sail safeh' beyond

Buster idle in an amusement park, where lie follows a the brink of the waterfall and float into the sky, a long

pretty young woman (Phyllis Haver) into the liinnel shot revealing that the canoe is attached to the hot-air

of Love and eonies out with a black eye. He then balloon.

wanders over to where a hot-air balloon is to be Tlie Balloonatic is notable for the appearance of

launehed. The balloon breaks free, with the intended Ph\ His I la\er as Buster's leading lad\. Haxer, a former

passenger on the ground and Buster onboard. He Mack Sennctt pla\er, enjoyed notewortln success in

lands in mountain eountr\ w here the xoung woman silent films and brought to 77?e Balloonatic an inter-

w ho ga\e him the black eye is camping. Despite their esting and well-developed characteri/ation; the film

initial antagonism, lo\e blossoms, and the two set sail is the ouK one ot the nineteen independent shorts in

in his canoe. Their romance a])pears to be shorl- which the intcrpla\ between Buster and his leading

li\ed, as the canoe heads toward a dangerous walcr- lack' is w liolK successtul.

100
opposite: On loccition for The B.ali.(jo.\a t/c (192^). Fred Above: .\ balloon launch, 'ihe Keaton Studio is just visible ni this

Cabourie is seated het\i'eeu Buster and leading lady Phyllis I hirer, still, only a few blocks behind and to the left of Buster.

with Eddie Cline directly behind Buster. The use of two Belt and
Howell 2709 Studio Model cauieras pictured follow the standard

silent-era practice of creating two original negatives, one for domes-

tic and one for foreign distribution.

101
THE LOVE NEST (1923

R K J
K c '[•
K i:> BY HIS c; i r i, \- r i i-, n d Above and opposite:

(Virginia Fox), Buster resolves to set sail alone in his The Love Nest
(1923). Buster's last
little boat, named Cupid. Days later he is exhausted
silent two-reel eomedx.

and star\'ing, hopelessly adrift at sea. He is picked up

by a whaling ship named The Love Nest, on which

the captain of the ship doe Roberts) punishes minor

offenses among his crew b\- throwing them perma-

nently ONcrboard. Buster quickl\- becomes the last

surviving mate, eventualK abandoning ship on its

lifeboat, I'lie Little Love Nest. 1 lis acKentures on the

high seas pro\e to be just a dream, and the film ends

with Buster awakened in his little boat, still tied to

the dock.

'ihe /-ove hJest has the distinction of being the ouK-

film in which lousier took sole writin" and directing

credit, it was also his last two-reel silent comccK dur- ;

ing the production of this film, )oc Schcnck told

102 Buster to start making feature films.

103
 c

MARRIAGE TO NATALIE TALMADGE

BU S I 1^; R F 1 A D ME V N ATA L I V. TA L M A D G E Prior to Natalie, Buster's girlfriend was Alice

while working with Roscoe Arbuckle at the Comique Lake, a former Keystone player who had joined

Film Corporation in New York, where she worked first Comique's repertory company. When Comique

as a combination secretary and script girl for the unit moved to California, Buster also had a relationship

and was eventually promoted to secretary-treasurer. with Metro actress Viola Dana.

Natalie's two sisters, Norma and Constance, were Natalie was among those v\ho made the mo\

movie stars. Norma was the eldest of the three. She from New York to California w ith the Comique
came into stardom through Vitagraph and had estab-

lished herself as one of the most popular dramatic

Above: Buster and Natalie Talmadge on their wedding day. Ma\
actresses in films. Norma furthered her position of 3), 1921. at the home of joe Schenck and Norma lalmadge in

power within the him industry by marrying her pro- Bayside. Long hhind. Norma Tabnadge. Buster, Natalie, and
Coiistaiice lalmadge. Photograph by Potter
ducer, joe Scheuck, in 1916. (vonstancc (w ho was

called "Dutch") was the youngest. She had played the Right: Natalie clutches a rolling pin. and Buster's broken right

ankle (which is still bandaged from his accident making the aban-
important role of the Mountain Cirl in D.W.
doned first version ofTiii Ki.i.ci Ric HdI'SE) is shackled
Criffith's Intolerance (1916), and had embarked on a
by a ball and chain in this gag photograph taken shortly after

series of light comedies that were very successful. their marriage.

 ^
•l H

a»5i

v.<
 In Januar\ 1921 Natalie w rote Buster from New-

York a letter that read in part, "I am alone now, the

onl\- one left li\ing with mother. If \ou still care all

\()u ha\e to do is send for nie."''^ Buster and Natalie

were soon engaged, but w ith no w edding date set. He

was at the time w orking on the later-abandoned first

version o(The Electric House, until his slapshoe

\t%f became caught between the risers of the set's escala-

tor and he broke his ankle. Unable to work with his

right ankle in a cast. Buster tra\ eled to New York to

marry Natalie.

Buster and Natalie were married on Ma\- ^1, 1921

(the same anni\'ersar\' date as his parents) at Joe and

Norma's home in Ba\'side, Long Island. Screenwriter

Buster with sons Bobby {left) and jimmy (right), 192-I-.
Anita Loos was the bridesmaid, Constance Talmadge

was matron of honor, and Ward Crane (who would

play the rival in Sherlock Jr.) was Buster's best man.

company. It was in California that Buster and The guests were mainly the bride's family and friends.

Natalie's romance began. Although not as beautiful Among the wedding gifts w ere a Belgian police dog

as her two sisters, Natalie was nevertheless attracti\e, (Buster named him Captain) from Constance and a

demure, and intelligent. Rolls-Ro\ce from Norma and Joe, which was deli\-

Natalie, however, soon missed New York and left ered to them in Los Angeles. The newlyweds had no

Comique to return Kast. When Buster was inducted honeymoon. The day after the wedding they left New
in the army and stationed at Camp Upton in Long York on the Twentieth Century Limited for the fi\e-

Island, Natalie visited him. For the next two vears day journe\ to Los Angeles.

their relationship existed entirely through correspon- The newl}'weds had their first argument almost

dence, mostly Natalie sending news of herself and immediateh'. Natalie had hoped that she could con-

her family to Buster. vince Buster to move to New ^brk and make his films

Buster was a lowly comic as far as the Talmadge at the Colon\' Studio. Buster refused. Arri\ ing in Los

family was concerned, and not that important in the Angeles, the\' could not agree on w here the\ w anted

motion-picture industry. He was not what Peg to live. Buster had w anted to build a ranch in the San

Talmadge, the mother and matriarch (l^'rcd Fernando Valle\, w here thc\ could lunc a working

1'almadgc, her husband, was an alcoholic who had farm. Natalie preferred a home in Los Angeles. She

abandoned the famiU), woidd rcalK lia\c liked won that argument.

Natalie to have had as a husband. Over the next se\ cral years. Buster and Natalie

However, Peg Talmadge wanted her mitldle kept mo\ ing into more and more elaborate houses at

danglitcr married, joe Schenck was instrumental in Natalie's insistence.. \ truslrated actress, her wa\ of

making Peg luipp\ with the notion ot a Natalie competing with other nun ic stars was to li\e as luxu-

Talmadgc-Bustcr Keaton marriage. Since Schenck rioush as thc\ did. At one point during the marriage,

produced the Norma and (Constance liihnadge films Natalie's personal expenses lor clollics and other

as well as Buster's, Natalie's marriage to Buster would ilcnrs averaged nine hundred dollars a week. Natalie

keep il all w itinn llic faniiK. I ie also encouraged was in charge ol the linances. and i^uster's salarx and

l()(, Buster with respect to Natalie. bonuses were paitl directK to licr.
 Wlicn N;il;ilic hccainc prt't^naiit willi llicir flrsl son |imm\. She had the (.hdd christened James,

c'liilcl. IV<; laliii;Kl<;c' Ictl New V)ikaiul iiionccI mi whieh hnrt Buster \er\ mut h.

with Biisltraiid Nal.ilic. (-oiislancc, icccntK' A second son, Kohert lahnadge Keaton was horn

tli\()i'cc(l, would cAC'iitualK iiionc hi wiIIi lliciii as l''ehruar\ ?. 1924. Both sons were hapli/ed Cailiolics,

well. I lie ialiiiacli^cs were a closc-kiiil laiiiiK, aiul lor the lalmadges were a (Catholic- launK. Busier

Busier soon Icll llial lie had married iiol one woman himsell was Protestant hut was indilTerenI to how the

hnt a whole famiK. i^eali/in<^ he had more eoiitrol al ehilclreu were hapti/ed. 1 le had no use ior religion.

work ihan at home, he immersed himselt in the mak- .\tter Bobby's birth, Natalie cleeided she wanted no

ing ot his films. more ehilclreu and loreed Buster to moxe into the

Buster and Natalie's hrst ehild, Joseph lahnadge guest room, eeasiug their ph\ sieal relationship. Buster

Keaton, was horn Jnne 2, 1922. 1 le was named Joseph, told her and hrs mother-in-law that he had no inten-

as six earlier generations ot first-horn sons w ho pre-

eeded him had heen. Buster was \er\ proud to hand

Ihistcr dl his Beverly llills iiuiiisioii. the Itdlidn \ ///<;. iii \()\euiher
down the tamiK tradition. I lowe\er, Natalie preferred
l'/2^l lie (,nee said. "It took a hell af a Id i>l jmitlalls to build

the name James and soon began ealliug their intant that dump."
 Buster and Natalie return on the SS
Bremen after a tour of Europe,

September 22, 1930.

tion of going without sex. He explained to both Despite the beautiful home and two wonderful
women that he would not support a mistress and that children, it was inevitable that the marriage would

he would keep his extramarital affairs discreet, but he end. When Buster lost control of his film work at

would find other partners. Natalie was content to M-G-M he drank heavily, and his affairs with actress

look away. Dorothy Sebastian and M-G-M stock contract player

The growing household necessitated a larger Kathleen Key were far from discreet. The honeymoon
home. Buster designed a house and had it built for Buster and Natalie never had was taken in 1930 when
Natalie as a surprise, but when he showed her the the two traveled through Europe, but it was unsuc-

house she found it too small. Buster sold it without cessful at bringing them closer together.

ever having spent one night in it. He still tried to Natalie sued for divorce on July 2 5, 1932, citing

please her any way he could. The house that won infidelity; an affair with an extra aboard their ninety-

Natalie's approval was a mansion designed by eight-foot yacht (which was named Natalie) was used

Gene Verge and built in Beverly Hills. Called the as grounds for the divorce. The court awarded her

Italian Villa, the ten-thousand-square-foot two-story custody of Jimmy and Bobby, and Buster was ordered

Mediterranean-style showplace was built in 1925 at a to pay alimony and child support. Buster was not con-

cost of three hundred thousand dollars. The palatial frontational. Although community property laws in

home, which had more than twenty rooms, including California did not entitle her to more than half of
five bedrooms and servants' quarters, stood on three everything. Buster allowed her to keep nearly all of

and a half acres. It had a beautiful swimming pool, the assets, including the Italian Villa, two of their

tennis court, trout-stocked stream, and even an aviary. three cars, the yacht, other property, and cash in the

They entertained lavishly at the Italian Villa. The bank. She continued to take him to court after the

barbecue parties they threw each Sunday from May divorce, although each time it had the opposite effect

to October were very popular among the Hollywood than what Natalie intended; the judge would lessen

elite. Buster himself would prepare the barbecued the amount Buster was to pay She also made it very

steaks, chicken, and English lamb chops. difficult for Buster to see Jimmy and Bobby after the
two bo\ s left the Black-Foxe Military Institute, a pri- With sons jimmy (left) and
Bobby (right), as grandfather
\atc mi]itar\ school in Holh w ood.
joe Keaton looks on, in Buster's

In 19^4 Natalie obtained a court order that legally M-G-M bungalow, c. 1930.

changed Jinim\ and Bobb\ s surnames from Keaton

to Talmadge, which devastated Buster. Natalie never

remarried, and her bitterness toward Buster ne\er

diminished.

It was not until 19^8, when Jimmw ha\ing earned

a dri\er's license, droxe to Che\iot Hills with his

younger brother that the relationship between Buster

and his sons was able to be repaired in some way. The

da\ Jimm\ and Bobby came to see him was one of

the happiest da\ s of Buster's life.

109
THREE AGES (1923)

T // RE E A C; /', S W AS THE FIRST OF Three Ages was a parody of Intolerance, D. W.

Buster's independent feature-length comedies. He Griffith's epic of love's struggle throughout the ages,

had wanted to make features since 1920, when Joe which interwove four stories. Buster told his story in

Schenck gave him his own unit, but only after three: the Stone Age, the Roman Age, and the

Chaplin and Lloyd had begun to make features was Modern Age. The three stories, in parallel episodes,

Buster allowed to do so. Marcus Loew, the head of were virtually three two-reelers, which minimized his

Metro, told Schenck he w anted Buster to make fea- risk— if the feature failed, he could convert the film

tures for Metro to release. The agreement called for into three two-reel comedies. The situation of rival

Buster to make two features a year, one for spring suitors. Buster and Wallace Beery, trying to win the

release, and the other for autumn release. Schenck affection of leading lady Margaret Leahy, was repeat-

doubled Buster's salary to two thousand dollars a week ed in all three episodes. Beery, who w ould become a

(and later to twenty-five hundred dollars) and a twenty- great star in the 1930s, was a well-known character

five percent share of the net profits from the films. actor when Buster hired him for Three Ages. He had

.T^^rV
 > v •:*v.^'

worked for Essaiun and Mack Scnnctt in the 191().s Opposite: With Blauchc Puvson in the Stone

Age episode of T href. Ac. ;•: .s

and liad received praise as King Richard in Douglas

Fairhauks iu Robin Hood (1922). Above: In the Roman Age episode of

Margaret Leah\- w as a blonde English girl w ho Three Aces, Buster finds himself in the

lion's den. An intertitle reads. "He vaguely

had won a "New British Film Star" competition, in
remembered that somewhere — sometime
which the prize was to appear in one of Bnster's films somehow — somebody made friends with a

hon doing something to its paws."

as his leading lad\'. Leah\ was prett\, hnt had neither

the talent nor the temperament for acting. Bnstcr had

diffienlties w ith her. Eas\- scenes had to be shot o\er

and o\er again. Howe\er, he did not complain and

tried to make the best of the sitnation. Bnster had

wanted Constance lalmadge for the leading lady in

Three Ages (she had pla\ ed the Mountain C^irl in

MI
 Above: This hchiud-the-f:cenes

photograph from the Stone Age

episode of Three Ages shows

Buster pulling Blanche Paysons

hair, as several crew members out

of camera range on the right wait

for Buster to be pushed off the

rock bv Pavson and land safclv

in a frefighter's tarp.

Piilht: Buster with his iiaiimen.

all wearing his trademark porkpie

hat, at I he Keaton Studio during

produclion of iiiKii: Ac:es. joe

Milchcll. C.lvde Bruckman, Busier.

jean llavez. and i.ddie (.'line.

112
 >V.
H

Above: Buster breaks his fall from the

top of a building by plunging through

several canvas window awnings before

grabbing onto a drainpipe in the

Modem hge episode. His ability to

perform such stunts earned him the

nickname "The Little Iron Man"

at the studio.

Right: Margaret Leahy, preparing for

the Stone Age episode, is stretched out

on a dolly with a handle concealed in

her hair Buster, in costume for the

Modem Age episode, demonstrates to

his stand-in how to pull her hair.

Buster used a stand-in for insert shots

involving his right hand to conceal

the fact that he had lost the tip of his

right index finger as a child.
Intolerance). Buster and Constance wanted to work on its back and brought it to life using stop-motion

together, but Schenek— who produced both their animation.

fihris — would not ahow it/Talmadge was a star in her Fred Cabourie designed some large sets for the

own right, and Schenek fcU, as most producers did at Roman episode, but they were not as elaborate or as

tliat time, that each motion picture had one star and expensive as they look in the film. The Coliseum set

supporting players. To put two stars together in a film was built up onl\ to the first couple of tiers; the rest

was considered a waste of talent. was a glass shot. Glass shots, a well-know n technique

The Stone Age sequence, w hich w as filmed on in the 1920s before process screens, were elaborate

location in Chatsworth, California, has Buster intro- backgrounds painted on glass and positioned precise-

duced atop the back of a brontosaurus. Buster had ly before the camera. The chariot race, with Buster

seen Winsor McCay's animated dinosaur short Gertie and his dog team, was shot on the location of a

(1914) and wanted something like tliat for Three Ages.

Max Fleischer, tlie creator of the popular Out of the

Inkwell cartoons with Koko the Clown, created a
Buster experiences the Fall of Rome in

small model of the dinosaur with a little Buster riding th is gc;g ,s(/7/ from T ;/ REf ; AGes .
 ihc I iiKi.i: Am s love Iriiiiti^le,

(IS xccii III the Maderii Aijc episode.

Hurler's rival for the hand of \\ar>^aret

I rahv in Wallace Beery.

I lolKwood exposition. Tlic episode was filled with Buster, this pro\ed to be the biggest laugh-getting

silly gags, the most iiieniorable perhaps being sequenee in the ])ieture.

Blister's eiieounter w itii a ridieulousK take lion. K\'en more so with the features than with the

During the filming of the Modern Age episode, a shorts, previews were an essential tool in the ereation

mishap oeeurred that was worked into the pietnrc. of Buster's films. A rough eut of the film would be

The seenc rec|uired Buster to leap from one building sereened so that Buster and his erew eould gauge

to another. A set was eonstrueted on the 1 lill Street audienee reaetion and then go baek to the editing

tunnel in downtown Los Angeles. With the street room to help the high spots and reshoot seenes that

below, it ga\ e the illusion that it was twehe stories did not work.'rhe\' ne\er ]5re\iewed the films in

up, but it was realK a set w ith a thirt\-fi\e-foot drop. HolK wood for fear that somebody eonneeted w ith

Buster used the lid of a sk\ light as a s])ringboard to the studios would be in the audienee and might steal

make an eighteen-foot jump from one rooftop to a sec|uence or a gag, film it, and release it before

another. 1 le misjudged the spring of the board and Buster's ]Meture went into distribution. Glcndale,

failed to make the leap, hitting the wall ot the other Long Beaeh, San Bernadino, Riverside, and Santa

side and falling into the net. He bruised his knees Ana were favorite preview loeations.'l'wo previews

and was in bed tor three davs.When the\ ran the vv ere the average for one of Buster's features. Three

footage of the aeeident, Eddie Cline and the erew Ages was the exception. Margaret Leahy's inability to

suggested ehanging the scquenee in order to work act forced Buster to prev iew the film eight times. 1 le

the shot into the ])ieture.l'he\ pieked up da\s later reshot her scenes over and over again to get a pass-

with the fall, w hieh euts to Buster landing onto an able performance from her.

awning (whieh breaks his fall), whereupon he swings Three Ages w as a commercial success, but it was a

from that to a rainspout into an open w indow and transitional film filled with the unbelievable slapstick

down a pole. I le has landed in the loeal fire station. that belonged to the period of Buster's shorts. He was

Bewildered, he finds himself upon the rear platform now confident that his next feature. Our Hospitality,

of a fire truek as it speeds off to a fire. Aeeording to would be even better. JJ5
OUR HOSPITALITY (1923)

Our Hospitality is one of

Buster's most perfectly constructed films. Like The

General (1926), his best-known and most admired

film. Our Hospitality is a period piece, set in the

American South. Both films employ visual beauty

and dramatic integrity as a backdrop to Buster's bril-

liant original comedy.

Directed by Buster and John G. (Jack) Blystone,

Our Hospitality featured the Keaton family. Buster's

wife, Natalie Talmadge, at first objected to Buster's

taking her and their infant son on location to the pic-

Below: Riding a replica of the
turesque country of Truckee and Lake Tahoe, but
Gentleiihui's Hohby-Horse,

when Buster offered Natalie the part of leading lady the first bicycle, in OvR
in the picture, she retracted her objections. Their son Hospitality.

Jimmy (billed as Buster Keaton, Jr.) is seen in the

Opposite: Buster cmiimes his classic

film's prologue, and Buster's father, Joe, plays the pose astride a miniature horse.

railroad engineer.

116
 The story, from an idea by Jean Ha\cz, was loosely Buster was scrupulous with e\er\ detail of the pic-

derived from the decidedly unhumorous real-life feud ture. The art direction is of exceptional qualit\, as are

between the Hatfields and the McCoys, two large the costumes. The entire production was so carefulK

family clans whose hatred of each otiier was leg- researched and staged that Buster's precise duplica-

endary. The film begins with a prologue of straight tion of the C.entleman's 1 lobb\ -Horse, the first bic\-

melodrama, in which the feud between the two fami- cle e\cr made, was later gi\cn to the Smithsonian in

lies (renamed the C'anficlds and the McKays) is Washington at the institution's request.

established. The main storx, set twcnt\ years later in Ihe dramatic logic of the film's narratixe, to

18 -^l, has Buster playing twent\-<)ne-\ ear-old Willie w Inch Buster ga\c a comic tw ist, was a departure

McKav, a New York dand\ u lio is summoned to the from an\ thing lie had done prexiously. Buster later

South to claim his family's estate, li:) film Willie e\])lained:

McKay's journey to the South, i^ustcr was inspired to

use one of the first steam Jocomoiixes c\cr manufac- W'c were rcrr con.sr/oi/.s- of our stories. We learned in a

tured. Buster chose to reproduce an I'.nglish locomo- hurry I hut we couldn't luuke a Ictiture-lena^lh l:>icture

tive, George Stephenson's Rocket, because it looked the n'<;v we luid done the two-reelers: we eouldn'l use

U8 much funnier than its American counterpart. ii\ipossihle gags, what we eall "cartoon" gags, like the
 ^%
^^^->

' 1 I

•v--

§^'
kind o/ things that happen to cartoon characters. Opposite: \\ ith cdinerainen l'',lii,iii Lcsslcv

and Cordon /c/nH/ig.s just prior to filming

We h)st all of that uhcn we started inaknig feature
the leap over the waterfall for () (
' k
pictures, iher had to he helierahle. or your story Hosi'i r M.iiY.
"
wouldn't hold i/p.

Above: I his helnud-the-seenes photograph

of Buster in the I'ruekee River was taken

Despite tlie meticulous plauniug aud precise exe- luoiiieiits before his hold-haek wire broke,

propelling him down the river where he

cution of the film, the production of C)(/r Hospitality
nearlr drowned.
was fraught with ditficulties and laden with unantici-

pated prohlems. Joe Roherts, w ho pla\ ed Joseph

Canfield, suffered a stroke while on location and was

hospitalized in Reno, Nevada. He reco\ered suffi-

cientK to continue in the film, although his weak-

ened condition is apparent in se\eral scenes. Just a

month after the final retake, Roherts died.

Three weeks after shooting hegan on location,

Natalie Talmadge disco\ered she was pregnant w ith 119

-»^
Ri'j,li(: Ihistci nuikcs ihc watcrjull laij) ta rescue

his girl III ( ) I

' K Uosri I \i 1 1 ) I liv Icaj^

wiis iiijhu'iwcd In llic cliiihuiiv ,s\i7/i<^ across

the skxscrajx'r III lUniild i.lnvd's S \i I I

I, \s I 1
1'-)2 ij and the ice floe .sct/i/c/icc m
l).\\. CriJlUh's W'w Down East (1920).
lie took ill so imich water execuliua, the stunt

that he had to he given medical attention.

Opposite: Ihe waterfall sequence uas not filmed

on location in Inickcc. hut on a set huill over a

large I lollvwood studio swimming pool.

tlicir second son, l^ohhwlb complete

the film. Buster was toreed to photo-

graph Natalie in such a \\a\ as to

camouflage her pregnancy.

One of the most outstanding;

sequences in Our Hospitality entails

Willie McKa\ beinc; pursued and nlti-

matcK tailing into a ri\er. MeKa\'s

sweetheart sets out to help, and she too

tails in, so McKav has to help her. Hie scene, which

was shot at the Iruckee Ri\er (a fa\orite Keaton loca-

tion), nearK killed Buster, lie was splashing in the actually photographed in 1 lolK wood. Buster con-

ri\cr with a hold-hack wire tied around him. At one structed the waterfall o\er a large studio swimming
point, the w ire broke, and Buster took oft like a shot pool, with a miniature set to create the illusion of a

down the ri\er. Krnie Orsatti and se\eral other men distant \alle\ below the falls. Buster performed all

working on the film ran after him along the ri\er- the stimt work for the rescue himself, which was

bank, unable to hel]) him. kinalK, Buster was able to phvsicalK demanding as w ell as dangerous, and he

grab onto a branch of an oxcrhanging tree, prexent- took in so much water hanging miderncath the falls

ing himself from smashing into the rocks, but not that medical assistance was reciuired..\s Buster later

before a whole school of little water snakes swam recalled, "1 had to go down to the doctor right there

around him. What must ha\ e seemed to Buster like a and then.l'he\ pumped out my ears and nostrils and

million bab\ eels were flicking their tongues at Inm, drained me, because when a full \olunie of water like

and he did not know whether the\' were poisonous or that comes down and hits \ou and xou're upside

not. All he could think of was finding something to down — then \ou realK' get it."

hold onto before he was smashed to bits. Of course, Despite all the difficulties. Buster remembered

all of that is in the film in what is perhaps its most the production fondK. The summer stay in lahoe

thrilling scene. I he finished sequence is one of with his famih reminded him of his happy boyhood

Buster's marxels, a demonstration ot his plnsical dex- summers spent on hake Muskegon, Michigan.
terity and skill as w ell as his filmmaking genius. Buster was proud oi Our Hospitality (he always

Although most ot Our Hospitality was filmed on referred to the film as simply Hospitality) and consid-

location, the amazing w aterfall rescue sequence was ered it one of his best films. ill
SHERLOCK JR. (1924)

Sherlock Jr. is a showcase of Above and opposite: Buster is a film

stage gags and illusions that Buster had learned projectionist who aspires to be a great
in
detective in Sherlock Jr.
vaudeville, translated with great ingenuity to the

screen. Demonstrating Buster's love for the movies

more than any other of his films, Sherlock Jr. was

also the most technically challenging picture he

ever made.

Buster plays a projectionist in a small-town movie

theater who dreams of becoming a detective. He is

rejected by his girl (Kathryn McGuirc) after being

falsely accused of having stolen her father's pocket

watch, which was actually stolen and pawned by his

rival for the girl, played by Ward Crane. Sherlock Jr.

becomes a film within a film in a dream sequence

that occurs when Buster goes back to the theater's

projection booth and falls asleep once the c\ening

\22
""m^^
 film is running. Imagining he is a character in the Sherlock jr. repeatedly amazed b\ its effects, to tr\- to

nio\ ic lie is projecting, he simph' walks into the figure out how certain scenes in the film were done.

screen and becomes Sherlock Jr., the great detective, Hie picture on the screen w ithin the screen was a

rhc film ends with Buster awakening to find his girl theater set, lit in such a wa\' as to look like a film

in the projection booth, ha\ ing disco\ercd his inno- being projected. I'he changing ot scenes on the

cence of the crime. screen within the screen was achicxed b\ making

Buster's entire reason tor making the film was to e\er\one freeze while the set was altered, l.csslcx had

create the situation of a motion-])icture projectionist to film screen and theater separatcK tor exterior

in a theater who falls aslcc]) and \isuali/,cs himsclt shots, using sur\e\c)r's instruments. One ot the exte-

becoming inxoKed with the characters on the screen. rior scenes invoKcd Buster surrounded b\' two lions.

The (heam sec|ucncc was the excuse tor all the film's Buster filmed the scene in a large circular cage at

impossible gags. Had Buster not had one of the best Unixersal, and this was the onl\ time he did not get

cameramen in motion pictures, l'',lgin l,essle\, he along with animals. I Ic was in the cage alone, w ith

would nc\cr have made Sherlock jr. l,essle\' executed i'.lgin I ,essle\ outside the cage shooting through a

the special effects so pcrlectK that cincmatographers hole. Ihc two big lions started to tollow him and,

}2^^ and other Idm technicians ot the time went to see with bushes and other troi^cal tolia^c conccaliui' the
cage. Buster beeame nervous because he was not Opposite: iliis still depicts a sequence

quite sure where the gate to the cage was located, in

that does not appear in Shkklock
/ R. ; ;/ was either abandoned or cut from
case he needed to make a hasty exit. When he safeh' the fdm prior to release. The preoccupied

got out of the cage, Lessley announced that Buster ticket-office girl remains unidentified.

However, she does appear elsewhere in the

had to repeat the shot for the foreign negatixe. hi
film as the girl who works the sen'ice

silent films, two cameramen were necessary because counter of the confectionery shop.

\ irtualK e\ erything was shot with two cameras,

Above: Buster examines his celluloid world.
placed side b\' side. One made the negative for

America, the other the negative for Europe and other

countries abroad. Buster said, "Europe ain't going to

see this scene!" Europe did eventuallv see the scene;

Buster had a duplicate negative made from the

domestic version of the film.

Many gags in Sherlock jr. were not camera tricks at

all. Buster photographed them in long takes to show

these amazing feats just as they happened. The best 125

"'

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IHJttuA^M^iHi'Hlii l«l>ih in. tt^ititt M

«-fes»-:'

example of this comes when Buster, trapped by a stunt. Buster restaged it for Donald O'Connor years
dead end, dives straight through a peddler woman's later for The Buster Keaton Story (1957), and Donald

tray and apparently disappears completely through did an admirable job executing this risky stunt.

her body (the peddler woman is actually Sherlock Buster had two accidents while filming Sherlock ]r.

Jr.'s assistant, Gillette, in disguise). It was a reworking The first accident, which was more serious, occurred

of one of Joe Keaton's stage tricks, which involved a when Buster was running along the top of a freight

small hinged trapdoor in the wall directly behind the car and was struck by the flow of water from a water

tray lid and what looks like Gillette's chest. The bot- tower. He misjudged the force of the water, which hit

tom half of his body was actually lifted in a horizon- him extremely hard. It tore his hands loose from the

tal position; he wore a dress over his top half and the rope, and he was thrown to the track. His head hit

bottom half was faked with a costume hanging down directly on the rail. He finished the shot, which

containing mannequin dummy ankles and feet. After required him to get up and run away from two men
Buster dove through, Gillette's legs were lowered and who were chasing him. He had a headache for a few

the wall closed. The skirt of the dress was weighted hours, took a few stiff drinks, went to bed, and was

with buckshot so it would not move. Gillette then fine the next day. Eleven years later he had a com-

walked away from the wall. It was a very dangerous plete physical examination with X-rays. The doctor
asked Buster, "When did \()u break your neek?" Above: Buster rides the handlebars of a

policeman's motorexele. The motorexele

Buster said, "I ne\er broke ni\' ueek," Tlie doctor
cop is an unidentified phixer. and .SVeve

showed Buster the X-ra\; which revealed a callous Murphy is in the background.

that had grown o\er the fracture, near the top \erte-
Opposite: Buster is about to become a part
bra. Buster realized he must ha\ e broken his neck
of the action in the fihn on the screen in

went he hit the track making Sherlock jr.\ the dream sequence from Sl/KK/,()c:K'
/k. Buster's father, joe. is the man on the
The second accident, which was minor compared
fdm screen.
to the first, happened in a scene in which Buster

calls a motorc\cle cop and jumps on his handlebars.

The bike speeds off, hits a pothole in the street, and

the cop falls off without Buster realizing it. The cop
was actualK Buster. Ernie Orsatti, a prop man who
later was an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals,

was Buster's size, so Buster dressed Ernie in his own

costume and wore the cop imiform to achiexe the

stunt. When Buster went back to finish the scene

alone on the motorc\cle, he had to sit on the handle-

bars, where he had control of the speed but no

brakes. At one point he passed a row of workmen

sho\ cling in a long ditch, and a sho\el lull of dirt

aecidentalK hit him in the face. Buster lost control. 127

 Ill d reworking of one of his father's went straight toward the eameras, and w ouiid up fl\-

old stage tricks. Buster dives straight

ing off the bike and hitting the windshield of a car.
through the body of his assistant.

Gillette (disguised as a peddler woman). Miraculously, Buster did not sustain an\ injuries.

Roscoe Arbuckle started as director on Sherlock jr.

Arj:)ucklc, as a result of the X'irginia Rappc scandal,

unjustK was not allowed to work as an actor hut did

work as a director, using his father's first two names,

William Cjoodrich. I le was still so bitter and hurt h\

the ordeal that it was impacting his comed\ judg-

ment, and Buster had to take him ott the picture

after a few weeks.

It look h\e months to make Sherlock /r. When tnst

prc\ iewcd. the tilm was not well rcceixed, .so Buster

recnt the picture; a second prc\ icw was also uns.iti.s-

lactor\. Alter a third prcxicw he did some Inrthcr cut-

ting and released it. Bustci' had ditticnlt\ s|i nctnring

\2H it as a Icatnrc. 1 Ic shot more than (lO.llOO tcet ot him

for Sherlock jr., but the final print was only 4,n6S Buster aud leading lad\ Kathrxn

McGuire in the final scene of the dream

feet. Buster felt it worked better as a shorter film,
sequence from S iiKRi. o c K / K

pla\ing like two two-reelers: the first two reels set up

the situation, and the last two reels contain the coni-

ed\ eonelusion. As a result of the cuts, the film is

about one reel (approximateK ten to twel\ e minutes)

shorter than most comed\' feature films of the pericxl.

At its core, Sherlock jr. is a film about film. It con-

tains selt-refieeti\e jokes about the nature of film, as

well as about illusion and rcalit\, and indicates the

im]5act ot the mo\ies on audiences of that time,

w hich was unlike that of an\ mediiun before or since.

Keaton reflects on this phenomenon in the film's last

scene, when he looks to the mo\ ie on the screen to

show himself how to act with his girlfriend. SAcr/oc/:

jr. has influenced other fihumakers, most notably

\\ood\ Mien in The Purple Rose of Cairo (198S). 129

 d

THE NAVIGATOR (1924)

T H K Navigator, an abandon e
ocean liner, is the stage upon which Buster creates a

charming comic duet between a pair of wealthy soci-

ety simpletons who unwittingly find themselves adrift

on the high seas and are forced to take care of them-

selves and ultimately each other. Buster's most com-

mercially successful film, The Navigator is second

onl\ to The General in its use of a grand and elabo-

rate set piece as a backdrop to an intimate comedy of

character.

Fred Gabourie, Buster's technical director, had

promised Buster, after the difficulties with the film-

ing of the launch sequence in The Boat, that he

would someday find a boat that could be used to top

the two-reeler. When Gabourie came across the

Biiford, a full-fledged ocean liner, that was on loan to

director Frank Lloyd who was filming The Sea Hawk

Above: The M.\vic..\tor (1924) is
(1924), he knew he had found Buster the perfect
virtually a comic duct with Buster and
prop. The Buford was so intriguing as a film prop that
Kathryn XkGuire as hi'o idle rich people

who find themselves the only passengers a story was written to make use of it.

on a ship adrift at sea. The helpless pair

The Buford was called "the Soviet Ark" and was
cannot prepare even a simple breakfast
used by the U.S. government to deport anarchists
without fnohlems.

and radicals rounded up during the 1919 Red Scare.

Opposite top: One of the most famous
It was a five-hundred-foot ocean liner, and Buster
images of Buster is this beautifully com-

posed still from l in: N\v /GATOR. leased it from the Alaskan-Siberian Navigation

Company for twenty-five thousand dollars. It was

Opjtosite bottom: A portrait of Buster
repaired and repainted (with the name Navigator on
from Tin: N wia aior.
the side), and the cast and crew lived on the ship for

ten weeks, with much of the filming done near

Avalon Ba\', off C^atalina Island.

Gabourie's find inspired Jean Havez to create a

stor\ of two idle people alone and adrift on an empty

ship. Buster plays Rollo Treadway, introduced w ith

the title, "Rollo Treadway— heir to the Treadway tor-

tune— a living proof that e\cr\- familx tree must lia\e

nn its sap." Rollo decides to get married. 1 lis girl, Bets\-

O'Brien (])l;i\c'(l In K.illii\ n Mc( '.iiirc), declines I lis

inairi;i<;c proposal, so Kollo l\\ ho has ahcacK

iirniiis;c(l two steamship tickets to 1 loiiohihii deeides

to <;o aiu\\a\. 1 le ends up hoarding the w roii^ shiji —

a ship heloiii^iiiy to Bets\'s hither that is set .uhitt h_\

foreign spies. Bets\ manages to get aboard as well,

and In nioriiing the two diseoxer that the\ are the

oiiK passenj^ers on a slii]) adrift at sea. The eoinecK

grows Iroin the eoniplieations ot two helpless people

(w ho lia\e nexei done am thing for thcinscKes) ha\-

ing to ada])t to the rough conditions.

l^uster heliexcd that the film's plot, which begins

with a serious dramatic ])rologuc iiuoK iug spies and

foreign agents, rec|iiired a codireetor for the dramatic

sequences. Honald C'ris]), who had established him-

self m D.W.Griffith'.s Broken Blossoms (1919) as a

character actor and who went on to pla\ fatherly roles

in How Green Was My Valk'Y (1941 ) and Lassie,

Clome Home (194->), was hired to direct the serious

parts, but soon he became interested ouK in working

on the eomecK scenes with Buster. Buster w as not

liapp\ with Caisp's work and rcshot main of his dra-

matic scenes atler Crisp left the production, as he

felt the\' were o\eraetcd.Thc lasting contribution The underwater sequence, in which Rollo has to

Cris]) left to the film was his face. I'he angr\- face in go o\ erboard in a deep-sea-di\ing suit to stop the

the oil portrait that scares Rollo w heu it sw iiigs at his ship from sinking, was mired w ith unexpected diffi-

porthole is the face of Donald Crisp. culties. Buster refused to use a double and insisted on

going d(n\ n himself, e\en though diving was \ery

dangerous. 4'hev first tried to shoot the scene in the

Ri\erside municipal swimming pool. Howexer, the

weight ot the extra water created when the\ built up

the pool to accommodate the mock-up of the

Navigator's stern ruined the pool. The Keaton com-

pan\ had to pa\ to rebuild it.

rhc\ next tried waters off Catalina Island, but the

water was not clear because it w as fish-spaw ning .sea-

son. The cxcntual location choice for the scene was

I ,ake Tahoe in Nevada. It took four w eeks to com-

plete the underwater sequence. The water was er\stal

clear but cxtremeK cold, and Buster could stay down

tor oiiK thirt\ minutes at a time. 1 he two camera-

men worked in a specialK constructed wooden box

with a glass panel, submerged about twcnt\ feet in I5J

 these "Coming Attractions runners")

to promote the film. While underwater

making repairs to the ship. Buster

picks up a starfish, attaches it to his

chest, and proceeds to direct fish traf-

fic w ith the twelve hundred rubber fish

the property department built. Thev

w ere suspended on thin, strong strings

mo\ed b)- a large machine — mounted

on four telegraph poles — abo\e the

water. Buster lo\ed the sequence, but

audiences did not laugh w hen the\' pre-

the lake. Ice had to be packed around tlie camera- view ed the film. Buster concluded that this was

men to prevent the glass panel from fogging up. because the scene interfered w ith the hero's job of

Not all of the problems concerned the water. No sa\ing the ship and the girl, and it interrupted the

one e\'er told Buster that one should never be low- stor}. Removed from the stor\ and show n in a trailer,

ered into the w ater on a rope ladder w hen w earing a the scene was a success.

dccp-sea-di\ing suit, but instead a stationary ladder The Navigator was received w ith unanimous praise

should always be used. Buster went into the w ater on and was Buster's most commercialK' successful film.

the rope ladder, and his feet raised up to a point It established his reputation as a major filmmaker,

where he was flat on his back and his face was like Chaplin and Lloyd, and was one of Buster's two

pressed against the glass face plate of the suit's hel- favorite films, along w ith The General.

met so that he could not breathe. If one looks closely

at the scene in the film, the panic on his face is clcar-

h cN'ident. Finalh; he let go of the rope and pulled on

the line for the crew to let him go. Buster dangled in

the water for a while to get his breathing back. His

crew had no idea cxactK w hat was happening.

A favorite sequence of Buster's had to be cut from

Ihe ])icturc but was used in the trailer (Buster called

/\/)ovc': \\/7/i noihihl disfh prcjJiiriiiu^ to llhii Buster dcncciHrni<i

the Idcldcr into the ncitcr. i'.risp woitkl leave the jirodiiettou prior

to jihiiiiii^ the iiudenvater seeiies in Lake I'lihoc.

Ri^ht: Hurler ill his divni<^ suit, eoiiiplete with hut.

Opposite: CaisI and erew of I ill. .\'\\ ic; \i()i< lived ii hoard

the ship for ten weeks in waters ofj Calalina Island, visihie in the

J 52 haektirouiid.
 >t--

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i-m
SEVEN CHANCES (1925)

Buster plays ]immie Shannon, who is too timid to propose to his Today con si i^i:ri n onf. of^ Bustkr's
sweetheart (Ruth Dwyer), in Se\ es Cii.\r^cES. I'his prologue
best ])icturcs, Seven CVuiuces was a film Buster did
sequence was photographed in two-strip Technicolor
not like until \er\ late in his lite. Mis dislike for the

film began when the st()r\ was toreed upon him h\

joe Sehenek, w ho bought Seven Chanees. a pla\ w rit-

ten b\- Roi C^ooper Megruc (based on a short stor\ b\

Conxerneur Morris), for twent\-fi\e thousand dollars

without eonsulting Buster. Buster had seen the pla\'

on Broadwa\ in l*-)^). li was not a eommereial sue-

eess; in iaet, it was one ot theater produeer Haxid

Belaseo's lailures. Moreover, it was an unheliexable

faree, and Buster as a rule wanted beliexable stories

134 tor his feature liietures. W hat made matters worse

was llial Jolni Mc I )ci iiioti, a (lirctlor and scrccii- The rockslide climax was not in the original plav

w rilcr, had sold tlic slorx to Sclicnck as pari ol a deal or him scenario, I he original clinuix of the film was

ill which Schcntk promised McnLiinoll he would just an elaborate chase, ending with lousier running

dirc'cl die hhn. Riiska had axcnlK hoiiowcd a lot ol down the side ol <i lull, the brides ol lowing behind.
I

uioiicN Iroiii Schniclx and owed him se\eral lavois, W hen the him was previewed tor ihe second lime,

so he rehietaniK wen! aloii^ with the idea of Busier thought he had a bad picture and that there

Mel")ermoll as his new direelor. was nothing he could do about it. I lowe\er, Buster

Menevmolt slaiied eastint^, liired extra writers, and his team heard langhler just as the scene began

and ordered sets lo he huilt, inlendin<; to taiHilnlK to fade out. rhe\ did not know w hat had caused the

adapt the laree to the sereen/l'he hills were eoming laughter, so the\ ran the film again at the studio the

in, and he was spending large smns ot monex.Atter next cla\. At the screeniug thc\ discoxcred tliat Bnster

two weeks. Buster and Lou Anger eonfronted had dislodged a rock, and it in turn had loosened two

MeDermott, and he lett the produetion. 'li;) heighten others coming down the side ot the liill..\s the rocks

what Buster eousidered an unpromising stor\. Buster started to roll atter him, the ])re\iew audience sal up

photographed the prologue ot the film in tw()-stri[:) in iheir seats. Thc\ found the seciuenee lunm and

'k-ehnieolor— a no\elt\ in 192^ — and hired Snitz were ex])ecting more.

I'.dwards, the Jew ish eomedian and \eteran Broadway '\h build on this momeni. Buster had kred

eharaeter aetor, for the ini])ortant eomed\ role of the C'.abonrie fabricate fifteen hundred ])apier-niaehe

attorne\. i'.dwards's memorahle pertormanees in Rex rocks that ranged troni grapetruit si/e to boulders

Ingram's The Prisoner of Zendci (1922), Soi//.v for Sale eight feet in diameter. The\ touud a new location, on

(192^), and Douglas Kairbanks'.s 'Hie Thief of Bagdad the Ridge Route in the High Sierras. The mountain

(1924) had made him an appealing casting ehoiee. was steeper than a fort\-fi\e-degree angle to accom-

Buster liked his work so mueh that he used Kdwards modate the rolling boulders.'! hey reshot the

again in Batthiig Butler, The General (in a seenc that sec|nencc w ith the brides chasing Blister and incor-

was cut just prior to the film's release), and College. porated the boulders. The scene was earefulK worked

hi Seven Chanees Buster plays Jimmie Shannon, out; much thought went into where the different-

who learns at noon on his twent\-se\euth birthday si/ed rocks would be placed and where tlie\ would

that he must he married h\ se\en o'eloek that roll down the incline. The improvisation came in

evening in order to inherit a fortune. Bimgling a mar- dod"iu" the rocks once the\ were let loose. Buster telt

riage proposal, he is rejeetcd b\ his longtime sweet- that the seenc sa\ed the film.

heart. B\ the time she reeonsiders, Jinnnie is already The rock chase ma\' lia\e sa\cd the film, but it was

making the rounds at his eoimtr\ elub, w here his a c|uiet moment of photographic \irtuosit\ that

impromptu proposals to se\en different women (his Buster liked best. It was the scene w here he dri\cs

se\en chanees) are rejected. In desperation, Jimmie's from his eomitr\ club to his sweetheart's hou.se and

business partner places an appeal for a bride in the back again to the country club. He gets into a 1922

local newspaper, pleading that Jimmie needs a bride Mercer Raceabout, starts the engine, releases the

to meet him at the church at fi\e o'clock. The ad\er- brake, and sits back to drixe, but the car does not

tisement reccixes an o\crw helming response. The cli- men e from its spot: only the background changes,

max of the film finds Buster chased b\ fi\e hundred dissoKing from one location to another. The effect

woidd-bc brides in full wedding regalia, and ends was achieved b\ Elgin Lesslex with the use of sur-

w ith one ot Buster's most astomiding acrobatic and \e\or's instruments. Bnster lo\ed this simple scene.

cinematic feats — racing down a hill while bombard- He also lo\ed the Mercer Raceabout, so much so

ed b\ an axalanche ot enormous boulders. that he bought two of them: one was tor the film J 35
 Waiting for a bride in Seven

l«

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11 -• lilk-

T/ie arrival of five hundred would-be

??x^ brides.

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 r^^

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Buster is chased by the five hundred would-be brides through the city streets.

and the other went to his sister-in-law Constanee Despite its commercial success, Buster ne\er felt

1'alniadge. satisfied with the film. When Raxmond Rohaucr

Seven Chances was a sueeess because the team wanted to pa\ off \arious cop\ right holders so that he

worked o\ er the material to make a stage farce into a could reissue the film, Buster told him not to bother.

Buster Kcaton fihii; the second half of the picture- He felt it was his worst picture. When Ra\mond pur-

eluding brides and boulder rocks — was created by sued it an\ way. Buster was disgusted that Raymond
Buster and his w riters, and it is the comed\ in its sec- wasted his mone\ on the film.Sevt'/? Chances was

ond half for which the film is rcmembered/Hie film re\i\ed at the third New "^"ork Film Festi\al in

was in fact the last in which the team of CKde September 1965; the film had not been seen in over

Bruckman, Jean Ha\ez, and Joseph Mitchell worked thirt\-fi\e \ ears. To Buster's surprise, and contrar\ to

together. Bruckman went to work for Harold Llo\d, his long-held impression, the film pro\ed to be — and
who was making For Heaven's Sake (1926); Havez remains — a spectacular crowd-pleaser.
died in 1925; and Mitchell went to write stories for

LIni\ersal. n:
 GO WEST (1925)

Go W K S /• IS LI N I Q L) E IN B U S I I-, R '
S

work as the only film in which he combined comedy

and pathos in a manner similar to Charlie Chaplin's

trademark style of filmmaking in films snch as The

Gold Rush (1925). At once sentimental and a clever

parody of sentimentality, Go West has fewer gags and

Below: Blister plays a wistful tramplike
more dramatic scenes than Buster's other films. It is
character ill Go VVe.st, a flattering
his most romantic film with his most unusual "hero- parody of Chaplin.

ine," a beautiful little Jcrse\' cow named Brown Eyes.

Opposite: In the opening sequence,
Buster had a great affinity for animals, and in
Buster hauls all his possessions to the

Brown Eyes he found both an affectionate and obedi- general store, where he sells them for S 1.65.

^^^J

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c'lil aiiim:il IIkiI lie liiiint'd

hiiiisc llinl cii (l;i\ s. Icslarl

c(l workini; w ilh hci h\ usiui^

a little rope aroniul her neek,

walking her e\er\ where <iiul

fcedint; her ticlhils.'lhis \\a\

he helrieiulecl her. i^\ the

time tlie\ started shooting the

tdni, he just look hiaek

sewing thread anti tied one

end around her neek and the

other end to his little tnigcr.

I*',\er\ where he went she

staved right with him and

nexer hroke ihe thread. It got

to the point where she was

with him all the time.

Go West was partK made

on loeation at C>eorge ""lap"

Dnnean's \'alle\' Raneh, ahout hft\ miles north of I Ic arri\ es in Arizona, w here he gets a job as a ranch

Kingman, Arizona. Buster and his erew were on the hand. In a scene reminiscent oi Androclcs ami the

loeation tor ahout three weeks in the smnmer of 1925. l.ion. Friendless sees the ostracized Brown F.yes limp-

The desert loeale was so hot that the\ had to paek ice ing, and he comes to her aid, remox ing a rock

aroimd the eameras to prexcnt the emulsion ot the wedged in her hoof. As a resrdt of this kind act.

film trom melting. Howexer, the desert heat did not Friendless has now made his first friend. The pathos

gi\e them as mueh of a prohlem as when Brown Kyes comes from these two nuloxed and inept characters

went into heat! She heeame disobedient, and Buster finding each other. Buster's character is dcxotcd

and the erew had to wait two w eeks until she reeo\- to his onlv companion and does c\ery thing he can

ered trom it. to keep his beloxed cow from being sent to the

In the film. Buster pla\s a loneK drifter named stock\ard.

Friendless (the names "Friendless" and "Brown Buster planned a magnificent \isual climax to

Eyes" were taken from characters in O. \\. Griffith's conclude the film, but it did not work according to

Intolerance). The film's opening seqnence, in which plan. In the film, b'riendless unleashes steer at the

PViendless sells all his ])ossessions to a general store train depot, causing bcnine chaos through Los

for $1.65, onl\ to ha\e to gi\e hack most of it when he Angeles as he leads them to the stockyard. Some of

realizes he forgot to w itlihold personal items such as these scenes were actualK photographed in down-

his mother's picture, wonderfulK' establishes his town Los Angeles, w here he had three lumdred head

character and the semi-humorous, sentimental tone of steer on location, but much of the city sequence

to the film. With his remaining coins. Friendless bu\s was actualK filmed on a street set at the studio. What
a loaf of bread and a sausage. He rides the boxcars, Buster intended, but was unable to create, was an

first jonrne\ ing to New York but soon follow ing the actual stampede chase scene, leading the cattle to

ad\ ice popularized b\ journalist and political leader the stock\ard like the Pied Piper. Friendless goes into

Horace CireelcN to "Go w est, \onn" man. Go w est." a costmne shojD and sees a red devil's suit, knowing B9
that steer do not like red and will chase it.

Buster donned the eostunie thinking he would

get a funn\- sequence, but the steer w ould not

chase him. He had to have cattlemen push

them to go as fast as they would go. That hurt

the film, as it was to be the big finish, hi the

end. Buster's cameramen had to trick it from

all angles — along w ith undercranking the cam-

eras—to create the illusion of a stampede.

Though the finished sequence remained a dis-

appointment to Buster, failing to meet his ini-

tial expectations, it is exceptionalK' w ell made.

Buster— when he wanted or had to be — was a "

*

highl\' skilled film illusionist.

Working without his usual team of gag writ-

ers Jean Havez, Clyde Bruckman, and Joseph

Mitchell for the first time. Buster brought in

Lex Neal, an old friend from his childhood

summers spent in Bluffton, Michigan, and

Raymond Cannon to help with gags. After the cattle and an\'thing I have is yours for the asking." "I want

chase, the\' decided to end the film with a delightful her," responds Friendless, pointing in the direction of

scene. Friendless has singlehandedly delivered all the the ranch owner's pretty daughter. Friendless then

ranch owner's cattle to the stockyard, hi gratitude, walks right past the girl to his beloved Brown Eyes

the ranch owner tells him in an intcrtitle, "My home immediateU' beside her. The film ends with the four

of them dri\ing off in the

ranch owner's car, Friendless

and Brown Eyes liappiK side

In side in the back seat.

The film is most memo-

rable for its little moments.

When Buster pla\s cards in

the bunkhousc w ith a couple

of cowbo\s, he points out that

one phuer is cheating. I he

dishonest card pla\ er ])oints a

gun at him and remarks,

"When \(ni sa\ that —

SMILE." Busier, ot course, is

mi.ible lo smile, and he iloes

the tamous I .illian Cish ges-

ture from Broken Blossoms ot

pnshmg the corners ot his

mouth un with two tmccrs.

Buster hclicxcd tli.il lliis scene would (li;i\\ hii; hiii^hs

from iiiKlieiices appieeintiii^ the llireelold |);irod\ of

his own eh;ir;iet(.T's dead|);ni expression, the reterenee

to Lillian Cisli in Broken Hlossonis. and Westerns in

{general ("When \()n sa\ that — SM 11

,1'',"
was a Ian ions

line Ironi the popular western llic \ irgiiJian). But ni

prc\iews, he was disappointed because it did not gel Ojipns'ttc tap: Busier as I'ricndless.

the response he had e\])eete(l. \udienees just lelt

Opposite biiltdui: "Whcit \ini sax

soriA lor him. I lowexer. Buster liked the scene so
Iliat — SMILI." cicniaiicis lliv ranch lore-

much he kept it in the tmislied lilm. man Ray I ihoinpson) alter Buster has

accused hnn of clieatin^ at cards.

A chaiacter eoinecK more than a "atz coniecK, C>o

Went is a \er\ successful film on that basis and there-

Below: Buster accompanies his helored

fore the (pcrlia|:)s misc;uided) inspiration for Battling cow. Brown lives.

Butler.

141
BATTLING BUTLER (1926)

One of Buster's fa vor tk f em

i i s ,
was the bo.xing aspect of the original stage show.

Battling Butler was also one of his most commercially Buster and his team of gagmen — Paul Gerard Smith,

successful motion pictures, second only to The Al Boasberg, Charles H. Smith, and Lex Neal— dis-
Navigator. Buster's pride in the film was based on its carded all the songs and dances, eliminated one "t"

tremendous popularity and his physical mastery in from the name in the play's title, and reworked the

the climactic boxing bout. Modern audiences do not script to fashion it into a Keaton film.

respond the same way to Battling Butler as they did Battling Butler is the story of pampered playboy

in 1926, and it is today perhaps the least known of his Alfred Butler, a character similar to the roles Buster

silent features. The comed\ is not as strong as in his had pla\ed in The Saphead and The Navigator. AUred

other features, and the climactic fight seems to be is sent off by his father to the mountains in the hope

out of key with the rest of the film. that a hunting and fishing trip will make a man out

The film was based on a stage play. Battling of him. "Roughing it " in the mountains in the com-

Battler, an English musical comedy that had been a pany of his valet (wonderfully pla\ed by Snitz

success on Broadway in 1923. What attracted Buster Edwards), Alfred discovers that he shares the same

,\//rt'</ "Bdllliii'^" Ihitler (l''ici)uis MucndiKild} and his wife (Mcin OBricn, with black eye),

H2 enaniiUer Ihc other Alfred Ihitler with his wife (.So/Zv ()'\t'/7) in H\i ri isi: Brri.i R.
iKiiiic ;is ;i fiimoiis boxer, Alfred

"Battling" Butler, llie world

lighlweiglil eliainpioii eon-

tender. Allred prelends to he the

ho\er in order to impress the

inountani girl (pla\ed l)\ SalK

O'Neil with w honi he has

I

instantK fallen in loxe. Alter

their marriage, he attempts to

pass himselt ott as the lamons

boxer and trains to fight the re<d

Battling Bntler's npeoming

ehampionship bont w ith the

Alabama Murderer.

'I he nnexpeeled elimax of

the film is dramatie rather than

comie. The film begins like ihe

Navigator, iutrodneing the pam- W Miikn Wdllccr, \\vllcn\vi<j^hl chaiujitoii of he world, on the i.isc, Bl' K
;//; I scl of li \ I I I I I

pered hero in mueh the same Walker was a friend of Btisler's and ad\t\ed Inni on the jdni's eliinaelie fight.

manner as his earlier film, but

in.stead ot the usual strong eome-

d\ audienees had grown to expeet from him, the pie- big scene in the film, and since he was the director,

tnre de\elops into a light eomcd\ and ends w ith a he staged it exaeth the wa\- he wanted it. Buster was

dramatie elimax. Abandoning the elimax from the ]5art masochist; he did not seem to mind the bruises

original pla\, in w hieh the hero at the last minute and strained muscles that were e\eryday occurrences

does not ha\e to fight, Buster added his ow n elimax, in the boxing sequences.

as he felt that he eould not lead an audienee to I he best conied\' scenes are earl\ in the film, and

expeet all through the film that his eharaeter is going one of Buster's fa\orite nroments was the duck-

to fight in the ring and then not do it. So he staged a shooting scc|uence, in w hieh Alfred is no match for

fight in the dressing room in w hieh his eharaeter the little duck that repeatedK descends underwater

takes on the real Battling Butler, w ho has just w on and reappears on the other side of Alfred's small

the title in the ring against the .Alabama Murderer. canoe. Alfred e\entuall\' capsizes the boat tr\ing to

The fight is dramatie, and Buster's character is get the duck. rhirt\-onc \ears later Buster reworked

brutally hit b\ the real "Battling" Butler. When the this duck-hunting routine for the film made for the

prizefighter hits Alfred's bekncd \alet, Alfred 1957 simimcr-stock production oi Mertou of the

becomes mieontrollable and furiousK punches out Movies.

the champion. A dramatic fight scene was new to Battling Butler was the last Keaton film to be

film conied), and Buster was pleased w ith the fin- released b\ joe Schenck under his distribution agree-

ished result. ment w ith Mctro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Now Buster's

Buster's .Alfred Butler character, w ho can take an\ films woidd be released b\ United .Artists where

amount of pain and still w in at the end, is like Buster Schenck was president. The film's commercial suc-

himself. I his similarity perhaps explains wh\ Buster cess allowed Buster the freedom to make next his

liked the film so much. The dramatic fight was the most expensi\e and ambitious film. The General. /45
 THE GENERAL (1926)^

The G t; n k ral is i nm:) i s p u t a b l\ re-creation of the steam locomotive, the General,

Buster's finest film and one of the most visually stun- itself— is astounding. Within the precise rendition of

ning films ever made. Set against the backdrop of the the 1860s American landscape. Buster manages to

American Civil War, The General tells the story of the weave a rich tapestry of comic situations employing all

theft of a train engine and a lone engineer's efforts to of the essential elements of his humor, including

save it and his beloved. The film was based on an actu- mechanical mishaps set against grand venues and

al Civil War incident, and Buster's attention to detail ceaseless troubles encountered by an unlikely hero, in

in the film — from the period vistas that rival Mathew this case locomotive engineer Johnnie Gray. The

Brady's original photographs of the era, to the loving General is, without question. Buster's masterpiece.

g»s«Bia«sa«'^*^ai;w^^fK?ai»sw«!e!!^sas• WXVJ'iX»'Aa»»WSr^'^
 Clvdc Brucknian had brought to Buster's atteu- Above: Reading during a break in produc-

tion of Tin: Genf.R.m.. Pbotograph

tion WilHaui Pittcuger's book Daring and Suffering:
by Byron Houck.
A History of the Great Railway Adventure (repub-

lished as The Great Locomotive Chase, the edition Opposite: As engineer Johnnie Gray in

front of his beloved locomotive in The

Bruckman and Buster had seen), in which the
Genf.R.m.. This photograph reveals the

author, a Northern soldier in the Civil War, recount- parallel tracks of the Oregon Pacific e
ed an 1862 raid w hich he had taken part: Eastern Railroad. Many of the film's scenes
in a group
were shot on the onc-halj mile of double
of Union soldiers infiltrated Confederate territory
track, with the cameras mounted on a mov-

near Marietta, Georgia, and hijacked a locomotive ing train on the northern track and Buster

(the General) with the intention of crippling trans-

in his replica of the original G £ N ral
r;

engine maintaining a similar pace on the

portation and communication b\ destroying track, parallel track to the south. Photograph by

burning bridges, and cutting telegraph lines while Bvron Houck.

dri\ ing the train north. Pittenger's account was told

from the Northern point of \ie\\. Buster switched it

to the Southern point of view for the film, as he felt,

"You can always make villains out of the

Northerners, but you cannot make a villain out of the

South."'- He reworked the material with Bruckman,

creating a lo\c interest as well as the battle scene that

climaxes the film. He also emphasized the locomo-

ti\e chase, knowing that a train would be the perfect

prop for him. J-*?

 Motivated by his usual desire for authentieity, Marion Mack was cast as Annabelle Lee. Her char-

Buster original!}' wanted to shoot the film in the acter is subjected to more rough treatment than

authentic terrain of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Buster's typical lo\'e interest, but she is also more

Atlanta, Georgia. However, Oregon was eventually intelligent than his usual leading lady. She starts out

chosen, as it w as able to pro\ ide the appropriate loco- as simple and silly, but she develops into Johnnie

moti\ es, track, and period atmosphere. Shooting Gray's partner in rescuing the General. She e\en

began in June 1926 in Cottage Crove, Oregon, after learns to handle the engine reasonably well. Buster's

Buster's crew had re-created the town of Marietta, character is also much more complex than usual; the

Georgia, using engravings from Pittenger's book as character he plays is not the helpless incompetent of

their guide. Buster told his crew, "It's got to be so man\- of his earlier feature pictures. Johnnie Gray is a

"''^
authentic it hurts. capable railroad engineer galvanized into action to

Buster plays Johnnie Gray, a railroad engineer save his locomotive, and his girl.

who, as an intertitle explains, has two loves in his hi addition to its character de\elopment, the

life — his engine, which is named the General, and his structure of the film is also impressive. The film is

girlfriend, Annabelle Lee. When Northern raiders perfectl}' designed as an elaborate double chase —
kidnap his engine and Annabelle, he commandeers from South to North and from North to South, as

another engine, the Texas, and sets off in pursuit. Johnnie Gray sets out to retrieve the General and

-^

I he cannon nscd ni ini: C^KN'KK \I. \uis a refvodnction aj an achial ('-nil War railroad i:,iin. Hnslcrwas knocked

unconscions when he stood too close to it when jnin^ a cannonhall. I his celebrated scene with the eaniion is aetiiallr a reworkiiiii

146 of a Hd'j, Irani 'ill r N \\ k; \ ; ok, ;;; which Ihislcr used a miniature cannon. Vhotou.rajih b\ Pixron llonck.
 O;; the cow Ciilchcr. Photoi^raph hx Bxroii I louck.

tlicn is chased h\ Northern troops as he takes tlic Oregon and sank the engine in the ri\er jirst for the

locomoti\e baek to Confederate hnes/Fhe majesty of shot. I'he destruction of the train was the most expen-

the fihn's great set pieces lies not ()nl\ in how w ell si\e single shot of the entire silent-film era, costing

executed the\ are, but also in that the\ are photo- fort\-tw() thousand dollars. People came from all

graphed in long siiots; the authenticit\ of the image o\er Oregon to watch the truh spectacular destruc-
1
is clearl\- apparent and is nc\er fabricated through tion of the locomoti\e on JiiK 2\ 1926. 'he subse-

editing. The comed\ derived from these set pieces is quent battle sequence was also on a grand scale, and

in the "reaction" shots, usualh' coming from Buster, Buster hired four hundred members of the Oregon

responding to w hat has just happened. National Guard to pla\ the Union and Confederate

The most spectacular scene in the film comes armies. Each man had a blue uniform and a gray uni-

when the locomotixe, the 7'e.vc/.v, eolla])ses from a form, and the\ would change back and torth.The

burning railroad trestle into the ri\cr thirt\-fi\e feet National Guard came in handy w hen a fire, started

below. .\n old engine, with the name ^ouah, was b\ sparks from one of the engines, set the pine forest

remodeled into a replica of the Texan that could be location ablaze, llie cast, crew, and National C>uard

wrecked. Gabourie and his crew built a full-size rail- were sent out to fight it. The fire was extinguished,

road trestle o\ er the Row River at Culp Creek in but the thick smoke prevented further filming. They l-tJ
MS
 ()/)/W).s;7c' lap: Busier overhears ( hiion hat fie

plans as he hides uiuleniealh a tahle al the

enewv's eainp. joe Keaton, lain \awn. jiiti

I'ark'V. (Ueii (.'avender. and Mike Douliii.

Vltoto'j^rapi] h\ Ihron llouck.

Opposite boiloiu: Busier is exposed as a spy

111 a eul sequeuee froiu I'm: (»;:\ ;:k.a/..

Siiilz I'.dwards is on ihe lefl and ( Ueii

C'avender is holdinu^ ihe i^uii. Pholoi^raph bv

Ihrou I louek.

I.efl: Wilh leading ladv Marion Mack.

Photograph by Byron llouck.

had to wait for a rain to conic in and clear out the considered too slow in its pace, w ith not enough

smoke, so the\ stopped location shooting in Oregon laughs. The battle scene had critics like Robert E.

and returned to Los Angeles to film interior scenes. Sherwood upset that Buster had shown men being

When a rainstorm cleared the smoke, the\' went hack killed in a conied}. '^ Audiences and critics oi the

to Oregon for ncarK two w eeks in September and time, expecting a slapstick Keaton comedy, did not

finished the picture. know what to make of the film, which was almost as

The destruction of the locomoti\c engine, the for- dramatic as it was comic. Redisco\ered in the 1950s,

est fire, and the resulting dela\ dro\c up the budget Ihe General is regarded as one ot the greatest films

on he General considerabK', KinalK' completed, the e\ cr made.

idm had cost se\cn hundred fitt\ thousand dollars, 'Ihe General was Buster's personal faxorite of all

more than any other Keaton feature and an enor- his films, largeK because he did everything him-

mous smu for an\ film at that time. Joe Schenck was selt — he w rote, directed, and starred in the film. He
terrified that the film w as going to break the company. was proud of the film's dramatic structure, its epic

Buster, howe\er, beliexed that the expenses were scale, and its authenticit\. When Buster was asked

justified, as he was con\inced he had a film that win he belicxed The General looked more authentic

would surpass his greatest commercial success, Ihe than Gone with the Wind (19^9), he modestly replied,

Navigator. To his surprise. The General was badly "Well, they w cut to a no\ el for their stor\-. We went
receixed and was not a box-office success. It was to histor\."'" J 49
 '-w

•^^^^^-.-^^®-y?;>^m£?S ^tr -^-% \if:

T/ie destruction of the Texas in The General was photographed by six cameras and was the
most expensive shot of the entire silent-film era. Photograph by Byron Houck.
 y<

\li
S^
I

<4h:

\ ^

Yon ah (the name of the engine that was used as a replica of the original locomotive, Texas). It remained a
Buster poses on the wreckage of the

tourist attraction until 1941 when it was removed for scrap due to demands for metal during World War U. Photograph by Byron Houck.
 .

COLLEGE (1927)

T H F, HI G II PRODUCTION COSTS plate. In the track-and-field events, his sprinting is so

and disappointing box-office returns of The General bad two young boys who have wandered into the ath-
prompted Joe Schenck to insist that Buster's next pic-
letic field easily overtake him. In hurdling, he man-
ture be less expensive and more conventional in sub-
ages to knock dow n e\ery hurdle except the last one.

ject matter. College was influenced by one of Harold Surveying all the toppled liurdles, he pushes over the

Lloyd's greatest successes, The Freshman (1925), last hurdle to make his failure complete. In the broad
which began a trend in Hollywood of films set on the jump he ends up having his head buried in the sand
college campus. Buster's individual touches are and his feet kicking in the

found in the film's plen-

air. The sympathetic college

tiful gags, which coun- Dean (played by Snitz

teract the derivative plot. Edwards) arranges for

hi College, Buster Ronald to be coxswain on

plays Ronald, a high- the varsity crew team in an

school bookworm and a important race. Ronald sin-

momma's boy who, glehandedly destroys the

because of his dislike for first racing shell, Damfino

athletics, becomes (the name of the \essel in

unpopular with his class- The Boat), w hen he leaps

mates. At Clayton into it and goes straight

College, where he is through the bottom, caus-

working his way through ing it to sink. The replace-

school, Ronald resolves ment boat is the more

to become a great ath- secure Old Iron Bottom.

lete in order to win back Knowing that he must suc-

the affection of class- ceed as coxswain to win

mate Mary Haynes from Buster get n behind the camera for the jdming oj the
back the affection of Mary,

star athlete Jeff Brown. crew race in Co /,/./: cE Ronald the incompetent is

Despite all his sport- transformed to Ronald the

ing equipment, imiforms, and a series of "How To" hero when the racing shell's rudder tears loose

athletic guides, Ronald's efforts on the baseball field halfway through the race: he ingeniously fastens the

and athletic track end in disaster. In baseball, the rudder to himself, sits on the end of the stern, and

only way he can get to first base is by being hit in the steers the team to victory.

rear end by a fastball. \ le forces two men out w hen The film culminates with a race to the rescue.

he decides to run around all the bases, passing by his Ronald, immediateh after w inning the race, has to

J 52 fellow base runners before sliding into the home save Mar\-, w ho is being held against her w ill in her
donnitorx room h\ Jctf Brown. In a brilliant RiiiHild is greeted hy the eolle^i^e dean (Suit: I'.dwardsi. while ]eff

Brown (lUiroId Coodnin. at jar right) and liis other roommates are
sequence, Ronald hnalK' succeeds at e\cr\thing he
less than enthusiastic about his arrival.

has failed at earlier on the athletic field: he sprints

like the fastest rnnner across campus, hurdles o\er a

series of hedges, broad jumps o\er an ornamental ers have interpreted this ending as a conimcntar\ on

pond, and uses a clothesline support like a pole and Buster's unhapp) marriage to Natalie 'I'almadge.

\aults into Mar\'s dorm-room window to sa\e her. When Schcnck transferred awav Lou Anger,

I'he film has an nneharaeteristicall} bleak conclu- Buster's studio manager, to United Artists in an effort

sion for a Keaton film. Ronald and \Iar\ are shown to impro\e exhibition markets for the compan\-.

going into a church and coming out married, w hieh Buster lost a lo\al collaborator w ho never challenged

is where a eonxcntional comed\ would have ended. his authority .Mthough Buster chose Harry Brand, his

College has a coda: a series of (.juiek dissoKes, first publicit\ man, to replace Anger, he was nc\er happ\

show iug the couple as parents smronndcd b\ their w ith his choice. Brand was more eager to please

children, then as a crotchct\ old couple, and then as Schenck than Buster and was constantly looking for

twin gra\estoncs side b\ side in the cemeterw similar wa\s to cut costs. An example of one of their clashes

to the headstone that reads "I'he t,nd" at the conclu- was when Brand took Snitz Edwards off salary w ith-

sion of Cops.l'his coda is out of ke\ with the rest of out Buster's permission; Buster had wanted to keep

the film, which is entircK optimistic, and some \iew- him around a few extra da\s for whatever reason. b"
 A disaster on the baseball field, Ronald forces his team into a triple play. Buster enjoyed filming College
because it gave him a chance to play baseball, his favorite sport. The scene was filmed at Bovard Athletic Field, once on

the ihiiversity of Southern California campus. The L'SC Administration huildnig appears in the background.

Buster was never a eonfrontational person, and there- Harbaugh (who pla\ s the crew coach in the film) and

fore did not argue w itli Brand and w hat he pereei\ed Br\an Fo\, in high regard either. Mowe\er, they were

as Brand's interferenee. Me just stopped work and on salar\-, and he ga\ e them the w riting credit e\ en

played baseball with the crew for three da\s to show though Buster created most of the film's stor\ and gags.

Brand who was boss. Credits did not mean much to Buster, although he
"

It was 1 iarr\ Brand who suggested that Buster hire was angered b\ the "Super\iscd b\ Harr\ Brand

James W. lorne, the

I film's credited director. I lornc credit in the main titles ot CJo/Zcgc, w Inch he thought

iiad not made n)an\ fihns (he would later go on to belittling toward himself Inn thcrmorc, he was upset

direct man\ Laurel and I lard\ comedies), and Buster thai it was done w ithout his permission. I Ic saw the

did not think he was a good director, hi fact. Buster film at the Senator I heater in San fVaueisco while

directed most of the film and had I lornc standing by filming S7c'(/;;//x)(// Hill. /r. and was surprised, as he

to direct an occasional scene in which Buster did not had etiitcd the Idm and checked the sample print just

IS-i a])pcar. I^uster did not hold the credited writers, C>arl prior to the film's release. Buster later tound out that
 _.*
^•* • • •
b;^ a^ •-•
• • •
•« •

• • •
• i» •
• • •
*

^^H
• • •
•• •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •

' • ••••• • .... ^^H

...
•••*••••• ....
> ^^^M
^^H
k *
- • • •

disguises himself as a black waiter in an "All Colored Help" restaurant in one of his hapless part-time jobs.
Ronald

it was inserted quietly by Brand after Buster had Harold Goodwin, who plays the terrible Jeff |

Brown, worked with Buster in College. He was in

approved the finished version, and with Schenck's first

permission. real life a very nice man who would become a life-

College marks the one occasion in all his inde- long friend and collaborator of Buster's. Buster had

pendently made silent films that Buster used a stunt seen him in Sydney Chaplin's popular film The

and Hal would later appear with

double. For the film's climax, where Ronald must Better 'Ole (1926),

Lee Buster in The Cameraman, in several Educational

pole vault into a second-story window, he hired

won Gold Medal for pole shorts, and on television. Hal later became a real
Barnes. Barnes had the

and he ended up living a mile from

vaulting at the 1924 Olympic Games. When Buster estate broker,

met him, he was attending the University of Buster's ranch in Woodland Hills.

Southern California. Buster was unable to perform Despite creative and monetary restrictions. Buster

liked Co//gge.The film's rich and plentiful gags—

the vault, and since he did not want to spend over a

do the stunt himself, he hired particularly those of Buster trying to become an

month in training to

Barnes to do it for him. athlete— are its primary attractions.

STEAMBOAT BILL, JR, (1928)

S TE A M li () AT Bill, / r . , Bus i' e ii ' s Sacramento where a three-block-long town front

last independently produced feature, is one of his street was constructed, in the summer of 1927. As

most enjoyable films. It was made on a tight budget, with College, Schenck insisted that Buster keep costs

and Buster put most of the production's resources down, and Harry Brand was once again the credited

into making its climactic scene a spectacular one. production supervisor. However, it was Brand who

The result, a full cyclone and the chaos that ensues, was responsible for driving up the film's budget con-

creates the most memorable and inxentive climax in siderably. Buster originally intended to climax the

all of Buster's films. film with an extended flood sequence on the river.

Buster's character is Willie Canfield, Jr., the city- Brand objected to this idea when he saw the massixe

raised son of Mississippi riverboat captain sets that were to be submerged into the river, think-

"Steamboat Bill" Canfield (played by Ernest ing it would escalate the film's budget. He also felt

Torrence). Steamboat Bill's ri\ al is the richest man in that the flood was an inappropriate subject for a com-

town, |. J. King, who would like to put Canfield's ram- edy, for the Mississippi River had actually flooded its

shackle boat, the Stonewall ]ackson, out of business. banks in 1927, causing fatalities and major damage.

The small and foppishly dressed Willie must prove Schenck agreed with Brand, and Buster was forced to

himself worthy in the eyes of his big and burly father. substitute the cyclone for the flood, a change that

Junior eventually accomplishes this task by rescuing Schenck and Brand thought would be not only con-

his father, King, and his sweetheart (King's daughter) siderably cheaper but less offensive to those who had
in Buster's most chaotic and acrobatic film climax, in suffered through the Mississippi flood. As all of the

which he is challenged by, among other torments, a film's sets and gags had been designed around the

cyclone, a flood, and houses tearing apart at the seams. flood climax. Buster and Riesner had to rework the

Charles (Chuck) Riesner brought the rough idea comedy material, and Fred Gabourie had to rebuild

of the film to Buster and was loaned out from the sets.

Warner Brothers to direct the picture. Riesner had The cyclone sequence is only half of the film's cli-

known Buster from vaudeville (he always called him max, and Buster was able to sneak back in part of the

"Little Buster"), in which he worked for many years flood scene and the river rescue that he had original-

as a performer before entering films as a writer, actor, ly wanted. Buster always tried to work in at least one

and director. He was a collaborator on most of scene involving water when he made his own silent

Chaplin's First National films and associate director features, as his staff had a superstitious belief that

on The Gold Rush. C^huck Riesner had also directed having Buster immersed in water ensured a success-

several films starring Cliaplin's elder half-brother, ful film.

Sydney, prior to Steamboat Bill, jr., including the Although it was not part of the original plot, the

very successful I'he Better 'Ole. Ikistcr and C'luick cyclone was carefully planned, and great care was

worked well together, and the two remained friends taken in its execution. Six airplane propellers with

throughout the years.

The film was shot almost entirclv on location on

Attired in "work clolhes" on his father's hoot in Sn: wiita \r
1S6 tlic west bank of the Sacramento Ri\cr opposite Bii.i., Jr.
 Buster ds Willie Canfield. hith Ernest Vorrence as his father, stor\- of the young Buster being swept awa\ in a
"Steamboat Bill" Canfield. in Sri: \mr()\i Bill, jr. Buster
c\ clone to be found unharmed a block aw ay, just as
enjoyed working with Torreuce, who was a popular eharacter actor

in the 1920s. Willie is uprooted in the film. Hie sequence showing

Junior in an abandoned theater recalls Buster's da\s
Opposite: Undaunted by a rapidly developing cxdone. Buster
with 1'he Three Keatons. One comedy bit has a
delivers a loaf of bread laden with tools to his incarcerated fatlier

in a scene from S i i:.\\i no \ i Bi i.i.,J i<. dazed and confused Buster mistaking a painted back-

drop of a lakefront for the real thing as he tries to

big Liberty motors were used to create tbe wind dive right into the canxas, onh' to slide dow n the

effect. OiiK one such propeller was used for the drop. The routine is similar to his parod\ of swim-

moment when Buster attempts to walk against the ming-and-di\ing star Annette Kellerman's Original

w iud; that is how powerful the\ w ere. Cables and a Aboriginal Australian Splash, w Inch he had per-

120-foot crane set on a barge were used to tear build- formed in \audc\illc. Another scene that echoes

ings apart, and f'red C'.abourie dexised a lightweight Buster's \ears on the stage is the momcnl w hen

facade — which was connected with cables linked to a Willie encounters the \cntriloc|uist's dumnn. .\s a

cantilever— to create (he moment when the front of se\en-\ear-old bo\ in \aude\ ille Buster was tascinat-

the hospital blows awa\', lea\ing ouK the floor and a ed w ith a \entriloc|nist's dummv named Red To]); he

bewildered Busier on a hospital bed. c\en wauled lo kidnap il as his pla\ male. Ihe \enlril-

The c\ clone scene is spectacular on a \ isual le\el, oc|uisl, named I'roxollo, who owned Red lop discox-

bnl il is e\en more fascinating when one realizes ihal ercd Busler's plan lo abdnci hisdnmmx alter an

several situations in the se(|uence are drawn Irom e\ eniiig show and sneaked back into ihe ihealer just

158 Buster's own childhood, joe Keaton olten told the bctore Buster arri\ed..\s Buster reached tor Red lop
 in the dark and empt\ theater, Trovollo, hiding Stage, and Buster used the gag again in One Week
behind Red Ibp, brought the dunini) to Hfe. Red lop and The Blacksmith. For Steamboat Bill, jr., the gag

shot up and yelled, "Don't touch me, bo\, or I'll tell was much more elaborate than an\ thing Buster had

your old man! " Scared out of his wits. Buster ran out done before. Although he and his team planned to

of the theater as fast as he could. In the film, Willie is make it as safe as possible, the stunt was, in fact, \'er\'

frightened by a \ entriloquist's dummy, w hich appears dangerous. No camera tricks or editing w ere used; it

momentarih to come to life on its own. is all one continuous shot. Buster later described how
The most famous moment in all of Buster's films is the shot was achie\ed:

the shot from Steamboat Bill, jr. in w hich the front of

a two-story building collapses over him; miraculous- First J had them hiiild the framework of this building

ly, he passes unharmed through an open w indow. He and make sure that the hinges were all firm and solid.

and Arbuekle had staged a similar scene in Back h was a building with a tall V-shaped roof, .so that we

could make this window up in the roof exceptionally

high. An average second-story window would be about

Buster strums along with musicians on location in Sacramento for twelve feet, but we're up about eighteen feet. Then
Steamboai Bill, /r while members of the crew enjoy tlie
thev lav this framework down on the ground and
fun. In the silent-fibu era, musicians often performed during filming

to help actors achieve a certain mood, emotion, or tempo. Director

build the window around me. We built the window so

Chuck Riesner is seen wearing a fedora. Marion Bxron (whom that I had a clearance of two inches on each shoulder,
everyone called "Peanuts") is directly behind Buster with her arm
and the top missed my head by two inches and the
around Buster's sister, Louise, who doubled for Byron m the water

scenes, as Byron could not swim. bottom of my heels by two inches. We mark that

l(,(i
Sjound out and drive hi" nails where inr two heels are Buster poses with the IZD-foot crane used to tear buildings apart for

the famous cyclone climax.

going to he. Then tliey put the house hack up into

position while they [nnsh building it. Iher put the

front on, painted it. and made the jagged edge where

it tore away from the main building: and then we I'he front of the building was on a base plate and

went in aiid fixed the interiors so that you're looking at on hinges. It weighed several thousand pounds and

a house that the front has blown off. Then we put up could easih ha\ e killed Buster. Chuck Riesner could

our wind machines with the big Liberty motors. We not watch the stunt being filmed. He and a Christian

had six of them and they are pretty powerful: they Science practitioner were pra\ ing for Buster's safety

could lift a truck right off the road. Now we had to on another part of the outdoor set. Hie shot went as

make sure that we were getting our foreground and planned, and Buster was unharmed. In his later years,

background wind effect, but that no current ever lut Buster would sa\ that had he not felt so helpless and

the front of that building when it started to fall, frustrated about his marriage and career— to the

because if the wind warps her she's not going to fall point that he did not care what happened to him-

where we want her. and I'm standing right out in self—he would nc\er ha\e risked the falling wall. He

front. But it's a one-take scene and we got it that way. was, how ever, pleased w ith the results. No other

You don't do those thing's tMice. Keaton moment better show s Buster's talents for ci\ il

engineering. 16]
These photographs record the most

famous scene in Steamboat

Bill, J R., arguably the most danger-

ous comedy stunt ever filmed. The dis-

tance between a briUiant sight gag and

tragedy was a matter of a few inches.

<
^
 Biislci's cliaraclcr c'imT<;c's iiiiscatliccl, and llic Buster was assured he woukl be gi\en the \er\ best

film cikIs lia])])il\. bul lousier liiiiiscll was iiol as lor- trealnieul at M-O-M.
Iniiatc in real life. It was while tilinin<; IIr- falling wall Buster, however, knew better. .\s the wall Fallint'

sc'ciiicncc llial l-^uslcr was lold thai Sicciinhocil Will, jr. ()\er him was lihued on Simda\ morning, l^abor l)a\'

was to be tlic last of his indcpciiclcnl hhiis and ihc weekend, 1927, Buster was well aware that he would

last film to he prodneed at his own studio. I lis previ- be losing ereative eonlrol o\cr the making of hi.s

ous United .Artists releases, I he (.lencral and College, tdms. In addition, his marriage to Natalie was rapiclK

were not ho\-ottiee sueeesses (in part owinc^ to iuadc- deteriorating. Buster was at the height ot his ereative

c|uate distribution b\ United Artists). Sehenek had powers in 1927, but Ins failing marriage, the loss of

deeided to abandon independent production entireK' ereati\e eontrol oxer his lilms, and the advent ol

in order to foeus on runniut; United .\rtists. I le sound motion pieturesall oeeurring simultaneously

arranged for Busier to sign w ith Mctro-Ck)ldwyn- seemed to eoirspire against him. I le began to drink

Ma\er; his brother, Nieholas, was president of heavily, leading to the aleoholism that would i)reeipi-

M-G-M s parent eonipau), Loew s, Ineorporated. tate his ereative deeline.

BUSTER AS A METRO-GOLD WYN-M AVER STAR

Busier always maintained 'riiAi

signing with Metro-Cjoldwv n-Mayer was the worst

mistake of his life, and that he should have heeded

the warnings of Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd,

who both advised him against joining the company.

Although M-G-M was at that time the most presti-

gious film studio in Hollywood, its highly structured

operations were not conduci\e to Buster's unfettered

style of filmmaking. Buster, however, had no choice;

the days of the small independent companies were

drawing to an end, and he did not have the financial

resources to produce his own films.

Buster signed a two-year contract with M-G-M on

January 28, 1928, at a salary of three thousand dollars

per week. All but the last of his M-G-M starring films

would be released as Buster Keaton Productions, a

contractual vanity concession for Buster that includ-

ed M-G-M agreeing to pay his old production com-

pany twenty-five percent of the net profits (of which

Buster received twenty-five percent). Although

Nicholas Schenck was the president of M-G-M's par-

ent company, Loew's, Incorporated, it was Louis B.

Mayer as vice-president and general manager, and

Irving Thalberg as vice-president and head of pro-

duction who ran the studio. Buster was M-G-M's first

comic star, and the studio did not know what to do

with him. He was contractually promised to be con-

sulted on story and direction; however, the decision

of the producer was final. Buster's films were mainly

produced by Lawrence Weingartcn, Thalberg's

brother-in-law.

Ihisk'i's arrival at hlG-M was dociniienlcd nilh iiianx jnihlk-'ttv

sl'dh. iiicliKliiii^ this comic jihi>lou,rapb taken in December 1927

Pictured with Buster is studio 'j^uard R. ]. Owens.

UA
1
 a

THE CAMERAMAN (1928

Thf, FiRsi I ' 1 L M Biistp:r madk for In a scene from The Camf.r a m n
(1928), Buster shows off his second-hand
M-G-M was The Cameraman, which was his last
newsreel camera to Sidney Bracr and
truly great film and one of his personal favorites. It
Marceline Dav.

was based on his own stor\' idea, and he was able to

reassemble much of his old crew, including gagman

Clyde Bruckman, cinematographer Elgin Lessley,

and technical director Fred Gabourie.

Edward M. Sedgwick was the credited director on

nearly all of Buster's M-G-M features. Like Buster,

Sedgwick was a former \audc\ illian w ho performed

in a famiU act similar to The 'Hucc Kcalons. 'The

M\c Sedgwicks featured Ed, his parents, and sisters

josie and i'.ilccn. I Ic entered films as an actor in 1913

and in 1921 began directing. Buster and Ed dcxeloped

a close friendship (they both loxecl baseball) and

166 worked well together on the direction ot the lilms.

 Above: With Ed Brophy in the famous chunging-room sequence
In The Cameraman Buster pla\'s a street tint\pe
Edward Sedgwick is seated next to the cameramen.
photographer w ho trades in his tint\ pe for a news-

reel camera in order to win the affection of Sally Below: With Josephine the nionkev betM-een takes of

(Marceline Day), who works as script girl and secre- The Ca\i£RA\;ax.

tar\- at the M-G-M Newsreel company. With his anti-

quated, second-hand camera. Buster sets out to

photograph news e\ents on the streets of New York

Citw hoping to get a job with the new sreel company.

His efforts to date Salh and as a new sreel camera-

man are dashed at every turn b\ ri\al cameraman

Stagg (Harold Goodwin). With assistance from a lit-

tle organ-grinder's monke\ (whom he unintentionally

acquires). Buster pro\es himself to SalK and pro\ides

the newsreel compan\ with exciting footage of a

Ghinese gang fight and a \acht club regatta, which

brings about a happ\ ending.

 f

168
 77?e (AiiiicrciniiiJi was inaclc Iroiii a |)R'|)arc'(l sciipt, III llic Ojwra (19>S i in which a large group crowds

alllK>ut;li he persuaded llic sliulio lo allow Imii lo inio ( '.roueho's slaleroom, creating the lecinisile

iiiipr()\i,sc on a tew oeeasioiis. I'wo ol llie hlm's best Marx Brothers chaos.

seenes — l^uster pai)toiniiiiin<^ a baseball <;anie alone 7'/;c Cameraman shows Buster's lo\c of llic film

in an eni])t\ Vmkee Stadinni and Bnslei li\int; lo niedinm. I le had Inn eieating the leelinieal mistakes

open Ins pi^g\ bank — were not in llie sc ript. (as when his character double exposes his news film,

P'iiniing began in May 1928 and was eoinpleted creating such images as a battleship sailing down
at the end ot )nne. Bnster bad j^lanned lo make llie I'ifth \\eiine) and making use ot actual newsrcci

tilni enlireK t)n loealion m New \oik C>it\. This soon iilin. The tilm opens with lootage ot tigbling from

proved to be impossible sinee he was eontinnalK ree- World War I. h'ootagc of Ccrtrnde h'.dcrle rccei\ing

ogni/ecl, and the erowcls that gathered intertered with the ke\ to the cil\ ot New WnV from \la\()r )inim\

the filming. Exeept tor the baseball pantomime and a Walker (not long alter she swam the English

few street scenes photographed earK one Snnday Cdiannel) is used to set the tilm's first scene. The film

morning, the film was made at the M-G-M stndio in ends with news fi)otage of C'harlcs I ,indbcrgh's 1927

CuKer Cit\ or at nearb\ locations. New \ork parade alter returning from his tamous

"Fhc scene Bnster liked best was the changing- solo flight across the Atlantic.

room scene, hi the him, Bnster takes Sall\- on a date '['ha Cameraman was both a critical and box-office

to a swimming pool (filmed at the Mnnicipal Plunge success. The comedy was well integrated into the

in Venice, California). He tries to change his clothes story, and the screen relationshi]) between Buster

in a cramped enbicle with an mifriendly fellow- and Marceline Da\ had an emotional depth unseen

bather (Ed Brophy, Bnster's unit manager). The two in an\- of Buster's pre\ious films. It pro\ed to be

men become entangled in each other's clothes as such a model for the studio that for main- \-ears The

each struggles to change into his swimsuit. A classic Cameraman was used at M-Cj-M as a training film to

sequence, it later serxcd as the inspiration for the illustrate what the company considered a perfectly

tamous scene in the Marx Brothers comedy A Night constructed comedy.

Marceline Dd\ only notices Buster

as thex are surrounded bv some

of the spirited swimmers who
compete for her attention m the

swimming-pool sequence.

169
SPITE MARRIAGE (1929

TAL K I N C; V I L. M S 1 1 .\ D TAKEN OV E R Buster plays Elmer, a trouser presser in a tailor's

the film industr\- by the time Spite Marriage went shop, who borrow s his customer's fine clothes in

into production in November 1928. Buster had want- order to impress the stage actress Trilby Drew

ed to make the fihn with sound, using a minimum of (Dorothy Sebastian). He attends every performance

dialogue and sound effects, but M-G-M refused, as of the Civil War melodrama in which she appears,

they wanted to use the few sound stages they had and one night he gets the chance to act in the play as

available for musicals and dramas rather than come- an extra. Elmer ruins the performance, but Trilby

dies. However, the film was released with a synchro- takes notice of Elmer and asks him to marry her. He
nized musical score and sound effects. fails to realize that she onlv wants to marrv him in
order to spite her rakish beau, leading man Lionel Above: With leading lady Dorothy

Sebastian on the set of Spite

Delmore (Edward Earle). On their wedding night,
Marr/age (1929).

Trilby gets drunk and passes out on the floor of their

Opposite: With Dorothy Sebastian in the

hotel room, where Elmer struggles with the onerous
piitting-the-bride-to-bed sequence, the fihns
task of putting her into bed. She abandons Elmer the
most memorable moment.

next morning, leaving him disconsolate. The film's

complicated second half has Elmer entangled with a

group of bootleggers. He manages to reunite with and

save Trilby aboard an abandoned yacht on the high

seas, which wins him her love, and the film ends

with the couple happily reconciled.

As with The Cameraman, Buster worked from a

prepared script from his own story idea. Two of the

main writers on The Cameraman, Richard Schayer

and Lew Lipton, worked on the film with Ernest

Pagano and Bob Hopkins. However, Buster's key

 %mt-

Above: The cant and crew of Spitk collaborators — Brucknian, Lesslev, and Gabovirie —
Marriacl: on location in December
had departed or were assigned to other projects
1928. Actress Leiia Hynuins is seated on

the far left and actor Edward Earle is to

before Spite Marriage began production. Buster was

the right of her (wearing the top hat). beginning to feel restricted by M-G-M's insistence on
Writer Ernest Pai^ano is seated in front of
a carefulK prepared script and h\ the often complicat-
Earle. Director Ed Sedgwick is seated in

the center, and Ernie Orsatti (outfielder ed or inappropriate gags that the studio suggested he
for the St. Louis Cardinals, who had just
incorporate into the films. He was losing more control
returned from the World Series to work

again fur Buster) is between Sedgwick at the studio, and the uuhap])iucss of his marriage to

and Buster \orman MacNeil. the nnisi- Natalie was resulting in his drinking more hca\ il\. 1 Ic

cian on the set (holding an accordion),

was also beginning to lose taitli in his own ideas.
is behind Busier
Spite Marriage spurred a series ol battles bctueen

Ofij^osile. In Ins :\/-(;-,\/ bungalow in

Buster and the film's producer l,arr\ W'eingarten.
October l'-)2S, Buster works out gags for
Busier louglit agaiusi the complicated gangster plot
Si'i 1 1: Makki vc;;: 117//1 thchclj^of

the radio, lie used jiojiular tunes to hcif) ol the second hall ot the film, prelcrriug to eliminate
Inni Inne each scene jmijK'rIx and conis,
it in la\()r ol a simpler slor\. hut to no a\ail.
winch he f)laced on a fiiccc of jhijx'r lo

block scenes, as f)eof^)le.

Wcingarten and lr\ing Thalbcrg were adamant .ihout

172
 H&MF^os3

their own ideas for Buster's films. Weingarten did not Buster's heroine in Spite Marriage was Dorotln

like the putting-the-hride-to-bed seene, feeling that Sebastian, who proxed to be one of his best leading

kind ot low eonied\ did not belong in the film. Bnster ladies. A talented actress, her characterization of

had to argue the scene's merit innumerable times Trilb}' Drew is more believable than most of the

with Weingarten in order to keep it in. When Spite women in Buster's earlier films. During the making

Marriage was released. Buster w as \ indicated; the oi Spite Marriage, Buster and Dorothy began an

sequence became the film's most memorable affair that would last two \ears. Buster enjoxed her

moment, and he used \ariations of it later in the films abilit\ to ha\e a good time. I1ic\ both shared a liking

Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (19^1), 'I'he Passionate for practical jokes, bridge, dancing, and drinking

Plumber (19^2), Speak Easily (1952), What-No Beer? (although she had a low tolerance for alcohol, and

(19^1), Nothing hut Pleasure (1940), Taming of the her propensit\ for passing out after a few drinks

Snood (1940), and Red Skel ton's / Dood It (194S); earned her the nickname "Slambastian"). She

onstage for the Cirque Medrano in 1952; and for tele- appears brieflx in Free and Easy (1930), and the two

\ision.'rhc routine was also reprised b\ director worked together again in the Educational comedx

William W\ler in Roman Holiday (1953) with A//e;()op(1934).

Gregor\ Peek and .\udrey Hepburn.

173
THE HOLLYWOOD REVUE OF 1929 (1929

B U S r E R '
S FIRST APPEARANCE finale in which all the stars, dressed in matching

in a talking picture was in M-G-M's promotional raincoats and hats, join the chorus of "Singin' in

all-star feature The Hollywood Revue of 1929. the Rain," a song revived and made famous in the

Constructed as a vaudeville revue to showcase the 1952 M-G-M musical of the same name starring

studio's talent and directed by Chuck Riesner, nearly Gene Kelly.

every M-G-M star appeared in the film, including

Buster, who performs his "Princess Rajah" routine,

Below: With George K. Arthur in the "Singin in the Rain"

which he originated in the arm\- during World War I finale to The Hollvvv ood Rev ue of 1929.

and later adapted in the Arbuckle short Back Stage.

Opposite: UiThe Hollvvv ood Rev ue of
Buster's silent performance was one of the film's
Buster perforins the "Princess Rajah" dance that
1929,
highlights, along with the film's two-strip Technicolor he developed in World War I.

n4
 t

A..

^^tH
^ \
4^f-»Hj
FREE AND EASY (1930)

It iook M-G-M a year to find a Theater and to visit the M-G-M studio. Elmer, who

subject they considered suitable for Buster's first star- secretly loves Elvira, tags along, but as her manager

ring sound feature film. Free and Easy was filled with he manages only to mess things up. His bumbling is

the production values — songs, dances, and cos- eventually put to use in roles as a comedv actor,

tumes—that audiences wanted from the early talkies along with Elvira's mother. Elvira does not find star-

but with little of the famous Keaton style of comedy. dom in Hollywood, but instead a marriage proposal

from Larry Mitchell, which she accepts. The film's

final scene has Buster dressed as Pagliacci staring

sadly at Elvira with the knowledge that she does not

"

love him. As Larry Mitchell sings "It Must Be You

for the cameras, Elvira looks at her fiance loxingly. In

a medium close-up, a heartbroken Elmer slowly clos-

es his eves as the film fades out.

Free and Easy provides fascinating glimpses of

earl)' Hollywood and the filmmaking process. The

scenes at the Chinese Theater, w ith appearances by

Jackie Googan, William Haines, and William

Gollier, Sr., full}- re-create film premieres of the peri-

od. The scenes at the film studio provide Buster an

opportunity to create ha\'oc on film sets (which was

an old and tired comedy contri\ance by 1930), with

film directors Fred Niblo and Gccil B. DeMille and

actors Karl Dane, Dorothy Sebastian, and Lionel

Ed Sedgwick, Cecil B. DeMille, Buster, Joe Fannim, and Fred
Barrvmore appearing as themselves. Wallace Beer}
Niblo in Free and Easy (1930). Nihlo, best known for direct-

ing Ben-Hvr (1925), appeared as a monologist on the same bill also appeared in the film, but his sequence was cut

as The Three Keatons in Richmond, Virginia, in 1902.

prior to release.

To ha\e a major star like Wallace Becr\- cut out of

a film completcK' was not unusual for M-G-M, a stu-

Buster plays Elmer J.

Butts, a garage owner from dio sometimes called "Re-take Valley." Large parts of

Gopher Gity, Kansas, who, as a member of Gopher films were often remade if the management of the

Cvity's Ghambcr of Gomnierce, assumes the role of compan\ thought the\ could he improxcd.W ith Free

manager to the ne\\l\ crowned "Miss Gopher Gity," and Easy Buster also began the practice ot making

the aspiring actress I'Jxira I'lunkclt (Anita Page), foreign-language \ersions ot the films. 1 laxing made

when he acconqjanics her and her niolher ( IVixic one film he disliked, he wouki remake it two or three

Frigan/a) to I lollywood. While en route to limes o\er lor the Spanish, French, or Gernian ver-

Hollywood by train, I'.Kira meets movie star l,arr\- sions. Buster acted with diltercnt east members lor

Mitchell (Robert MontgomerN), who in\ ites her to each loreign \ersion. speaking his lines trom cue

176 the premiere of his new lilm at Cirauman's Ghinese cards w ritlen out phoneticalK, ior which he was p.ud
 Trixie Friganza and Buster in Free a?<d Easy.

twelve thousand five hundred dollars per extra film. silent films. The studio tried to make him into a sad

He was tlic onl\' M-G-M star who made the foreign clown, but Buster had ne\ er appealed for sympath\-

versions. Different actors replaced the stars in all the in his own films. As the reins were much tighter when

rest of the studio's foreign xersions except Greta Garbo's the studio con\erted to sound, Buster was unable to

German-language \ersion of Anna Christie (1930). impro\'ise or make suggestions once a script was pre-

Buster's first starring effort in a talking film, how- sented to him. Wonderful scenes of physical comedy

ever, demonstrates the studio's tragic lack of under- improN'ised on location in silent films were replaced

standing of his talents, histead of scenes in\olving by rigid scripts acted out in interior settings. Stuck for

physical comedy, Buster is made to sing and dance the most part on sound stages, Buster managed only

(he even sings the film's title song in a musical- an occasional unscripted pratfall, which seem awful

comed\ number). The dialogue was w ritten b}- a staff when accompanied b\- natural sounds. It was a hope-

of writers who were joke happ\, looking for funn\' less situation for Buster: some of the most commer-

things to sa\, but who did not focus on the action. cially successful features of his career were those o\er

This was w hat Buster fought against at the studio. His which he had little control and which remain his

character is also much different from that in his worst in terms of artistry. 177
DOUGHBOYS (1930
R (! S I !: 1<
'
S S I'. C () \ I) \ I, L - I \ I, k I \ c Sedgwick (who appears in the him as (lUggleheimer,

stiirriiig feature, Doui^hhors, went iiilo procliulion the eamp cook) scat sing while abo.ird shi|) hound lor

ill Ma\- 19^0. Based in part on se\eral of l^nster's I'Vance, Edwards ajipcared with Buster in his next

own expcrienees in the anm, the scrip! (by two films, iiiid tlie\ became good Iriends, both

Kieliarcl Selia\er, Al Boasher<;, and Sidiie\ l,a/uriis) delighting in singing old \aude\ ille songs and playing

has Buster pla\in<; millionaire playboy Khner J. the ukulele.

Stu\ \esant, a eharacter similar to Ins roles in I he The comic highlight of Doi/g/?/xn'.v is the stage

Saphcad, ihc Xarigator, and Battling Butler. It is the re\ ue ])erfi)rmed tor the enterlamment ot the troops

period of World War I. While f'.lmer waits for Mar\' in which Buster's character, dressed as a woman, is

(SalK I'.ilers), the i;irl he has been lr\ing nnsueeess- thrown around the stage as the female partner to an

tulK to impress, outsiile the store where she works, Apache dancer. \'\n this scene, i^uster drew on his

his ehauffeur, stirred b\- a reeruiter's speeeli about own wartime experience, as he had put on similar

figliting the enenn, abandons Kliner and his nianser- shows for the troops in France while waiting to

\ant Cjusta\e (Arnold Korff ). In need ot a new ehaut- come home.

feur, Elmer nnintentionalK' enlists in the arnn by

mistaking a nearin reeruiting station for an eniplov-

ment agenc\'.

The film beeomes a t\ pieal military comedy, with

scenes in boot camp, complete w ith a belligerent

drill sergeant (Ed Broph\), and in the trenches.

Militar\- life is made tolerable for E.lmer b\' the pres-

ence of the ukulele-strumming recruit Neseopeck

(Cliff Edwards) and Mar}-, who has joined the arnn's

entertainment di\ision. "0\ er There" in France,

Elmer endures life in a trench for a short time before

the war is oxer.llie film ends with Elmer and Mar\

as husband and wife, w ith Neseopeck and PJmer's

other arm\ friends as business partners in the manu-

facture of gold-plated ukuleles.

Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards, a character actor

famous for his trademark instrimient, was responsible

for the ukulele and the film's delightful musical

interlude in which Buster, Edwards, and director Ed

Opposite: Buster us a \\ arid War I soldier in DovGiiBO ys (1930).

Right: King Vidnr visits Ed Sedgwick and Buster on the j\/-G-i\/

hack lot Dovghboys. Vidor had

during the production of

directed M-G-M's great silent war film. The Big Parad/'.

(1925), and was an old friend of Sedgwick's from wlien they both

lived in Texas.

179
PARLOR, BEDROOM AND BATH (1931

lothario in a plan devised by

leffery Haywood (Reginald

Denny), whose girlfriend w ill

not marry him until her elder

sister Angelica (Dorothy

Christy) marries first. The

problem is that Angelica is only

attracted to Casanova types,

and the ruse plotted by Jefferv

escalates out of control when

Reginald manages to become

involved with several women

during the course of one

evening at the Seaside Hotel.

Although certain scenes of

Parlor, Bedroom and Bath play

as filmed theater and contain

the running around and fast

talk Buster disliked, the film

also has man\' scenes in

Buster's old silent manner. The

LARR 'I' WK I N C; A R I' E N HAD SEEN A best of them is a reworking of the comic situation

1930 revival oi Parlor, Bedroom and Bath, a 1917 stage from One Week, this time involving the Austin

farce b\' Charles W. Bell and Mack Swan, and decid- Bantam roadster Buster is dri\ ing that breaks down
ed it would be a good \ehiclc for Buster. (It had been on the railroad tracks as a train approaches. This

adapted for the screen originally bv Metro in 1920 scene demonstrates w hat Buster had alwaxs ad\ocat-

and starred Eugene Pallette.) Buster was in Europe ed at M-G-M: that a sound film does not require con-

on a three-month vacation witli Natalie when the tinuous talk, and that it could still luue sc\eral

decision was niadc to remake the property, and he minutes of action pla\ed out in silence. Buster

was annoyed that the decision had been made w ith- bclic\ cd dialogue should be used w hen ncccssarx;

out consulting him. Morcoxcr, Buster disliked the fast but he did not want his screen character to talk for

tempo and hysterical bcluuior inherent in farce. He talk's sake. I iowcxcr, at M-G-M in 19^0 more than a

maintained that farce was al\\a\s based on sim])le moment of silence was \irtuall\ unthinkable.

misunderstanding or mistaken idcniih, which in a The film also enjo\s a good supporting cast,

legitimate story would be c|uickl\ resoKcd. iiichiding light comedian Reginald Dcnin and

Ill Parlor, Bedroom and Balh lousier pla\s C 'harlot Ic Greenwood, a gangK character actress who
J so Reginald h \ ing, a sli\ sign lacker, who poses as a was \er\ agile and could pertonn some ama/ing
splits. The scene in which Greenwood's character, Opposite: Charlotte Greenwood, Buster,

and Dorotin- Christx m P \Rl.()R,

PolK Hathawa\, instructs Buster in lo\emaking is
B/:dk<m>\; and Bmh (1931).

one of the fihn's best moments.

An added attraction to Parlor, Bedroom and Bath Above: A train destroys the American

Austin Bantam roadster, but Buster and

is that Buster's own ItaHan N'illa was used for the
Joan Peters emerge unharmed. Buster

film's opening scenes, which give an excellent view was able to drive the car for about a

week before it was destroyed for the jiUu.

of the beautiful grounds and swimming pool of the

Be\erl\ Hills mansion as it looked in 1930. m

SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK (1931)

Buster c on s i d f: r e d
Sidewalks of New York to be the

worst picture he made for M-G-M.

Making the film was also a miser-

able experience. Ed Sedgwick,

with whom Buster had developed

an excellent working relationship,

was committed to another film, so

producer Larry Weingarten

assigned two young men, Jules

White and Zion Myers, to direct.

White and Myers had worked at

the studio on a series of comedy

shorts that featured dogs playing

all the roles, called Dogville come-

j. r> I ij ii if 1 1 1 Amsphotosraph
b &f b h of Buster taken on
i
the set of
i
Sidewalks OF New York in Mar 1931
dies. Buster could not help but feel
The newspaper headline had nothing to do with Buster, but it made for a great photograph.
insulted when their promotion —

after having directed dog films — was to direct him. The film's best moments are Homer's attempts to

hiexpericnccd at directing actors in a feature film, put on wrestling, boxing, and amateur theatrical

White and Myers alternated telling Buster how to shows as entertainment for the local gang. The box-

walk, talk, stand, and fall, riicy acted more like ani- ing scene, in which Homer takes on a local fighter in

mal trainers than film directors. the ring, had the [jotential to be one of Buster's best

Buster was also unhappy with the film's plot. sequences. ()\\ lug to his lack of control o\er the

Buster plays uptown millionaire 1 lomer Van Dine direction, the scene does not come close to the work

I larmon, who converts one of his I ,o\\er Kast Side Buster did in Battling Butler in terms of dramatic

tenements into an athletic club in order lo rcfi)rm a realism, nor does it exploit the eomedx potential of a

gang of local kids, most specifically Clipper (Norman boxing-match situation, as Chaplin was to achiexe

Phillips, Jr.), one of the neighborhood gang leaders lulK in C/7v Lights (19^1 ) — arguably his greatest
whose prett\ elder sister Margie (Anita I'age) 1 lomer film — niaclc .is a silent liliii and released earlier in the

has fallen instanth in lo\c with and wishes to imi^rcss. same \ear as Sidewalks of New \ork.

J 82
 ("loin iiKcd llic film would hv ;i Hop, l^nstcr was

(lisina\<.'(l when Sidcwiilks o/ New York t^rosscd more

tliaii aii\ of his oIIki niiiis. I lis crcdihilih at M-Cl-M

was beiu^ eroded In llie sueeess ol the lilms that he

predieted woidd he lailures. When Biistei asked

'I'lialhei^ tor his own unit at M-C.-M to make the

type offilms he wanted, Thalherg deelined. The

M-C.-M niaua<;emeut heliexed they were pro\iding

him the storx material and other support Buster

needed to make sueeessful films. Moreover, given his

inereasing aleohol problem, they were unsure of

Buster's relial)ilit\ in managing the produetion of

important films (budgeted at two lumdred se\ent\-

fi\e thousand dollars eaeb).

With Anita Page m Sidkw \i.Ks at ISew York (i95Jj

/83
THE PASSIONATE PLUMBER (1932)

Ai/i'n () uc; II Busri'.R mahI': it known Buster takes out his growing frustration toward M-G-M on jimwx

Durante as Mona Maris looks on between takes of Thi\

during the production oi Parlor, Bedroonj and Bath
PA.s.s;f)\ A 7 /: Pi. VMKiR (1932).
that he thought farce comedy was inappropriate

material for him, his next fihu. The Passionate

Phimher, v\as also hascd on a farce, Her Cardboard speed of a farce; principal photograpln was complet-

Lover, In Jaec|ues I^eval. M-Cj-M had made it previ- ed in just nineteen da\ s. Buster was not tond ol his

ously as a Marion Davies vehicle entitled The role — which had heen ])la\ed on the stage h\ Leslie

Cardboard I .over (1928), and it was to he made again Howard — and despite dialogue hy Ralph Spenee

l)\ the studio as Her Cardboard l.over (1942) w ith (who was Lnou 11 to doctor a had him into a good one

184 Norma Shearer. The him was shot with the traniie with his cle\er title w riting and dialogue) and a
good cast, he felt the fin-

ished tihn was ouK' tair.

Buster plays Elmer

Tuttlc, an American

plumber working in Paris

who is summoned to the

home of wealth\- socialite

Patricia Alden (Irene

Purcell) to repair a leak in

her bathroom. There he

manages to be mistaken for

her lover b}' her bo\ friend,

Tony Lagorce (Gilbert

jimmy Durante, Buster, and Gilbert Roland in the pistol-dueling
Roland). Elmer later agrees to help Patricia resist the
scene from The Passionate Plumber.
philandering Tony's advances by becoming her ever-

present bodyguard. In the finale Tony is exposed as a

two-timer in the presence of both Patricia and his Buster greatly enjoyed working w ith his friend

other lover, Nina (Mona Maris), and Patricia declares Gilbert Roland, the Mexican-born actor w ith w hom
her undying lo\'e and appreciation to Elmer. he had traveled around Europe the pre\ious year. At

The Passionate Plumber was the first of three films the start of his long career, Roland played romantic

in which Buster worked w ith |imm\- Durante, a New leads like Tony, and he had a real-life affair with

York nightclub and vaudeville comedian who was Norma Talmadge. Buster was also happy to ha\ e Ed
known for his trademark large nose, mispronuncia- Sedgwick back as director for this film and his two

tions, and malapropisms. Although Durante played remaining M-G-M starring features.

the supporting role of McKracken the chauffeur, The most memorable scene in The Passionate

Buster sensed that M-G-M intended to build up Phnnber is the pistol-dueling scene between Buster

Durante's career at his expense. Buster felt that he and Roland, w ith Durante acting as Buster's second.

and Durante lacked comic chemistry and that his It w as one of Buster's fa\orite routines, and he w ould

fight against excessive talk was lost w ith Durante, repeat it later in subsequent film, stage, and televi-

who was impossible to direct because no one could sion appearances. It is the highlight of the film and

keep him quiet. He seemed to talk through e\ery among the cleverest sequences he created for the

scene. However, Buster liked Durante as a friend, M-G-M films.

and the two remained on good terms throughout

the \ears. J85

SPEAK EASILY (1932

Buster, Thelma Todd, and Jimmv

Durante enjoy a game of cards during

production of Speak Easily (1932).

revue. Impressed with their

show, Post pays their outstand-

ing bills and takes them to

New York, where he finances

their Broadway debut.

The show is totally

revamped in New York by an

experienced stage director

(Sidney Toler) and vamped by

new dancer Eleanor Espree
(Thelma Todd). In a variation

of scenes from Spite Marriage

and Free and Easy, Post's acci-

S p ;: A K Easily, which was based dental onstage intrusions destroy the intended per-

on a Clarence Budington Kelland story called formance on opening night, with the audience

"Footlights," had a legitimate story that Buster roaring with laughter. The audience believes that the

tliought appropriate for a sound comedy. It was the mistakes are deliberate. llie professor, ha\ing discov-

best film Buster made with Jimm\' Durante, who ered his inheritance is fake, is able to pay off his

plays a character similar to the real Durante. debts by selling a halt interest in his hit show to an

Buster is Timolean Zanders Post, a sheltered clas- enthusiastic investor.

sics professor who yearns for adventure but is too Buster's performance in Speak Easily is his finest

conservative and sensible to do an\'thing about it. His in the sound features he made at M-G-M, an amaz-

valet, in an cttort to prompt Post into action, presents ing accomplishment considering his personal prob-

him witli a bogus letter stating he is heir to seven lems and his drinking, w Inch was escalating out of

hniuhcd fiftN thousand dollars. The ruse empowers control during that time. Eilming began in early May
him to seek out the adxenturc he cruN'cs. l*-)-)!, and b\ the liuK' it was eompleied in mid-June,

Post finds his acKenturc with Jimuu (jimmv Buster's trec|ucnt absences Irom the set due to drink-

Durante) and the Midnight Maid C^ompam, a group ing binges and hangovers caused the studio to lose

186 ol amateur players who pertonu an awiul musical eleven shooting d,i\s, which rei)ortctll) cost M-C'.-M
thirty-tlirec thousand dollars. The production cost Buster cousultx with director h'.d

Sedgwick ^seated in the orchestra with

was four hundred twenty thousand dollars, making it

the hack of his head just risiblei prior

Buster's most expensive M-G-M film. Although Speak to fthning a scene with Sidney loler

Easily is unc\en in qualit\-. Buster recei\ed good and jimmy Durante in SPE \K

Easily.
re\ iews, and the picture was a commercial success.

187
W H AT - N O BEER? (1933

With IniiniY l^iirante iii a sccik' frani \\ ii \ i — No Hi i.r? (/9?3j.

IHH
\\/;\;-N() Bi.i.R?, B u s i i: i< " s last tract. I lowcxcr, with his 1932 contract he was obliged

staniiit; tciiturc film tor M-Ci-M, was an cnibarrass- to have twentv percent ot his three-thonsand-dollar

mcnt lo liim. I^rinkii^ more than a hotllc ot whiskey weekly salary taken out each week until the thirty-

a cla\, and in no condition lo work, he was in terrible three thousand dollars in losses the studio incurred

physieal condition when the lihn went into prodnc- from his absences during Speak Easily had been

tion in necembcr 1932. Natalie had been given an repaid. Moreover, his new contract no longer

interloentor) decree of divorce in Augnst of the |)re\ i- required M-C-M to make hini the star; he was, in

ous year, as well as cnstod\ of Jininn and Bobb). The fact, co-star in What — No Beer? with Durante, and

effects on Bnster show on the screen; iiis voice is con- the profit-sharing arrangement between M-G-M and

gested and his bod\ is slnggish, liis mo\ements slow. Buster Keaton Productions was not included.

MoreoNcr, the script was terrible. Dnrante, w ho shares M-G-M sent Buster to various alcohol rehabilita-

eqnal billing w ith Buster, talks incessantly. Buster, ill tion clinics during this period. However, Buster's

and depressed, takes a back seat to Durante. drinking continued, and his erratic behav ior caused

Buster pla\s taxidermist b'Jmer J. Butts who, in further absences that resulted in nearlv two weeks of

partnership with |imm\ (Jimnn Durante), purchases lost shooting time. Shortlv after What— No Beer? was

an abandoned brewer\ after the repeal of Prohibition. completed in Januarv 1933, Louis B. Mayer sent

The two entrepreneurs ha\c trouble with the law Buster a letter of termination. Mayer had always dis-

(Prohibition had not \et been officially repealed) and liked Buster, the reason for which has never been

with local gangsters, but b\ the end the\ are show n as full) explained. With Thalberg on a leave of absence

the happ\- millionaire owners of a beer garden. from the studio after suffering a massive heart attack,

Buster contributed gag material to onk one scene Mayer took it upon himself to get rid of Bnster.

in the film: Elmer dodging barrels of beer rolling Keaton would eventually return to M-G-M as a gag-

down a hill is a reworking of the boulder rockslide man and supporting actor. Although he would go on

chase from Seven Chances. to make three more starring features (all made out-

Buster was just another M-G-M emplovee w ith side the United States between 1934 and 1946), w ith

What -No Beer? His contract renewal of July 9, 1930 his termination letter of F'ebruar\-2, 1933, Buster's

had been \ery similar to his lucrative original con- days as a major motion-picture star were over.

J 89
BUSTER'S SECOND MARRIAGE,
LE ROI DES CHAMPS-ELYSEES (1934),
AND THE INVADER (1936)

None of the m a j o r s r u d i o s tremens. Eventually, Mae decided to go back to work,

wanted to hire Buster following his termination from not as a nurse, but as a hairstylist. She persuaded

M-G-M; he had been labeled within the industry as Buster to finance a beauty shop, which had a sign

an unreliable alcoholic. Buster considered the period that looked like "Buster Keaton's Beauty Shop" (the

from 19-53 to 1935 to be the two worst years of his life. word "Mrs." was in tiny lettering). He later insisted

Buster had met Mae Scriven, a professional nurse, that she change the sign.

when she and a physician were hired to accompany During this period Buster made two features, Le

him to an alcohol rehabilitation clinic in Arrowhead Roi des Champs-Elysees in France and The Invader in

Springs prior to the production oi What— No Beer? England. Buster thought that neither film was good,

She continued to provide care when he returned both having been made by producers who did not

home and kept him sober and able to work. However, have enough money to finance a quality production.

Buster's drinking and erratic behavior returned. He Le Roi des Champs-Elysees was the better of the

decided to go to Mexico for the New Year's holiday, two films. Buster had received an offer from produc-

and Mae went with him. On January 8, 1933, they er Seymour Nebenzal of the Paris-based Nero Films

were married by a judge in Ensenada, Mexico. Buster to make a feature film in Paris for the salary of fifteen

could not remember the wedding; he was drunk at thousand dollars. The salary did not include traveling

the time. expenses, so Buster and Mae sold three hundred fift}'

His marriage to the twenty-eight-year-old Scriven dollars worth of war savings bonds to book a passage

received worldwide publicity because a full }'ear had to Europe via freighter in June 1934.

not elapsed since the interlocutory decree of divorce In the film Buster plays dual roles: Buster Garnier,

from Natalie became final. With all the publicity sur- a mild-mannered man employed by a large companx

rounding the marriage. Buster felt obligated to offi- to dress as a millionaire and hand out leaflets that

cially marry Mae. They were quietly married again in look like bank notes; and Jim Balafre, an escaped

Ventura, California, on October 17, 1933, after his American gangster who is an exact double of Buster.

divorce from Natalie became final. Fast-paced and filled with Keaton touches, the film

Buster's marriage to Mae lasted less than three has Buster being mistaken for the look-alike gangster.

years and meant nothing to him. He needed some- Buster is excellent in the dual roles; however, the

one to look after him, and Mae had wanted to be the film comedy is not particularly inspired, and the fun

wife of a movie star. of the first scenes is not maintained through the rest

Buster and Mae lived in the six-room house he of the film. If /x' Roi des Champs-Elysees had had

had purchased at 3151 Qucensbury Drive in Cheviot more of the qualities that Rene Clair was achieving at

Hills when he was still working for M-G-M. Mae that time— visual film with minimal dialogue, care-

continued to help him get his drinking under con- fully choreographed action, and sound limited to

trol, but periods of sobriety were quickly followed by effects and the occasional song— Buster might have

I'M) drinking binges. Buster also suffered from delirium had a whole new career in I'Vance.
With Mae and Elmer, the first of many Saint Bernard dogs Buster would own throughout his life (all of

which he would name "Elmer," the name of the character he played in several films).
 Le Roi des Champs-Elysees is notable for Buster's The Invader was based on Buster's own story idea,

smile at the film's fade-out. Buster had fought and he contributed most of the film's gags. Buster

throughout his career against ending a film this way, plays Leander Proudfoot, a rich American who sails

but director Max Nosseck insisted. Although it is a his yacht, the Invader (which was the name of Joe

startling and unexpected sight to see Buster smile, Schenck's yacht), to a little Spanish town. In a local

this image does not provide an effective ending. cantina he finds love and trouble in the form of a

Filming was completed in just twelve days. Nero cabaret dancer named Lupita (Lupita Tovar).

Films was hoping to profit from Buster's European That the film was underfinanced is clearly evident

popularity, which had remained strong. Unfortu- on the screen. Buster did the film only for the money,

nately, the film received only limited distribution, and his drinking added to the financial problems of

and it was never released in the United States. the production. The film was not released until 1936

After completing Le Roi des Champs-Elysees, and was a failure in both Great Britain and in the

Buster was offered twelve thousand dollars to play United States, where it was released under the title

the starring role in a film in London produced by An Old Spanish Custom.

Sam Spiegel. Spiegel, who would later produce films Upon their return to the United States, Buster was

such as On the Waterfront (1954), The Bridge on the forced to declare personal bankruptcy and was sued

River Kwai (1957), and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), by the Internal Revenue Service for twenty-eight

had never produced a film when he offered Buster thousand dollars in back taxes. His drinking contin-

the contract. He also had very little money. ued, and his relationship with Mae quickly deteriorat-

ed. The marriage ended

over the July 4th week-

end in 1935 during a trip

to Santa Barbara when

Mae discovered Buster

in bed with Leah

Sewell, a friend of

Buster's sister Louise,

who was also a guest at

their hotel. Sewell was a

wealth\' Los Angeles

socialite w ho, along w ith

her husband Barton

Sewell, had gained noto-

rict\' for their sexual

adventures w hen they

were involved in a w ite-

s\\ apping dixorce suit.

When Buster's affair

with Sewell continued

hc\()nd the weekend at

liuster CIS gangster jiiii l,c Hahijrc reveals his dislinclive Uilloo to

prove his ideiilily ill I, I Roi ni.s Cii wt rs-Ki.\sEi:s (l')^4}.

V)2
 Till. ls\\ni:R(1936).

Santa Barbara, Mae packed up half of e\er\ thing at Buster's drinking came to a crisis in October IQ'?^

the Cheviot Hills house. She literall\ took half of when his ph\sician. Jack Shuman, decided he need-

c\er\thing: two sets of siKer flatware were di\ided in ed immediate hospitalization. He was put in a strait-

half, for example. She did not take one complete set. jacket and taken to the U.S. Veterans General

Soon after, she filed for divorce. Hospital in West Los Angeles, where he was placed

The most disturbing aspect of the di\orce to in the ps\ehiatric ward. When he was released more

Buster was that w hen Mae left she took Klmer, his than a w cck later, he went home and had two double
Saint Bernard. He hired a prixate detecti\e to find Manhattans at the clubhouse of the nearby Cheviot

Klmer, but the search pro\ed futile. The divorce 1 lills Couutr\ Club. Buster resoK ed the\ w ould be

from Mae became final on October 14, 19^6, and she his last two drinks, and he remained sober for the

later resurfaced when she imsuccessfulK tried to sue next fi\ e \ears.

Paramount Pictures for fi\e million dollars for libel

o\ er The Buster Keaton Story.

195
SHORTS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND COLUMBIA

]oe Keatoii, producer E. H. Allen, Louise Keaton, director Charles

Lamout. Myra Keaton, and Buster on the set of Pai.ooka

I- ROM Pa DUG.AH (1935).

Buster's participation in these comedies no doubt

further lowered his reputation within the film indus-

tr\. Most of the Educationals were made at the

General Service Studio in HolKwood and were

directed by Charles Lamont, with whom Buster col-

laborated on the gags.

Grand Slam Opera (1936) was the only film Buster

liked of the entire Educational series. It was also the

best sound short he ever made. A parody of the

"Major Bowes Amateur Hour" radio show (called

Since Buster was not receixing "Colonel Crow Amateur Night" in the film). Grand
any offers from major Hollywood studios, his friend Slaw Opera was made just after he stopped drinking;

Ernest Pagano (who had heen a writer on Spite his performance and the comedy material are at a

Marriage) persuaded him to join Educational Films very high level. Buster is credited with the film's story,

Corporation of America in 1934 where he was guar- along with Lamont, who directed. Buster pla\s

anteed six pictures a year at five thousand dollars per Elmer, who leaves his hometown of Gopher Cit\,

film. Buster made sixteen two-reel comedy shorts for Arizona, by train to seek fame in New York. As his

the company hefore it dissolved in 1937 train is about to leave, he stands on its observation

Educational, which began as a distributor of trave- platform as the people of the town serenade him with

logues and instructional films, enjoyed a unique "So Long, Elmer" to the music of "So Long, Mary"

position as a relatively prestigious distributor of short by George M. Cohan. Buster paid the three-hundred-

comedies in the 1920s. However, the lack of adapt- dollar licensing fee out of his own pocket to .secure

ability of the company's comedians to sound films, the rights to the Cohan song rather than ha\c the

the popularity of animated cartoon shorts, and llie film go over budget.

cost of .sound production had reduced its position by in another memorable parody. Buster has fun with

1934 when Buster joined it. The Educational shorts the famous "Fancy Free" nimiber from the lilm lop

were made in three to five days (Buster had spent Hat (I93S) when he tries to dance like Fred Astairc in

J 94 four If) six weeks on his own silent two-rcelers), and his hotel room in preparation for his appearance on
 With Hal Goodwin in Grand Slam Opera (1936)

the talent show. He turns on the phonograph and father performed as The Three Keatons). Elmer ruins

begins to tap dance on the floor, on top of a night the broadcast and, defeated, leaves the city to go back

stand, and along the fireplace mantel, and ends with home. However, he hears on the radio that he has

a disastrous leap onto his bed. won the contest after all, and they are looking for

Managing to get on Colonel Crow's amateur hour, him. Returning to New York, he wins the prize and

Elmer juggles— a visual talent that a radio audience the girl with whom he is smitten (Diana Lewis).

would fail to appreciate. When the radio show's musi- Members of Buster's family joined him in two

cal conductor (Hal Goodwin) cuts Elmer's perform- Educational comedies. Palooka from Paducah (1935),

ance short and kicks him, Elmer retaliates by hitting had Joe, Myra, and sister Louise in the cast. The

him with a broom as the orchestra plays "The Anvil appearance of Buster with his parents in this film was

Chorus" from Verdi's II Trovatore, the various hits in the last professional teaming of The Three Keatons.

perfect synchronization with the music (which was Myra, Louise, and brother Harry "Jingles" joined

the most popular vaudeville routine Buster and his Buster in Love Nest on Wheels (1937).

'M
 Joe Keaton w ould ne\'er w ork for an\'one but his feature. Although most of the shorts were directed b\-

"Bussy," as lie affectionately called Buster. B)- the Jules White (with whom Buster worked reluctantly

time of the Educational comedies, |oc and Myra had on Sidewalks of New York), Pest from the West was

separated, but they remained friends and never directed by Mack Sennett veteran Del Lord, and

di\orccd/rhc v\hole family remained very close. Joe Clyde Bruckman worked with Buster on the screen-

used to come to dinner every Sunday when I was pla}'. Buster tried to make the first one special, and he

married to Buster. At that time Joe had achieved succeeded. Although the subsequent Columbia shorts

sobriet)' and had a darling lady friend whom every- have their moments, none of them were of the same

one adored. He lived his last years in a theatrical caliber as the first.

boarding hotel in downtown Los Angeles near The one good aspect of the Columbia shorts is

Pershing Square until he was hit by a car at a cross- that they received wide distribution — greater than
walk, an accident that led to a hospital stay, from that of the Educational shorts — and, as a result, peo-

which point his health deteriorated and he never ple in the film industr\- could see that Buster was

recoxered. He died in 1946 at the age of seventy-eight. working and in fine form. Consequently, he soon

Myra li\'cd with Buster and me in the house on 1043 began to get offers from other studios for supporting

Victoria Avenue in Los Angeles until she died in roles in major feature films. In 1940 Buster stopped

1955. She was a very independent lady. Standing just making "cheaters" at Columbia. As Buster said, "I

four feet ten inches tall and weighing about seventy just got to the point where I couldn't stomach turn-

pounds, she rolled her own cigarettes and drank mg out even one more crumm\- two-reeler.

straight bourbon. She enjoyed playing pinochle, and

she and Buster were staunch pinochle partners.

Harry "Jingles" and Louise, who had lived with us

until then, moxed out on their own. Until Myra's

death. Buster supported the entire famih; w hich is

why he recruited them for some of the Educational

shorts when his finances were particularly low.

Buster next worked for Columbia in a series of

two-reel comedies, which he did only for the money.

He was paid twenty-five hundred dollars per film,

half of what Educational had paid him. Buster called

these films "cheaters," as they were made as quicklv

and as chcaph as possible. Columbia distributed the

shorts free to the exhibitors who played Columbia

features, so (>()lumbia chief Harry Cohn saw them as

a low priorit}. Buster asked Cohn if he would put a

little more time and nionc\ into them, arguing that

he conlcl turn out a c|nalit\' short that C'ohn could

sell instead of give awa\ as part ot a package. (]ohn,

however, was not interested. Most of the C'olumbia

shorts were filmed in three da\s. i^uster made ten

two-reelcrs for the companx, and he disliked them all

except the first. Pest [row the West (1939), which is a

J 96 remake nf'ihe li}vculer as a eoniedv short instead of a

Pest FROAt the West (]9)9). Buster's first and best hvo-rcc/ cumcdx for Columhia.

197
THE LATER FILMS, THEATER, AND TELEVISION

After Educational folded in 1937, Buster worked best with Red Skelton, who
and before he made two-reel shorts for Columbia, admired Buster and was eager to take any gag sugges-

Buster joined the writing staff of Metro-Goldwyn- tions Buster may have had for him. Buster reworked

Mayer as a gag writer and comedy consultant. He several of his old films for Skelton: Spite Marriage

worked in this capacity on and off until 1950. became Skelton's film 1 Dood It (1943), The General

Buster worked with almost everybody at M-G-M. became A Southern Yankee (1948), and The

He was one of many w riters who had a hand in the Cameraman was reworked as Watch the Birdie (1951).

Marx Brothers' films At the Circus (1939j and Go Buster shared an office with Ed Sedgwick in the

West (1940). He admired their talent but was irritated writer's building, where he built all kinds of Rube
with their work habits. They
did not care about rehears-

ing or any preplanning.

They would just improvise

when it v\'as time to shoot a

scene. The same was true

with Abbott and Costello,

with whom he worked on

Abbott and Costello in

Ho/hwoof/ (1945). The dif-

ference between Buster and

the M-G-M comedians was

that Buster's heart and soul

went into his work. When

Buster was making a film,

he and his team v\ould work

morning and night to make

sure it was as perfect
^ as it „,. ,,. ^ ^ r^
,
With Alice Faye
.

lu a scene from
r
Ho
.,
LLYWOOn Cua/.caok ,r,-,ru •

{1939). Despite his expert pie-

,

could be. He checked on the throwing technique, Buster never threw pies in his own comedies. This fihn is responsible for the iiirth

^^"'"''' '''"" ^''"'^' ''"'' fi""'^ '"^'' /"'' ^'^''^'

scenery, oversaw the cast and """

the locations, directed the

film, saw the rushes, edited the film, and attended Goldberg-like gadgets. The most elaborate of these

the previews. M-G-M never allowed Buster to do contraptions, called "The Nutcracker," mo\ ed nuts

much beyond gag writing and occasional supporting through a complicated mechanical ma/e before the\'

roles during this period, althougli he did direct three were crushed by a pile driver. The office was called

one-reel shorts for the company in 1938: Life in "The Boar's Nest," and since it was near the studio

Sometown U.S.A. (1938), Hollywood Handicap (1938), commissary, c\cr\body would stop in and \isit.

l<-)h and Streamlined Swing (1938). Awa\ from M-G-M Buster was bus\ w ilh all sorts
 riic ( jrcpic Mednmo was a one-ring

circus that sat liliecn hundred people.

Buster's appearance there marked the

reopening ot the circus atlcr liaxing

been closed all through the war vcars.

The Inst act had traditional circus and

animal acts. I he second act was called

the tloorshow, m which Buster did a

dueling sketch that was originalK pcr-

tornied in ihc Passionale Vhiuibcr.

Kevercd by the Medrano clowns and a

big success with audiences. Buster was

surprised that the I'rench still remem-

bered him trom his earh hhns.'IhcN'
Buster addresses the audience in 'i III-. \n.i,\i\ Sin.i. I^hrsui.d Hi:k{I^JH)i
a whimskalh e\ai>,<!,erated film version of a wid-ninetccnth-ccnlurY stae^e melodrama. would line u]) for autogra])hs and treat-

ed him as a great star, w hich made him

of acting projects in the late 19^0,s and 194()s, inelnd- feel wonderful because American audiences had all

ing snpporting roles in films snch as Hollywood but forgotten him b\ this time.

Cavalcade (19^9), 'ihe Villain Still Pursued Her We returned to the Medrano tor another tour-

(1940), and San Diego, I Love You (1944). He also week engagement in 19S2 and again in 1954. i'br the

acted in East Coast summer-stock ])roductions of T/tc return engagement in 1952 Buster did a New Year's
Gorilla in 1941 and Three Men on a Horse in 1949. Eve sketch, which was taken from the scene in Spite

Buster had so much fun performing before an audi- Marriage in which Buster puts the drunk woman to

ence again that he dismissed his initial reservations bed. I performed this sketch w ith him. Buster and 1

about appearing in a Kuropean circus and agreed to make our entrance co\ercd in streamers and carr\-

an offer to perform at the Cirque Medrano in Paris ing small props indicating that we ha\e just come
in September 1947. from a New Year's V.\c part\. We are both exhausted.

Buster plavs a municipal bus

driver (with passengers jon I hill and

Louise Allhrittoni in S\\ Diec.o,
I Love Yoc (F)-i-i),oneofhis

most memorable supporting roles.

J 99
 '

As Envin Trowbridge in a summer-stock

production of Three Men on a
Horse at the Berkshire Playhouse,

Stockhridge, Massachusetts, in June

1949. Frank Buxton, Kendall Clark,

Buster, Janet Fox, and Eddie Hyans.

Photograph by Shapiro.

Buster and Ed Wynn re-create a

scene from Buster's first film. The

Butcher Boy, The Ed
1
for

Wynn Shom', which originally t» —

aired December 22, J949. This was
-T«m ;

Buster's first appearance on television.

Photograph by Pierce Grant. ^11*T- 1 i"'mJi

HIlBHIiirttflBfl ^^jgjgg^
 Left: A.V one of the "wax works" in

Suns/;-/ B (//./. v. \k/) (1950).

Hi'low: (.'.lorui Swaii'-iou. Aiiiui Q.

Nilssoii, and U H. Wanicr walch
Hi/.s/cr iuijnovisi.' with <; /;;o/) IkioLiIi on

I he ,sc'/ <>j S I
' \s /•: ; Bo i i.i\ \ k / )

and I am very drunk. Bnstcr takes off lii.s coat and lii.s with his old gagman CKdc Bruckman. It was a local

hat and is occupied with a chest of drawers upstage. show — it could not be sokl outside Los Angeles

Meanwhile, I take the stole from around m\ neck because of the poor picture qnalitv of kinescopes —
and w ad it up like a pillow, falling asleep on the floor. and was \cr\ low budget. The following \ear brought

Buster comes downstage around the foot of the bed another program called I he Buster Kenton Show
and stumbles o\er me, and the rest of the sketch is (which was called L/'/e with Buster Keaton in s\ndica-

Buster's effort to put me to bed. The whole act ran tion). He did thirteen half-hfjur episodes on film,

about fifteen minutes. Although I was still working as which could be distributed all over, but the hitch was

a dancer at M-G-M, had no1 pre\ ions acting experi- there was no li\e audience, which had been what

ence. Working with Buster required precision — he made television enjoyable for Buster. Moreo\ cr, the

was very precise and mathematical w ith his work- demands of earh' television were such that he was

but I was really no more than a breathing prop in the

sketch. I worked well enough that I became his per-

manent woman partner, onstage as well as offstage.

Television brought Buster back into prominence.

He embraced the new medium at a time when most

of Hollywood was avoiding it. Buster's first appear-

ance on tele\ision was the initial broadcast of T/?e Ed

Wyun Show in December 1949, w Inch was the first

important broadcast to originate from the West

Coast. He re-created his first scene in films, bu\ ing a

pail of molasses as in The Butcher Boy. He was such a

success that he was offered his own television show

almost immcdiatelw T/ie Buster Keatou Show ran for

about seventeen weeks on KT1A' in Los Angeles.

Buster lo\ed working in front of a li\e audience, but

it soon became \er\ difficult to prepare comed\-

material fast enough, even though he was working

expected to film an entire episode in just one dav.

pAen witli the help of Kddie Cline, Chde Bruckman,

and Hal Cioodwin, it proved impossible, and he

would not renew to do more. He started doing guest

appearances on television. The Buster Keaton re\i\al

began w ith the television shows, guest appearances,

and e\en commercials. Young people and children

who had ne\er heard of him or seen his work were

discovering him for the first time.

Buster's appearances on television interested pro-

ducers who saw that Buster was still able to do the

things he had done thirt\' years before, eager to work,

and available, just before his first work in television,

M-G-M had finalK gi\en Buster a nice supporting

role in In the Good Old Summertime (1949) with Jud\'

Garland and Van Johnson. The same year, Billy Chaplin to be the greatest motion-picture comedian

Wilder hired Buster to play in Sunset Boulevard and the greatest of all comedy directors.

(1950). He had a wonderful time because all he did In the film, Chaplin and Buster perform a British

was play bridge with old friends Gloria Swanson, music hall comedy act. hi the sketch the\- pla\- two

Anna Q. Nilsson, and H. B. Warner for one daw slightly crazed musicians: Buster the bespectacled

The most exciting project for Buster during this pianist who is constantly fumbling his sheet music,

period came along when Charlie Chaplin cast him and Chaplin the violinist v\hose legs keep shrinking

for his film Limelight (1952). Buster considered up inside his trousers. After dismantling the piano

and ruining a \ iolin, they perform a

comed\' musical duet that ends

when Chaplin — in a musical

frenz\— falls off the stage into the

bass drum in the orchestra pit.

Buster worked on the film for

three weeks, from just before

Christmas 1951 through the second

week ot )anuar\ 1952. Ihcre was an

outline prepared b\- Chaplin, but

,\/)ovt'; Busier jxilifihcn a Stiidchaker for

l^ronuitiDmil jyurfjoses about the time of the

first iiii lii sii K Ki \i()\ Snow.

/'/'lO. .\////()i;i;/; hin television show was
sponsiirec! by Califor]>ia Stiidebaker dealers,

he always droye a Caddlae. Vhoton^raph

by Otto Rothsehild.

Left: Ihister and nie perjoruinii;, the sketeh

of puttim;^ the woman to bed for '/'() v.s /

()/ //// 'I'iiW \, whieh tnred on

\oyend)er \ IMi(J.
the coiiK'cK was iiioslK iniprox iscci on llic set. lousier

liaci a woikIciIiiI tiiuc woikiui; w illi Ciluipliii.

KaNHioiul lloliauci. Buster's business partner.

I)e(;an the rnnior that Clliaplin ent ont Bnster's best

seenes in the hhn. \\ was an effort on l{a\ niond's part

to tr\ and hnilcl np Bnster and diminish ( ihaplin.

Bnsler did not think it w.is trne. I le i^rcatly cnjcnecl

working wilh Cdiaplin on Lmiclighl. whieh is eonsid-

ercd historie in its teaming of the two threat eoniie

<;eninses ot hhn.

A faxorite nieniorx for both Buster and mxself was

the time we spent in 19S7 in an I'.ast C!!oast lourini^

production of Mertoii of the Movies, the 1922 pla\ b\

Cieorge S. K<nitman and Marc Connen\, which

Buster had alwa\s liked. The first stop on the tour

was Spring l,<ikc. New Jerse\, where the production

was not very good. Buster and the other ke\ actors of

the pla\, inchiding James Karen and jane Dulo,

reworked the script, which was done with the pcrmi.s-

sion ot Marc Connellv.

One of the tilings added to the production that

was not in the original ]5la\ was a scene in Act 11 in

which the characters in the pla\' are watching the

rushes from a mo\ic thc\ are making. We used m\-

16mm camera to film the "rushes," all teaturing

Buster as the mo\ie-struck Merton Gill. These rush-

es w ere such a success that we continued to photo-

graph more material during the pla\ s tour to make

the rushes a little longer. The finished film lasted

about ten minutes and showed Buster duck hunting,

including a tunn\ sequence w ith Buster emerging

from the w ater and aiming his gun at a duck. He

shoots at the duck and water comes out of the gun

barrel. The best part of the sequence was totally

Above: Buster and me at the Cirque Medrauo in implanned: the duck then swam o\er and bit the end
Paris in 1^52. moments before going into the ring
of the gim. It alwaxs received a tremendous laugh
to perform the New Year's Eie sketeh. uhich is the

seene of putting the woman to bed from S P ; IF. from the audience.
M \RKI V (; /; . Photograph b\ Pierre /. Dunnes.
B\ the time the tour ended at the Huntington

Hartford Theater in HolKw ood, it was a wonderful

lop right: Buster and me in the Cirque Medrano skit.

Photograph by Pierre /. Dannes. shovw Buster lo\ ed doing the pla\, and Jim Karen and 20}
 jane Dulo became two of our closest friends. Merton would be goosed or pinched by the lecherous King

of the Movies was one of the highlights of his later Sextimiis. That way, if any conservati\'e ladies com-
years. plained, the)' could be reassured that the v\ oman
Buster really enjoyed hearing the laughter of an being subjected to this behavior was his real-life wife.

audience when performing live onstage, hi 1960 The tour started in Chicago and stayed three to six

Buster went on the first national touring company weeks in places such as San Francisco, Los Angeles,
production of the 1959 Broadway musical Once Upon Denver, St. Louis, Detroit, several stops in Ohio,

a Mattress. Dody Goodman was Princess Fred and Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Boston. After the national
Buster played King Scxtinuis the Silent. It was a per- tour ended. Buster and I appeared in the bus-and-

fect role for Buster, as there was no dialogue for him truck tour of the show with Imogcne Coca as

until the end of the show, so he was able to do every- Princess Fred in Columbus and Washington, D.C.,
thing in pantomime. I was even in the tour, playing and concluding with a brief engagement in a

Lady Maybelle, one of the ladies in waiting. When summer-stock production at Melody Fair in North
the tour reached the "Bible Bell," il was arranged Tonawanda, New York, in the summer of 1961. Buster
2(H that I was the only one of the ladies in waiting who enjoyed the entire vcar he was in the siiow.
 opposite Willi Charlie Cluipliii

in llw drcssiiiij^'rooi'ii scene front

LiMi.Liunr {1952}.

Right: Blister and Chaplin perjorm

a bit of business that Mas not used

in the final eu I of Li \i ill <.: n I

Photograph hv \\. I'.ugene Smith.

Posthumous reproduction print from

the original negative. Copyright the

Heirs ofW. Eugene Smith.

Below: Buster and Chaplin

perform a eomedr musical duet in

LiM I. I.I c; M / . Photograph hv

W. Eugene Smith. Posthumous

reproduction print from the original

negative. Copvright the Heirs

of \\ . Eugene Smith.
 ^.4C£V^

il
' i
H
Hu

rT-
 Opponite: Buster and Chaplin during rehearsal for L I M i: 1. 1 c; // (

Pholographs by W. Eugene Smith. Poslhuinous reproduction prints

from the original negatives. Copyright the Heirs o\ W. Kugene

Smith.

Buster experiments with a lime-machine helmet in an episode

of I'lii 7'\v //.((.// / 'A()\i: called "Once upon a lime"

which was filmed in September I96J and originally aired
naliouallv on December IS.

Buster in the summer-stock production of

M I: K7 () \ O !• 7 HE MO \ / 1: S . 19S7.

With Donald O'Connor on the set of Th i: 207

Busii-.R KrM()\ Si(yK\ (V)S7}.

 Less enjoyable was Samuel Beckett's Film, an

experimental twenty-minute black-and-v\hite short

film \irtually without sound, which was made in

New York in the summer of 1964. Film was Samuel

Beckett's first and only motion picture, and he came

to New York to supervise the production. It was

directed by the prominent stage director, Alan

Schneider, who had worked with James Karen in

Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in

London. Despite their many accomplishments, nei-

ther Beckett nor Schneider had any knowledge of

making films.

Above: On the set of the uncompleted fea-

ture fihnTt:i\ Girls Aco, 1962.

Photograph by John Sebert.

Right: With Sid Caesar during produc-

tion of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad,
Mad World (1962).

Below: Buster and me on the set of

Route 66. He appeared in an episode

called "Journey to Nineveh," which was

filmed in June 1962 and originally aired

nationally on September 28.

Nor did they have any knowledge of Buster's films.

Buster was evidenth their third choice (Irish actor

Jack MacGowran and Zero Mostel were una\'ailable).

It was James Karen who persuaded Schneider to hire

Buster. Jim also arranged three days of screenings of

some of Buster's silent films at the Museum of

Modern Art for the benefit of Beckett and Schneider.

Jim and his wife, Susan Reed, appeared w ith Buster

in Julm, and wc stayed with them at their home in

Nyack during the three-week production.

Buster had no idea w hat Film was about. His char-

acter was called "O," and his back was to the camera

for most ot the film. Since he was alread\ contraetu-

alK' obligated to the project, and because the\ were

not interested in an\ suimeslions he niiclit make.

Buster showed up, wore the clothes, and did exaetK

w hat Schneider and Beckett told Inm to do.

 The exterior .shots ot Buster runiini^ in .1 he;i\y

o\erco;it were fihnecl ne;ir the BrookK 11 Bricl<;e,

where the leniper.iliire was in the nineties with hii;h

hninulitx. I le did l;ike ;ilter take and ne\er eoin-

plained, hnl Busier was glad w hen sliootin<; was eoni-

pleted. People who nnderstand /'///;; iiia\ think iiighl)-

ol it. Buster was not one ot them.

Buster appeared in four heaeli part\ iilnis —

Pajaimi Party (1964), Beach Blanket Bnioo (]^)6S),

lUnv to Stuff a Wild Bikini (196S ), and Sergeant

Deadhead ( 1 96 S) — between August 1964 and )aiiuai\

196S. Thex were made \i\ the B-moxie assemhK line

known as .Vmeriean International Pietures and usual-

ly shot in two weeks in Malihu or on some publie

heaeh. The lilnis were silK and made tor teenagers,

hut Buster enjcned doing them. They paid well, and

it was eas\ work for him. Beeause Buster liked to

work, he sometimes aeeepted projects that were

beneath his talents. fT)we\er, it was his appearances

on television, in commercials, and e\cn in the beach

part\ films that exposed Buster to \ounger audiences

and created an interest in his silent pietures.

Buster had a ball making The Railrodder. it was

directed h\ C.erald Potterton, w ho had asked Buster

to go to Canada to make the short film for the

A/)o\c'; Buster witli Ed Sullivan

in an uppccirance on The Kd
Sli.liww Show, nhicli

aired on December 22, J963.

Left: As CInef Rotten Eagle in

P\l \\1 A PVK/ V (iy6-fi.

209
 Left: With director Alan Schneider and playwright Samuel Beckett
on the set of VlLM (1965). Photograph by Boris Kaufman.

Below: Buster and me at the evening gala show of Film at the

Venice Film Festival in September J 96 5 where he received a stand-

ing ovation. "This is the first time I've ever been invited to a film fes-

tival," he said at the time, fighting back tears, "but I hope it won't

be the last."

Bottom: Don Rickles (left) and Harney Lembeck (right) with Buster

during production of Beach Blankft B/ngo (J965j.

Standing in the doorway behind them is director William Asher

and his wife, actress Elizabeth Montgomery.

National Film Board of Canada. Buster agreed, and

for six weeks in the autumn of 1964 we traveled more

than four thousand miles across Canada from

Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Vancouver, British

Columbia. The plot of the film is simple: Buster

stumbles upon a "speeder" (a small, motorized rail

car) and drives it across the country.

At one point in the film, there is a scene where

Buster's little speeder travels across a very high trestle

bridge. At that moment, the large map Buster has

been reading blows up into his face, completely

enveloping him. It is a great gag— but very danger-

ous. Gerr)' Potterton and Buster argued about it for

over an hour. Cerr\- did not want Buster to put him-

self in danger, but Buster was stubborn and would

not give in. Finally, they did the gag the \\a\ Buster

wanted it, and it is one of the best scenes in the film.

Buster never had an ego, but in moments like this, he

just knew what he was doing— it was as simple as that.

Although The Railrodder would not be Buster's last

film, it proved to be his last film in the classic silent

style of filmmaking. Indeed, The Railrodder, complet-

ed at the twilight of Buster's career, plays much like

one of his early two-rcelers. It is also fitting that

Buster's last film in the silent st\le fcK-uscd on the

railroad, a subject he held most dear and the center-

piece of his most acclaimed film. Buster maintained

a fascination with complex machinery throughout his

life, and both intricate machines and the elaborate

2U)
With the clapboard during production
ofTni-: Ra/Z-Rodokk (1965).

Photograph by Sam Tata.

Buster scans the horizon on location tor

The Raii.roddkr. Photograph

by Sam 'lata.

Ill
 Below: The final scene of Right: Buster gets some
War 1 1 alias S im.I: (1967). additional makeufi between

Released after Buster's death, it takesof A Fiwr I iiisg

is his last screen image. Pictured H APi>i:\ i:i) OS I in: Way
from the back are Ciccio Ingrassia / in: FoKC \/
(^ I f/%6i.
and Franco Franchi.

Bottom: With Lucille Ball in the

television comedy sfK'cial A Sai.V'I !•:

i() Stas Lavki I , which was

taped in July J965 and originally

aired nationally on November 2\

conicdic situations that flow from their inevitable

entropy were central themes of his work. The great

irony of Buster Keaton's art, of course, was that his

stoic expression always remained constant despite his

chaotic surroundings.

Only three months after The Railrodder w as

released. Buster Keaton, who began his career as a

(Aff^.
knockabout child prop and completed it on the har-

rowing high rail, was finally at peace. Yet, as long as

the films of Buster Keaton endure and new genera-

tions continue to embrace his genius, the great

Keaton, once and fore\er silent, shall never be stilled.

212
APPENDIX: HOW TO MAKE A PORKPIE HAT by Eleanor Kcatou

Buster's tradcnuiik luit was worn in his \cr\ first film, Buster went through half a do/en hats per film in

I he Butcher Hr)v. I lie hat was \cr\ similar to tiic hat he the silent era. Later, he could make two hats last a

had used ou the sta^e. hi silent tduis, e\er\ film come- whole \ear, unless he was working on a project in

dian had a sit;nature hat. Derbies were the most popu- w Inch there were scenes in\ol\ ing water. It he pla\ed

lar, w ith both CHiarlie C'haplin aud Roscoe Arbuekle around with water. Buster could go through as man\

wearnig them, and I larold Llo\d adopted the straw as twcKc hats a \ear. The felt disintegrates if it

hat. Buster set out to ereate his own hat, which would becomes too wet, and the hats just tall a|)art and can-

set him apart trom the other comediaus as well as not be reused. Buster trained me to make most of his

endure rough treatment aud still keep its sha])c. hats for him not long after we were married.

Buster bought gray fedora hats in his si/e, which M\ faxorite memorx of Buster making his hat is

was 6X. He preferred the fedoras manutactured b\ w hen we were in Ccrman\ in 1962 to promote the

Stetson, but used other brands when Stetsons were screenings of The General. He needed a new hat.

not a\ailable. He then ripped out the inside lining Buster went to a little hat sho]) next to our hotel in

and folded in the crown, as seen in the series of ])ho- Frankfurt and pointed out the hat he wanted to the

tographs abo\e. little elderK man who ran the shop. Buster pan-

rhe second step was to cut the brim down to size tomimed e\er\ thing, as he did not speak C German

(a normal fedora has too wide a brim) to about two and the shopkeeper did not speak P^nglish. Buster

inches. tried on the fedora and liked it. He then pantomimed

The third step was to flatten and stiffen the brim. scissors, and the shopkeeper handed Buster a pair of

This was done with three heaping teaspoons of gran- sheers. Buster proceeded to tear the entire hat lining

ulated sugar in one cup of warm water. W ith a small out, fold down the crown, and cut the brim. The old

paint brush, he wet the top and bottom ot the brim man looked like he was about to ha\e a stroke

w ith the sugar w ater. The last step w as to use a steam because Buster had not yet paid for the hat. When
iron to flatten out the brim. The hat was placed right Buster finished and placed the hat on his head to test

side up on a hard surface and let to dr\ to further it, the old man recognized w ho Buster was and w hat

stiffen and flatten the brim. was taking place in his hat shop.

Buster had difficult\ keeping the brim flat. He

ne\er tipped his hat or removed it b\ holding the

brim. He alwaws held the hat from the crown, as the

brim w as delicate. Buster making a porkpie hat. c. 196>. 2J5

AFTERWORD by Kevw Bmwnlow

My DKVoiiON TO B u s r i: R Kkaton was short and stockv, he looked \ounger in actuality

goes back more tlian fort\' years, to the first showings than most recent photographs one saw of him — and
o^The General and The Navigator at London's he laughed. That was the last thing I expected from

National Film Theatre in the 1950s. When, by a the deadpan comedian. But several times during the

series of unlikely circumstances, I found myself in interview, a suddenly remembered incident w ould be
Hollywood in 1964, one of the first people I set out to accompanied by a spontaneous, infectious laugh. As

see was Keaton. for his voice, it sounded like an anchor chain going out.

I expected a star to live in one of those huge mock- The Saint Bernard — Elmer— nuzzled him hope-
Tudor or Castilian buildings in Beverh- Hills — the fully. "This dog sits on the couch to watch tele\ision,"

sort of place he owned in the 1920s. Confronted by a he said. Aware that a demonstration was required, the

simple wooden bungalow in the San Fernando dog trundled o\er to a couch and heaved his back legs

Valley, I thought I had gone to the wrong house. But on to the seat, lea\ing his front paws on the ground.

you could not argue with tlie name: "The Keatons." He then stared, deadpan, at the Keatons' Christmas

1 expected Buster Keaton to be a morose, bitter tree, substituting that for the television set. Keaton

man. I expected to find liim sitting glumh' in a cor- grinned. "Come on," he said. "We can talk better next

ner, talking in monosyllables about the people who door." The dog raced us inside and, as I set up m\

had ruined his career. I was prepared for a difficult tape recorder, it panted noisily into the microphone.

encounter and was already making allowances for On a lower level than the rest of the house, the

"great artist . . . hard life." The reality could scarcely room was decorated w ith photographs, certificates,

ha\'e been more different. and awards. A billiard table occupied one side;

Fleanor Keaton opened the door; she was a strik- Keaton's "saloon" was on the other. It had sw inging

ingly attractive woman w ho reminded mc of Lucille bar doors, and the best beer in town, but it was onh

Ball. Before I could enter, the gap was filled by a the size of a telephone kiosk. Two cow box hats, one

colossal Saint Bernard. C.rinning, Eleanor tried to presented by the Cattlemen's Association ot i'ort

keep the door open, drag the dog in, and shake hands, Worth, Texas, Ihe other trom Oklahoma, hung in the

all at once. I'Vom ihc next room came thundering far corner ot the room, next to a fireman's hat, signitx-

liooxcs and gunshots from a telc\ision set. "Buster!" ing that Keaton had been made a member of the Fire

called I'Jeanor. The noise slopped, abruplK. "The ncparlmcnt ot Bntlalo, New York.. \n Oscar stood on

studio ])ut Busier on slaiidby today," she explained. a table

— "lo Buster Kcaloii tor his unic|nc talents

"If I'd had some place lo call von, I'd lia\e canceled which brought immortal comedies to the screen —
the visit. Bnl lhc\ arcn'l shooting l()da\ after all." next to ;i "Ceorge," one ol the F.aslnian I louse awards,

2H Buster Kcalon emerged horn ihe next room. He oi which Keaton seemed especialh proud. 1 was taken
aback l)\ llic smiling pliotoj^rapl) of Roscoc Arhucklc laughter. "And I don't know these lions |)ers()nall\, see.

tlial (Idiiimatc'd one wall — I was atfcclcd l)\ tlic pn)|> 'Iheyre both strangers to me. Then the cameraman
ai^aiula thai still siinoiiiKkcl tlic Arhucklc case, ami sa\s, A\'e'\e got to do the shot again lor the loreign

"
w Inch made one think him miiltw An original litho- negati\c.' I said, "I'.nropc ain't gonna see this scene!'

graph ot the tram the ilcncrcil dominated the other More laughter, .md Keaton returned to his seat.

wall. I hiderncalh was a hilarious shot ot three Busters "Years later. Will Rogers used that gag— 'l'an()|)c
sitting in the poses ol the three wise monkcNs, There ain't gonna see this scene.' Wc made a dupe negative
was a picture ol his lather, )oc Kcaton, with the loco- out ot Ihcil baby. I'xe worked with lions since, and

motixc he dro\c in Our WusjvlalUx and, surprisin<^l\, some nice ones."

one of Natalie lalmadgc, Kcaton's first wife, with It was the onl\ time I met Buster Keaton. I le died

their two ho\s. A more recent photot^raph showed just oxer a year later, in l'cbru.n\ 1966. ! included the

Buster Keaton w ilh 1 larold I ,lo\cl and jaec|nes Tali. A interv iew in m\ Inst hook, I'he Parade's Clone By

stunt check for $7.50 commemorated a stunt Keaton In I9S6, Oaxid Cill and I were able to make a three-

did tor I ,ew C>od\ in 1928 for I'he Bahv CWclonc. part documentar\ tor Thames 'lelcxision that we
1 ha\e just listened again to the tape I recorded on called Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to i''o//ou' (1987).

that occasion, and while I am embarrassed b\ ni\- Kleanor proved the most important contributor.

wide-e\ed nai\ete, it did ha\e the effect of engaging Born in I lolK wood, C'alifornia, in I91S, T'.leanor

Keaton's interest. I got mau\ ot the standard was years yoimger than Buster. She was so strong and

answers — familiar from other intcr\ iews — but I also self-reliant, she alwav s struck me as a character from

got a lot that was fresh. 1 le was full of enthusiasm and the Old West. She had a refreshingh unsentimental

charm, and Kleanor chimed in oecasionalK w ith outlook on life and a wondertulK dr\ sense of

additional information. Ihc most touching moment humor, .\ftcr two mihapp\ marriages Buster found in

occurred when she prompted him to tell a stor\ Eleanor the perfect wife — and she later proved to be

about a lion on Sherlock jr. the perfect widow. She would do anv thing to advance

Keaton chuckled. "I'm in the cage out at the cause of Keaton. (Her car had the license plate

Universal, where the\ had all the animals at that KEATON 1.) She helped us in eomitless wa\s when

time. It's a big round cage, about si\t\ to eight\ feet we v\ere making the documcntarv, aside trom giv ing

in diameter, full of tropical foliage. With a whip and us the most marvelous interview. She remembered so

a chair and a gmi, the trainer gets the two lions in much of what Buster had told her that we were quite

position and I go to mine. M\ cameraman is outside shocked, after the program went out, to hear a con-

the cage, shooting through a hole. The trainer sa\s, stant stream of fresh reminiscences that we would
'lOon't run, don't make a fast mo\c, and don't go in a have loved to have had in the film. Our reaction

corner.' Well, there is no corner in a round cage!" amused her so much that she suggested making a

Buster laughed, pushed the tabic out of the wa\ and fresh documcntarv entitled What Eleanor Forgot to

began to demonstrate. It was a perfect re-creation of Tell Vs.

the scene in Sherlock /r., w ith Keaton doing his won- W hen one embarks on a biographical docimicn-

derful walk across the room, whistling nonchalantlv. 1 tary, one is liable to uncover some unpleasant facts

was so accustomed to seeing him in silent films that I about the subject.. \fter we had finished the Keaton

was astonished to hear the whistle. film, however, we realized that we had found no one
"I start to walk awa\' from one lion — and lookit, who had a single unkind word to sa\ about the

there's another one, there! 1 got about this far and I man — and this was a fellcnv who went through a

glanced back and both of them were that far behind rough period of alcoholism.. \11 those who knew him

mc, walking w ith me!" Keaton was helpless with seemed to have loved him. 215
 And what adiiiiration tlie\ had tor Kcaton the listen to the laughter. The film's onl\ drawback is that

filmmaker! When I present programs to ])eop]c unfa- it o\ ershadows everything else )'ou show w ith it.

mihar with silent films, I al\\a\'s include Keaton's The director was a figure of little importance in

short comed\ One Week. And I show it complete, for comedy films in those days. The comedian was the

it is ruinous to lca\e anything out. I'lic pictine is the whole show, and was expected to come up with the

perfect comedy. Inspired by Home Made, a docu- gags — with the help of gagmen. This was so well

mentar\ about portable housing produced b\ the understood that sometimes Keaton did not bother to

Pbrd Motor Compan\ (he got ideas from the take directing credit for a picture, and ga\e it to one

strangest places), he was able to come up w ith an of the gagmen. But his abilit\ as a director was per-

elaborate comed\. He was then age twenty- four, like haps his most remarkable talent. He was so good that

Orson Welles when he began Citizen Kane (1941), he should have been given dramatic pictures to make
and this is a sort oi Citizen Kane of the two-reeler. from time to time.

Keaton starred, directed (with his long-time collabo- Although nearly eighty percent of all silent films

rator Eddie Cline), did all his own stunts (one landed have been lost. Buster Keaton's independent silent-

him in the hospital), helped to work out the gags, film legacy sur\i\'es complete. Thanks largely to

and assisted with the special effects. This was a fellow Raymond Rohauer, the films are in worldwide distri-

w ho had barely attended grade school, let alone film bution: in cinemas, in screenings with live orchestral

school. Yet he combined the talents of an artist, a accompaniment, at film societies and festivals, and

dramatist, a clown, and a ci\ il engineer. Put this on television and home video. It seems likeK' that

eightv-vear-old film in front of an audience and just each new generation w ill rediscover Buster Keaton.

216
Notes

I \ I R () n II c: I ION

1 7'/(c' nnmnilic Mirror. March ICi. l')(ll, arliclf coiilaiiic-d on \ Buster Kealon, inler\ ieu by Bob and Joan I'Vanklin,
page three of M\ ra Keaton s seraphook ol Iheatrieal elip- C'olumbia Uni\ersil\ Oral llislorv Research Office, 19S8,
liings.As most of tlie cli]3|)ings in the sera])b()()k are niiat- transcri|)t j). 4.

liihuted. i^age notations eitecl are the seraphook page 4. Rndi Blesh, Ke<;/o;) (New '^ork: i he M.icmillan (^oniijau),
iiuiiiher, \(lclilion;il lil.ilion inloi UKilion is gixcn when 19661.71.
possible. \h ra Keaton's scrapliook was donated h\ I'.leanor ^.\'ariel\; IS l''ehrnar\ 1921.

Keaton to the Aeadenn I'bnndation. where it is ])art ot the 6. Buster Keaton, interview by I'leteher Markle, ielescope,

Blister Keaton C'olleetion at the Margaret I lerriek Librar\ C^anadian Broadcasting (Corporation television ]irogram,
of the Aeadenn ot Motion Pieture .\rts and Seicnecs, 1964.

along with her other |-5nsler Keaton-rehiled |)h()logra|)hs. ". Busier Kealon. inlerv iew hv Boh and Joan franklin.
papers, and artitaets. CColnmbia Universilv Oral I listory Research Office, I9SS,
2. Tliis unbclie\abl\ low fignrc originates from Buster Keaton transcri])t p]). 11-12.

and is probably a nn th; it is less than wiiat Biograph paid (S. C'haplin later used I'ruckee, California, for filming selected

motion-pieture extras |)er week in i*-)!!). Bnster Keaton exterior location scenes for ihe Gold Rush (1925). 7'/7t'

with Clli.ules Samnels, My Wonilcrtiil World o/ SUipfitick Frozen !^orth and ihe Cold Rush share similar sncnv-
(C^.arden Clitx. N.\'.: Donbledax eV C;ompan\. hie., i'^)6()l, ^)4. inspired coiuedv momeuls.
3. Arbiiekle made a few films tor the Selig Polyseope Company 9. Keaton with Samuels, 165.

starting in 1909 and later worked four weeks in Nestor 10. John Cillett and James Blue, "Keaton at N'cuice," .S/g/?/ and
Comedies released b\ Uni\ersal prior to joining Ke\ stone. .Soi/nc/^S, no. I (Januarv 1966), 27.

4. Keaton had alread\ starred in one feature, I he Saphead 1 1. Ibid., 2S.

(1920), when he was loaned onl to Metro Pietures h\ joe 12 Allhough The General had its New \oA ])rcmiere on
Sehenek prior to sl.irting his ow n series ot shorts. Based on h'cbrnarv 5, 1927, and Los Angeles |)remierc March II,

the popular pla\ Ihe l^cw Henrietta, the film was not 1927, it was registered for co])yright on December 22,

direeted by Keaton and therefore displays little of Keaton's 1926, and the world premiere of the film was held in

ingenuity or style beyond that as an actor. Tokyo on December ?!, 1926. Since publication date (in

the case of motion pictures, release date) is the official

date for an\' work, 1926 is used fhronghouf the text as the

Bust i-, r K k at on R i: \i i- \i h i, r h, n date for the film.

Is. Cillett and Blue, 29.

1. A close reading of M\ ra Keaton's seraphook re\eals that the 14.Blesh,271.

stor\ of how Buster rceei\ed his famous nickname evoked 15. Robert Sherwood, Life, 24 Fehruarv 1927, 26.

o\er the years. In one account. Buster's nickname was 16. David Robinson, Buster Keaton London: Seeker I
&•

conferred on him by "Ceorge Pardey, an old-time legiti- Warburg, 1969), 143.

mate comedian." The Dramatic Mirror, |anuar\ 2 s, 1904, 17 Cillett and Blue, 29
in M\ ra Keaton seraphook, S2. 18. Keaton with Samuels, 259.
2. Keaton w ilh Samuels, Is.

217
 Terkel, Studs. "Buster Keaton." In The Sf:>ectator. New York:
Bibliography
The New Press, 1999.

Wead, George,and George Lcllis. ihe Film Career of Buster

Keaton. Pleasantville, N.Y.: Redgrave Publishing Co., 1977
Books Yallop, David A. The Dav the Laughter Stopped. New York: St.

Benayoun, Robert. The Look of Buster Keatou. Kditcd and Martin's Press, 1976.
translated by Randall Conrad. New York: St. Martin's Press,

1983. P I-: R I on I c; .\ i, s

Bengston, John. Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Agee, James. "Comedy's Greatest Era." Life, 3 September
Through the Films of Buster Keaton. Santa Monica, Calif.: 1949,70-88.
Santa Monica Press. 2000. Bishop, Christopher. "The Great Stone Pace." Film Quarterly

Blesh, Rudi. Keaton. New York: llic Macniillan Company, 12, no. 1 (fall 1958): 10-15.

1966. ."An Inter\'iew v\ith Buster Keaton." Film Quarterly \2,

Brownlow, Kevin. Ihe Parade's Gone By . . . New York: Alfred no.I (fall 1958): 15-22.

A. Knopf, 1968. Brownlow, Ke\in. "Buster Keaton." /''/7m 42 (spring 1965):

Brownlow, Kevin. "The D.W. Criffith of Comedy." In 6-10.

Projections 4'/:, edited by John Boorman and Walter Feinstein, Herbert. "Buster Keaton: An Interview."

Donohue. London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1995. Massachusetts Review 4, no. 2 (1963): 392-407
Brundidge, Harry '[.Twinkle, Twinkle Movie Star! New York: Gillett, John, and James Blue. "Keaton at Venice." Sight and
Dntton, 1930.' SounJ 35, no.I (January 1966): 26-30.

Coursodon, Jean-Pierre. Buster Keaton. Paris: Seghers, 1973. Gilliat, Penelope. "An Interview with Buster Keaton." London

Dardis, Tom. Keaton: The Man Who Wouldn't Lie Down. New Observer Weekend Review, 24 May 1964, 31.
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1979. Houston, Penelope. "The Great Blank Page." Sight and Sound
Edmonds, Andv. Frame The Untold Story of Fatty
Up!: 37, no. 2 (spring 1968): 63-7
Arbuckle. New York: William Morrow, 1991. Keaton, Buster. "Why I Never Smile." Ladies Home journal

Gilliatt, Penelope. "Buster Keaton." In llnholy Fools. New (June 1926): 173-74.
York: Viking Press, 1973. Keaton, Joe. "The Cvclone Bab\." Plmtofolav (Ma\1927): 98,

Horton, y\ndrew, ed. Buster Keaton's Sherlock, jr. Cambridge: 125-26.

Cambridge University Press, 1997 Ludlani, Helen. "Yo Ho Ho and a Buster Keaton Location."
Keaton, Buster, with Charles Samuels. My Wonderful World of March 1929): 42-43, 110-111.
Screenland (

Slapstick. Garden Cit\', N.Y.: Doubleday, 1960. McCaffery, Donald. "The Mutual Appro\al of Keaton and
Keaton, Buster. "What Are the Six Ages of Comedy?" In Ihe Lloyd.'' Cinema journal 6 (1967): 8-15.

Truth About the Movies by the Stars, edited by Laurence A. Robinson, David. "Redisco\er\ Buster." Sight and Sound 29, :

Hughes. Hollywood: Hollywood Publishers, 1924. no.I (1959-60): 41-43.

Kerr, Walter. "Last Call for a Clown." Harper's Bazaar (May

1952). Reprinted in Pieces at Eight. New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1957, 195-202. I N -y K R\' I K, WS
.The Silent Clowns. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1975. Keaton, Buster. Interview by Kc\in Brownlow, 1964.
Kline, Jim. Ihe Complete Films of Buster Keaton. New "I'ork: .
Interview by Herbert Feinstein. Paeifica Foundation,

Citadel Press, 1993. 1960.

Knopf, Robert. The Theater and Cinema of Buster Keaton. . Interview bv Bob and Joan Franklin. Columbia
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. Uni\ersity Oral History Research Office, 1958.

Lebel, R Buster Keaton. 1964. Translated by R D. Stovin. . Interview by Arthur Friedman, 1956.
J.

London: A. Zucmnicr Ltd.; New York: A. S. Barnes & Co., . Interview by Fletcher Markle. Telescope. Canadian

1967 Broadcasting Corporation television program. 1964.

Macleod, Da\ id. ihe Sound of Buster Keaton. London: Buster — . Interview bv Dean Miller. WNBC Channel 4 television
Books, 1995. (New York), 1961.

Mast, Gerald. T/ie Comic Mind: Comedy and the Movies. — .Interview b\- George Pratt, 1958.

Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1973. — .Interview bv Studs Terkel, 1960.

McCaffery, Donald W. Four Great Comedians: Chaplin,

Lloyd, Keaton, Langdon. London: A. Zwennner Ltd.; New
York: A. S. Barnes & Co., 1968. M I S C K 1. L.\ N F. O LI .S

Meade, Marion. Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase. New \ork: Buster Keaton contracts with G()mic|ue film C'or])oratiou,

Harper Collins, 1995. Buster Keaton Productions, and |osei:)h M. Schenck,

Moews, Daniel. Keaton: Ihe Silent Features Close I '/?.
1920-27
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977 Buster Keaton date books, 190S-15, 19r-lS.

Oldham, Cabriella. Keaton's Silent Shorts: Beyond the Buster Keaton Metro-Gokhw n-Ma\er contract and produc-

i,t/ug/jter. Carbondale and Fdwards\ille, 111.: Soulhcrn tion files, 1928-33.

Illinois University Press, 1996. Busier Keaton militar\' jiersonnel records and discharge

Ra|)f, Joanna Iv, and Gary L. Green. Buster Keaton: .\ H/o- papers,

Bihliography. Wcstporl, C^onn.: Greenwood Press, 1995. i3usler Kealou produced anil uu|)i(Klueccl tihu and television

Rccd, Rex. "Buster Keaton." In Do You Sleep in the Nude? scripts. 1945-65.

New York: New American Library, 1968. Eleanor Keatou date books. 1956-66.
Robinson, Da\id. Busier Keaton. London: Seeker cS,- Warburg, Myra Keaton scrapbook.
1969. ihe Keaton Chronicle (quaricrK publication of The n.nutmos:

Sclmeiclcr, Alan. "On Directing Fihu" In Film, by Sanniel The International Busier Keatou Society). S. no.I

Beckcll. New York: Gro\e Press, 1969. (winter 1993) -S, no. 4 (fall 2000).

Scoil, ()li\er Lindse\, cd. Busier Keaton: ihe Lilllc lion MiUi. Kobiusou. i)a\ id. "Busier Kc.ilon: A I l.ircl Acl to Follow."

Chrislchurch, New /ealaiul: Busier i^ooks, 1995. I .oikIou: Ihames lclc\ ision/C lli.niuel 4, 1987
218
 ACoi/»i/n//t'roll9l7)
FilnK)grai)liy
Released: December 10, 1917 Distributed In: I'aramouut

Pictures. Produced b\ : ( ;ouii(|ue i'ilm Corporation. Length:

2 reels. Scenario i'xiiloi: lk'd)rrt Warren. Seeuario: Roseoe
liii, A i< liP c K. 1. 1: - K i: \ I () \ SiioKis
.'Xibuckli' Pliotogi,iph\ : Cleorgc I'eters Producer: Joseph M.
77ic'«i//c/it'r Boy (1917) Scheuck. Director: Roseoe .Xrbucklc. Cast: Roseoe .\rbueklc,
Kflc;isfd: .Xpril 2'^, 1917 l')isliihiilc'(l l)\: I'arainounl I'iclurcs. l^uster Keaton. ,\l St, John. Alice Lake. Joe Kciiton. Stanley

Producx'cl l)s: C]()niii|iK- I' ilm ('orporalioii, l.fiiglli: 2 reels. I'embroke

St()r\': Joe Roiieh. Seen;n io ildilor: I leiherl Warren. Seeiiario:
Koseoe Aihuc kic-, I'liolu^uplu : I'laiik I ). W illiaiiis. Produeer: ()i/M\c'.s'/(191,S)

)(iM|)li \1. Selieiick. nireelor: Koseoe .Vrhuekle. ( lasl : Koseoe Released: Januars 20, 1918. i")istributed by: i'aramouut

.\rbuekle, Buster Kealoii. .\1 St. John, Josephine Stevens, i'ietures. i'rodnced by: C;omic|ue I'ilm (Corporation, i.ength:
.\rtlnn- i'.arle, .A^nes Neilson, Joe Bordeau, l.nke (he Hog 2 reels. Seenario i'.ditor: Herbert Warren. Seenario: Natalie
'i'almadge and Roseoe .Arbuekle. i'hotographv: George i'eters.

AKt'c/v/c'.s.sKo»ic'o(19r) Producer: Josc|)h \1. Schcnck. Director: Roseoe .\rl)uckle.

Released: Ma\2l, 1917 Distributed 1)\ : Parainouiil Ticlures. (Cast: Roseoe .Arbuekle. Buster Keaton. \l St, John, Alice
Produeed 1)\: C'oniiciue I'ihn C^orporation. Length: 2 reels. Lake, Joe Keaton
Story: Joe Roaeh. Seenario I'.ditor: I ierhert Warren. Seeuario:
Ro.scoe .Arbuekle. l'hotograph\: I'rank D. Williauis. Producer: 77ieBc'//Boy(19l,S)

Jose|)h \1. Sclient k. nirector: Roseoe Arbuekle. Clast: Roseoe Released: March IS. 191S. Distributed In: Paramount Pictures.
(
.\rbuekle. Busier Keaton, Al St. John, Aliec I .ake. 'onuue Produced In; (Comic|uc I'ilm (Corporation. 1 .eugtli: 2 reels.

Pan|ue(, Agnes Neilson Scenario I'.ditor: Herbert Warren. Scenario: i<oseoe .Arbuekle.
Photography: George i'eters. I'roducer: Joseph M. Scheuck.
The Rough House (1917) lOirector: Roseoe .\rbucklc. (Cast: Ro.scoe .\rbuekle, Buster
Rclea.scd: Juue2x 1917 i')istributed b\: Paramount Pictures. Keaton, ,\1 St. John, .Mice Lake, Joe Keaton, Charles Dudley
Produced In: C;oniic|Uc I'ihn (Corporation. Length: 2 reels.

Stor\ : Joe Roaeh. Seenario i'.ditor: 1 ierhert Warren. Seenario: Moonshine (1918)

Roseoe .\rbucklc. Photograj^ln: i'rank D. Williams. Producer: Released: May B, 1918. i:)istributed by: I'aramouut Pictures.
Joseph \i. Schenck. Director: Roseoe .\rhuckle. C'ast: Roseoe Produced by: Comique Film Corporation. Ijcngth: 2 reels.

.Arbuekle, Bu.ster Keaton, ,\1 St. John, Aliec Lake, Agnes Scenario I'.ditor: Herbert Warren. Scenario: i^oscoe .Arbuekle.
Neilson, C'.lcii C'axcnder Pliotogra|5h\: (Ceorge i'eters. Producer: Joseph M. Schcnck.
Director: Roseoe .Arbuekle. Cast: Roseoe .Arbuekle, Buster

Hi's Wec/c/nigN/g/in 1917) Keaton, W St. John, CCharles Dndlcv, .Mice Lake, Joe Bordeau

Released: .August 20. 1917 Distributed b\: ParauKuiut I'icturcs.

i-'roduced b\-: Couiiquc I' ilm Corporation. Length: 2 reels. Good Nig/if, Nurse! (1918)
Stor\: Joe Roach. Scenario l\ditor: I Icrbcrt Warren. Scenario: Released: JuK S, 1918. Distributed b\ : Paramount Pictures.
Roseoe .\rbucklc. Photograph}': Ceorge l\'tcrs. Producer: Produced In : Comique Film Corjjoratiou. Length: 2 reels.

Joseph l\l. Schcnck. Director: Roseoe .Arbuekle. Cast: Roseoe Scenario I'.ditor: Herbert Warren. Scenario: Roseoe .Arbuekle.
Arbuekle, Buster Keaton, Al St. John, Alice Mann, Artlun l^hotograpln ; (^eorge Peters. Producer: Joseph M. Scheuck.
i^arle, Jimmy Br\ant, Jospehine Stevens Director: Roseoe .Arbuekle. Cast: Roseoe .Arbuekle, Buster

Keaton, ,A1 St. John, .Mice Lake, Kate Price, Joe Keaton
O/i, Doctor/ (1917)

Released: September ^0, 1917 Distributed by: Paramount The Cook (1918)

Pictures. Produced b\': Comique I'ilm Corporation. Length: Released: September 1\ 1918. Distributed b\: Paramount

2 reels. Scenario: Jean Ha\c/ and i^oscoe .Arbuekle. Scenario Pictiues. Produced b\ : Comique I'ilm CCorporatiou. Length:
Kditor: Herbert Warren. Photograjiln George : I'eters. 2 reels. Scenario I'.ditor: Herbert Warren. Scenario: Roseoe
Producer: Joseph M. Schcnck. I^irector: I-loscoe .Arbuekle. Arbuekle. Pliotography: George I'eters. Producer: Joseph \l.

Cast: Roseoe .\rbucklc. Buster Keaton. W St. John, .Alice Scheuck. i^irector: Roseoe .Arbuekle. Cast: Roseoe .Arbuekle,
Maun Buster Keaton, .Al St. John, Mice Lake, John Rand, Glen
Cavender, Luke the Dog
Coney Island (1917)

Relea,sed: October 29, 1917 Distributed b\: Paramomit Bt;c/jS*(/gc'(19iy)

Pictures. Produced by: Comique Film Corporation. Length: Released: September 7, 1919. Distributed by: Paramount
2 reels. Scenario Flditor: Herbert Warren. Scenario: Roseoe Pictures, i'rodueed b\ : Comique Film Corporation. Length:
.\rbuckle. l'hotograph\ : George I'eters. Producer: Joseph M. 2 reels. Seenario: Jean liavez and Roseoe .\rbuckle.

Schcnck. Director: Roseoe Arbuekle. Cast: Roseoe .Arbuekle, Photograph) : Elgin Lessley. Produeer: Joseph M. Schcnck.
Buster Keaton, W St. John, .Mice Mann, .\gnes Neilson. James Director: Roseoe .Arbuekle. (Cast: Roseoe .Arbuekle. Buster

Br\aut. Joe Bordcan Keaton. .M St. John. MolK Malone, Budd\ Post. John Coogan

119
 )

T/ie Hayseed (1919) Neig/ifcors(192I)

Released: October26, 1919. Distributed by: Paramount Released: January 3, 1921. Distributed b\-: Metro Pictures.

Pictures. Produced b\-: Coniique Film Corporation. Length: Presented by: Comique Film Corporation. Length: 2 reels.

2 reels. Scenario: Jean Ha\ez and Roscoe Arbuckle. Scenario: Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Photographv: Fllgin

Photography: Elgin Lessley. Producer: Joseph M.Schenck. Lessley. Producer: Joseph M. Schenck. Directors: Buster

Director: Roscoe Arbuckle. Cast: Roscoe Arbuckle, Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Cast: Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox,
Keatou, John Coogau, Molb' Maloue, Kitt\' Bradbur\, I.ukc Joe Keaton, Joe Roberts, Eddie Cline, James Duff\, The

the Dog H\ ing Escalantes

The Garage {\92{)) The Haunted House (1921

Released: Januar\ 11, 1920. Distributeil b\ : Paramount Released: February 10, 1921. Distributed by: Metro Pictures.

Pictiues. Produced b\': Coniique Film Corporation. IxMigth: Presented by: Comique Film Corporation. Length: 2 reels.

2 reels. Scenario: Jean Ha\ez and Roscoe Arbuckle. Scenario: Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Photography: Elgin

Photography: Elgin Lessley. Producer: Joseph M.Schenck. Lesslev. Producer: Joseph M. Schenck. Directors: Buster

Director: Roscoe .\rbuckle. Cast: Roscoe Arbuckle, Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Cast: Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox,
Keaton, Molh Maloue, Harry McCoy, Daniel Crimmins, Joe Keaton, Joe Roberts, Eddie Cline

I.ukc the Dog

Hard Luck (\92\)

Released: March 16, 1921. Distributed by: Metro Pictures.

Metro Fkaihre Presented by: Comique Film Corporation. Length: 2 reels.

Scenario: Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Photography: Elgin

The Saphead {\92{)) Lessle}'. Producer: Joseph M. Schenck. Directors: Buster

Released: October 18, 1920. Distributed by: Metro Pictures. Keaton and Eddie Cline. Cast: Buster Keaton, X'irginia Fox,

Presented by John L. Colden and Winchell Smith in conjunc- Joe Roberts, Bull Montana
tion with Marcus Loew. Length: 7 reels. Scenario: June

Mathis. Based on The New Henrietta by Winchell Smith and T/ieHig/i Sign (1921)
Victor Mapes, adapted trom The Henrietta, a plav by Bronson Released: April 12, 1921. Distributed b\ : Metro Pictures.

Howard. Photography: Harold Wenstrom. Producer: Winchell Presented b\ : Comique Film Corporation. Length: 2 reels.

Smith. Director: Herbert Blache.Cast: Buster Keaton, William Scenario: Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Photography: Elgin

H. Crane, Irving Cummings, Jack Livingston, Odette Tyler, Lessley. Producer: Joseph M. Schenck. Directors: Buster

Carol Hollovva\, Bculah Booker, Edward Jobson, Edward Keaton and Eddie Cline. Cast: Buster Keaton, Bartine
Connelv, Edward Alexander Burkett, Al St. John

The Goat {\92\)

The Ke.^ton S i l e n -j Shorts Released: May 18, 1921. Distributed by: Metro Pictures.

Presented by: Comique Film Corporation. Length: 2 reels.

One Week (1920) Scenario: Buster Keaton and Mai St. Clair. Photography:

Released: September 1, 1920. Distributed by: Metro Pictures. Elgin Lessley. Producer: Joseph M. Schenck. Directors: Buster

Presented by: Comique Film Corporation. Length: 2 reels. Keaton and Mai St. Clair. Cast: Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox,

Scenario: Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Photography: Elgin Joe Roberts, Mai St. Clair, Kitt\ Bradbury. Eddie Cline, Jean

Lesslev. Producer: Joseph M. Schenck. Directors: Buster Havez

Keaton and Eddie Cline. Cast: Buster Keaton, S\bil Seely,

Joe Roberts The Playhouse {]92\)

Released: October 6, 1921. Distributed by: First National.

Conv/cf J 3 (1920) Presented bv: Comique Film Corporation. Length: 2 reels.

Released: October 27, 1920. Distributed b\: Metro Pictures. Scenario: Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Photography: Elgin

Presented bv: Coiuique I'ilm C^orporation. Length: 2 reels. Lessle\. Producer: Joseph M. Schenck. lechuical Director:

Scenario: Buster Kcaloii and F.cidic Celine. Photography: Elgin PVcd Cabouric. Directors: Buster Keaton aiKJ Ecklie C-line.

Lessley. Producer: Jose|)h M. Schenck. Directors: Buster Cast: Buster Keatou, X'irgiuia Fox, Joe Roberts

Keaton and Eddie Cline. Cast: Buster Keaton, S\bil Seely,

Joe Roberts, Eddie Cline, Joe Keaton 'l'heBoat(\92\)

Released: November 1921. Distributed In: l-'irst Nation. il.

The Scarecrow (1920) Presented b\ : C'omit|ue hilm C'orporation. 1 .eiigth: 2 reels.

Released: December 22, 1920. Distributed b\ : Metro Pictures. Scenario: Buster Kcaloii ;iik1 Eddie Cline. Photography: Elgin

Presented by: Comic|ue Film C;or])orati()ii. Length: 2 reels. Lesslc\. Producer: Joseph M. Schenck. Tcclmieal Director:

Scenario: liuster Keaton and I'.ddic Cline. Photogra|)liy: i'.lgin I'Ved Cabouric. Directors: Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline.

Lessley. Producer: Joseph M. Schenck. Directors: Buster C>ast: Buster Keatou. S\bil Seely, Eddie Cline

Keaton and Eddie Cline. C^ast: Buster Keaton, S\bil Seely,

Joe Keaton. Joe Roberts. Eddie Cline, Luke the Dog 77it'P<//t'/i/cc(1922)

Relea.sed: January 1922. Distributed by: First National.

Presented In: C-omii|uc I'ilm Corjioratiou. Length: 2 reels.

220 Scenario: Buster Keaton aiul l.tlilie Cline. I'hotograpln: Elgin

l,(.'ssk-\. I'kkIuci:: |i)m|)Ii M. Sc lR'iRk.'l(.(liMit ,iI l')iicct()i': Director: Fred ( Caboinie Diicc tors: Busier Kcaloii and iCddie

I'lcd C.iibouiic. Directors; iiuslcr Kcaton ;n:(l I '(Klu- ( llinc. ( Cline, ( Cast : Buska Kc.ilon, I'hvllis llaver

(!;isl: lousier Kc;itnn, \'ir<;ini;i I'on. jot- Kobfiis

';7.e/,ovc',\c'.s/(l92s)

Released: M;ireh 192\ Dislribuled 1)\: \ssocialed birsi

Rclciiscd: March V)21 l^islnlnilcd In: l''irsl National. National. Presented b\ : Buster Keaton Prodiic lions i .ciigth:

I 'resell led In: ( loiiiuiiK- I 'Hni (Corporation. I.cnj^lli: 2 reels. 2 reels. Scenario: Buster Kealon l'liol()gra|)h\: I'Clgin Lcs.sley.

Scenario: Bnslei kealoii and I'.ddie Celine. Pliolo^rai^ln': I'.lj^in Producer: Joscjih M. Schenek. lei linical Director: bred
1 ,essle\. I^rodneer: |ose])li M. Selienek. leelinieal Direelor: Cabonrie. Director: Buster Kcaton. Cast: Buster Keaton,
Kred Cabonrie. nireelors: Busier Kealon .iiid I'.ddie ('line. Joe Roberts, N'irginia Fox

(Cast: Blister Kealon, N'irginia I'ox, Joe Roberts. Ste\e

Mnrplu, I'.ddie Clline

'I'mi: Ki \i()\ Sii I \i b'l \iiiur. s

My W ife's Relatious {]^)22)

Rclca.scd: May 1922. Dislnbnled b\ : b'irst Nalional. Presented ihreeAges (192i)

b\ : (;omic|ne I'ilin (Corporation. I .eiigtii: 2 reels. Scenario: Released: Siptcniber 24. 192r Dislribuled by: Metro Pictures.

Blister Kealon and b.ddie (dine. Plioto^rapliy: I'lgiii l.essley. Produced In Busier Kealon Prodiii lions. Length: 6 reels.

Producer: Joseph M. Schenek. leelinieal Director: I'Ved Scenario: (Clyde Bruekman, Joseph .\. Mitchell, Jean i lavcz.

C>abourie. Directors: Buster Kcaton and I'.ddic C>liiic. (Cast: Photography: William MeCJann, I'Clgin l,essle\. liL'clmieal

Bluster Kcaton, Kate Price, )oc Roberts, Monte Collins, Tom Director: Fred C^.abonrie. Producer: Joseph M. Schenek.
Wilson, I larr\ Madison, W'hee/er Dell Directors: Buster Kcaton and I'Cddic (Cline. ( Cast: Busier
Keaton, Margaret Lealn, Joe Roberts. Lillian Lawrence,
I'he Blacksmith {W22) Wallace Rcer\, Blanche Pa\soii
Rclca.scd: July 21, 1922. Distributed by: First National.

Presented b\-: C-oniique Film (Corporation, l.cngtli: 2 recLs. Our Hospitality (192^)
Scenario: Busier Kealon and \l,il St. (Clair. Pli(>loc;raph\: Relea.scd: Ncnember 19, I92\ Distributed b\ Metro Piclures. :

Fli^iii I, essle\. Producer: Joseph M. Schenek. leelinieal Produced b\ Buster Keaton Productions. Length: ~ reels.
Director: I'Ved C.abourie. Directors: Buster Kcaton and Mai Scenario: Jean lla\e/, CCClyde Bruekman, Joseph Mitchell.
St. (Clair. C>ast: Buster Kcaton, Joe Roberts. Virginia Fox Lighting: Deiner I larmon.CCCostumes: Walter Israel.

Photography: i'Clgin Lessley, Cordon Jennings. Art Direction:

IhelwzenNorth (1922) Fred Cabonrie. Producer: Joseph M. Schenek. Directors:

Relea,sed: August 1922. Dislribiited b\: Mrst National. Buster Keaton and Jack Bl\ stone. (Cast: Buster Kcaton. Joe
Presented b\': Buster Keaton Productions. Length: 2 reels. Roberts, Ralj^li Bushman (later I'Vaneis X. Bushman, Jr.),

Scenario: Buster Kcaton and F.ddie Clinc. Pliotogra])hy: I'.lgin (CCraig Ward, Monte Collins, Joe Keaton, Kitty Bradbur\-,

Lcs.sley. Producer: Joseph M. Schenek. Tcchnieal Director: Natalie 'I'almadge, Buster Keaton, Jr. (later James lalmadgc)
PVed Gahourie. Directors: Buster Keaton and I'.ddie (Clinc.

Cast: Buster Keaton, Joe Roberts, S\bil Seek, Bonnie Mill, Sherlock }r. (1924)

b'rccinaii Wood. I'Cddie (Clinc. Robert Parker Released: ,\pril 21. 1924. Distributed by: Metro Pictures

Corporation. Produced b\ Buster Keaton Productions.

Daydreams (1922) Length: 5 reels. Scenario: Jean I lavez, Joseph Mitchell, (CKde
Rclca.scd: September 1922. Distributed b\ : First National. Bruekman. Electrician: Denver Harmon. Costumes: Clare
Presented b\ : Buster Keaton Productions. Length: 2 reels. West. Photograpin : Flgin Lesslex. B\ ron llouck..\rt Dircclior:
Scenario: Busier Kealon and I'Cddie Cline. Photograpln: I'Clgin I'Ved Cabonrie. Producer: Joseph M. Schenek. Director:
Lcssle\. Producer: Joseph iM. Schenek. I'echnieal Director: Buster Keaton. Cast: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McCnire, Joe
Fred Cabonrie. Directors: Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Keaton, Ward CCCrane. I'Crwiu CConnellv

Cast: Buster Kcaton, Renee .Xdoree, Joe Keaton, Joe Roberts,

Fddie CCline T/ieNavigdfor (19241

Released: October l\ 1924. Distributed b\: Metro-Cold\\\ n

The Electric House {]922) Distribution Corporation. Produced by Buster Keaton

Relea.scd: October 1922. Distributed by: .Vssoeiatcd First Productions. Length: 6 reels. Scenario: CClyde Brnckinan,

National. Presented In : Buster Keaton Productions. Length: Joseph Mitchell, Jean Have/.. FClectrician: Dcmer Harmon.
2 reels. Scenario: Buster Keaton and I'Cddie (Cline. Photography: Phot()gra]5h\: Flgin Lessle\. B\ ron 1 lonck. reehnical Director:

Flgin Lessle\. Producer: Joseph W. Schenek. reehnical Fred Cabonrie. Producer: Joseph M. Selienek. Directors:
Director: Fred Cabonrie. Directors: Buster Keaton and ICddic Donald Crisp and Buster Keaton. Cast: Buster Keaton,
Cline. Cast: Buster Kcaton. Joe Roberts. X'irginia Fox Kathrvn McCuire, Frederick X'rooin. (CClarcnce Burton,

H. \L Clugston, Noble Johnson

The Ballooimtic i\92''->)

Released: Januar\ 22. 192-!. Distributed b\: .\ssociated First Seven Chances (1925)
National. Presented by: Buster Keaton Productions. Length: Released: March 16, 1925. Distributed b\ : Mctro-Coldwyn-
2 reels. Scenario: Birster Keaton and F.ddie CCCline. Photograpin Maycr. Produced b\ Buster Keaton Productions. Length:
Flgin Lessle\. Producer: Joseph \F Schenek. Technical 6 reels. Scenario: CKde Bruekman. jean Havez, Joseph
22 J
 Mitchell, acliipted from Roi Co()]:)cr Mcgruc's ]3la\ originalK Supervisor: Harr\ Brand. Assistant Director: .Sandv Roth.
prodiiccd by l^avid Belasco. Electrician: Denxcr llaniion. Producer: Joseph M. Sehenck. Director: Charles F. Riesner.

Photography: Elgin Lessley, Byron Houek. Art Director: I'Vcd CJast: Buster Keaton, Ernest 'lorrence, I'om Lewis, 'Ibm
Gabourie. Producer: Joseph M, Sehenck. Director: Buster McGuirc, Marion B\ ron
Kcaton.Cast: Buster Keaton, T. Ro\ Barnes, Suit/ F.dwards,
Ruth Dwyer, Krankie Raymond, Erw in C^onnclK, Jules
Cowlcs M [: I KC)-G O I. DW V N - M ,\ Y !•: I< F K A 1 U R K S

Go Wgsf (1925) The Cameraman (1928)

Released: November 1, 1925. Distributed b\-: Mctro-Goldwyn- Released: September 22, 1928. A Buster Keaton Production.
Mayer. Produced b\' Buster Keaton Productions. Length: 7 Produced and Distributed by: Metro-Goldw\n-Mayer.
reels. Scenario: Buster Keaton, Ra\niond Cannon. Electrical Length: 8 reels. Story: Clyde Bruckman, Lew Lipton.
Effects: Denver Harmon, Photography: Elgin Lessley, Bert Continuity: Richard Schayer. Titles: Joe Farnham. Settings:
Haines. Art Director: Fred Gabourie. Producer: Joseph M. F'red Gabourie. Wardrobe: David Cox. Editor: Hugh Wynn.
Sehenck. Director: Buster Keaton, assisted by Lex Neal. Cast: Photography: F'.lgin Lessley and Reggie Lanning. Producer:
Buster Keaton, Howard Truesdale, Kathleen Myers, Ray Lawrence Weingarten. Director: F.dward Sedgw ick. Cast:
Thompson, Brown Eves (cow) Buster Keaton, Marceline Daw Harold Goodwin, Sidne\'
Brac\, Harr\' Gribbon, F'.dward Brophv, Josephine (monke\)

Battling Butler (1926)

Released: September 19, 1926. Distributed by: Metro- Spite Marriage (1929)
Goldwyn-Mayer. Produced by Buster Keaton Productions. Released: April 6, 1929. A Buster Keaton Production. Produced
Length: 7 reels. Scenario: Paul Gerard Smith, Al Boasberg, and Distributed by: Mctro-Coldwyn-Mayer. Length: 9 reels.

Charles H. Smith, and Lex Neal, adapted from the p]a\ by Story: L^ew F.iptou. Adaptation: F'rncst S. Pagano. Continuit\-:

Stanley Brightman, Austin Melford, Philip Brabham, Walter Richard Schayer. Titles: Robert Hopkins. Art F^irector: Ccdric
L. Rosemont, and Douglas Furber. Edeetrieal Effects: Ed Levy. C-ibbons. Wardrobe: David Cox. Editor: Frank Sulli\an.

Photograph\-: J. D. Jennings, Bert Haines. Art Director: F>ed Photograph)-: Reggie Lanning, Frank Dugas. Producer:

Gabourie. Producer: Joseph M. Sehenck. Director: Buster Lawrence Weingarten. Director: Edward Sedgwick. Cast:
Keaton. Cast: Buster Keaton, Suit/, Edwards, SalK O'Neal, Buster Keaton, FOorotln' Sebastian, Edward Flarle, F.elia

Walter James, Bud Fine, FVancis McDonald, Mar\ O'Brien, Ihams, William Bechtel, John Bryon
Tom Wilson, Eddie Borden
The Hollywood Rei'ue of 1929 (1929)
The General {\926) Released: November2-5, 1929. A Buster Keaton Production.
Released: February 5, 1927 (tlie world premiere was held in Produced and Distributed by: Mctro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Tokyo, Japan, on December 51, 1926). Distributed by: United Dialogue: Al Boasberg, Robert F',. Hopkins. Art Director:
Artists Corporation. Produced by Buster Keaton Productions. Ccdric Gibbons, Richard Day. Wardrobe: Da\id Cox. F]ditor:

Length: 8 reels. Scenario: Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman, William S. Gray, Cameron K. Wood. Recording Engineer:
Al Boasberg, Charles Smith, from the book The Great Douglas Shearer. Sound Technician: Russell Franks. Dances
Locomotive Chase bv William Pittinger. laghting Effects: and Faisembles: Samm\' l^ce, Ck'orge C'unningham. Music:
Denver Harmon. Photography: Dc\' Jennings, Bert Haines. Gus Edwards. Lvrics: Joe Goodwin. Photographx': John
Technical Director: Pred Gabourie. Producer: Joseph M. Arnold, Irving G. Reis, Maximillian Fabian, John M. Nickolaus.
Sehenck. Directors: Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman. Producer: Harr\' Rapf. Director: Charles F. Riesner. Cast:

Cast: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Marion Da\ies, John C7ilbert, Norma Shearer, William Haines,

Farle\, Frederick Vroom, C^harles Smith, Frank Barnes, Joe Joan Crawford, Buster Keaton, Bessie Lo\c, C'onrad Nagel,
Keaton, Mike Donlin, Tom Nawn Lionel Barrxiiiorc, Marie Dressier, Jack Benn\, Stan Laurel,
Oliver I lardv

Co//cgc (1927)
Released: No\cmher 1927 i^istribulcd bv: United Artists Tree and Easy (\9^i))

CJorjioration. i'roduccd b\ Busier Keaton Productions. Released: March 22, 19^0. ,\ Buster Kcalon Production.
Length: 6 reels. Scenario: C^arl I larbaugh, Br\au Vm: Lighting Produced and nislribulcd In: Metro-Goldw\'n-Ma\er.
Effects: Jack Lewis. Editor: Siierm Kell. Photography: Dev Scenario: Richard Schayer. Ada|5tation: Paul Dickey.

Jennings, Bert Haines. Technical Director: i'red (kibouric. Dialogue: A] Boasberg. Words and Music: Ro\ 'lurk, Fred F'..

Supervisor: Iiarr\ Ikand. Producer: Joseph M. Sehenck. .\hlert. Dances staged b\: Samnn Lee. Recording Director:

Director: James W. i lorne.C 'asl: Buster Keaton, Ann Cornwall, i^ouglas Shearer. .Art Director: ('edric Gibbous. Wardrobe:

I'lorcucc 1 urner, Harold Goodwin, Suit/ I'idwards, Flora Da\ id C'ox. i'hologra])h\ : I .eonard Smith. F.dilor: \\ illiani

BramlcN, C^arl I hirbaugh, Sam Ciawlord LeVanwa\'. Proiluccr: Lawrence Weingarten. Director: F.dward
Sedgwick. C^ast: Busier Keaton, .\nita Page, Robert

Steamboat Bill Jr. (192S) Monlgomer\, 'I'rixie Frigau/a, Fred Niblo, i'.dgar i")earing,

Released: May 12, 192S. Dislnbulcd In: Unilcd Artists Gweu Lee, John \lilj.in, Lionel i^.nr\niore, \\ illiani I iaines,

Cor])()ration. Produced In BusUr Kcalon Produiiions. \\ illiam (Collier, Sr., Dorollu Scl)a^lKln, Karl Dane. David
Length: 7 reels. Scenario: Carl i larbaugh. Pholograpin: Dc\ Burlon, jacLie C'oogau. i\\\\ B. DcMillc
Jennings, Bert I iaincs. Technical Director: Fred Gabourie.

222
Doiiglihoxs iWM)]
Rv\v[\sv(\: \ut;iisl M). I'J^d. A Busier Kt'iiloii Prodiulion. Released; I'chruary H), U^^r Produced and nislrihiilcd In:

Piik1ikc(I iiiul Disliibuttcl b\: Mclro-Clolclwv ii-M;iyc i. Slorx Mctro-CJoldwyn-Mayer. Story: Robert l\. Hopkins. Screenplay:
\l l^(Kisl)crt;, .Siclnc\ I, a/anis. Scenario: Kicharcl Scluner. (;arcv Wilson. .Vlditional l)ialo^ne: Jack Ciliiell. Recording
Dialomic; Al Boashcrt;. Ritli.ird Scliaxcr. Dances slat;etl h\: I )ireiloi: l)oii<.;las Shearer. ,\rl niicctoi: ( iediic ( iihhons.

Sainnn I ,ee. Words and \1iisk: I'.dward Sedgwick, llow.ird Photot;raph\: I laiold Wcnstrom. I'.dilor; i'rank Sullivan.

Johnson, Jose])li Me\er. Reeordint; Direetor; Hou^las Shearer. Producer: Laurence Wcingarlen. Oircctor: I'.duard Scdguick.
Art l^irector: (k'drie C.ihl^ons, Wardrohe: \'i\ian Baer. CJast: liustcr Kealon, Jimmy nuranic, Roscoe .\tcs. PInllis

Pholot^raphv: Leonard Smith. I'.ditor: William l.e\'an\\a\. Barrv, John Miljan, I lemy Armctia, I'kKvard Bropliy, (Jharlcs

Produeer: Laurence \\cint;arlcn. nireclor: I'.dward Sedgvs'ick. Huiihar, (Charles ClibK n

C'asI: Buster Ke.ilon, Cdill I'.dwariis, SalK i'.ilcrs, I'.dward

Broplu', Victor Potel, Arnold KortI, I'rank \la\o, Pit/\ Kat/,

William Steele I'' ( ) R I : I < ; N - M ,\ 1) I : K i : \ i o \ I'' r: \ i i m< i

•,
s

Parlor, liedrooiii ami Bath {WM ) Le Roi des Cliamps-Klysees (19s4)

Released: Kchruar\ 2S. l'.'sl..\ Bnslir Keaton Production. (British title: Ihc Champ ol the ( Ihamps-isKsees)
Produced and Distributed b\: Metro-Colduyn-Mayer. I-Vom Released: December 1934. Distributed by: Paramount (nc\cr
the plav b\ (Charles W. Bell and Mark Suan. Dialogue released in the United States of .America). Scrcen|)la\ : .\rnold

Continuity: Richard Schayer. Additional Dialogue: Robert L. La])p. Additional Dialogue: ^'\es Mirandc.Art l")irector: llugues
I lopkins. Recording Director: Douglas Shearer. Art Director: Laurent, Jacques-Laurent Atthalin. Music: Joe I lajos. Photog-
Cedrie C.ibbons. Wardrobe: Rene Hubert. Photogra]Dh\ rapln: Robert Le I'cbv re. Supervisor: Robert Siodmark.

Leonard Smith. Lditor: William LeV'anua\. Producer: Producer: Seymour Nebcnzal. Director: Max Nosseek.Cast:
Lau renee Weingartcn. Director: Lduard Scdgw ick. Cast: Buster Keaton, Paulefte Dubost, 0)lettc Darfeuil, Madeline
Buster Keaton, C'harlotte Ckeenwood, Reginald Denn\, C^liff Guilty, Lucien C^allamand, Jacc|ues Dumesnil, Pierre Picrade,

P'duards, Dorotln C]hrist\', Joan Peters, SalK Lilers, Natalie Gaston Dupray
Moorliead, Lduard Bropln, Walter Merrill, Siclnex Brac\'
The Invader (1936)

Sidewalks of New York (IT-,] (.American title: An Old Spanish CAistom)

Released: Sei)tcinber 26, 19-51.. \ Buster Keaton Production. Released: January 2, 1936. Distributed b\-: British and
Produced and Distributed by: Metro-Colduyn-Ma\cr. Story: Continental films (Metro-Goldvvyn-Mayer). Screenplay:
George Laud\ and Paul Ceidrcl Smith. Dialogue: Robert L. Eduin Grcenuoocl. Music: John Greenwood, George Rubens.
I lo|3kins. Lric I latch. Recording Direetor: Douglas Shearer. Recording Engineer: Denis Scanlan. Photograi^ln : Eugene
Art [director: Cedrie Gibbons. Photography : Leonard Smith. Schuefftan, Eric L. Gross. Editor: Dan Birt. Assistant

Kditor: Charles Hochbcrg. Producer: Lawrence Weingarten. Director: Pelham Leigh .Aman. Producers: Sam Spiegel
Director: Jides White, Zion NKers.Cast: Buster Keaton, Anita and Harold Richman. Director: Adrian Brimel.Cast: Buster
Page, Cliff Kduards, I'rank Rowan, Norman Phillips, Jr., Keaton, Lupita lc)\ar, Esmc Perc\, L\n Harding, .Andrea
I'Vank La Rue, O.scar .\pfcl, S\d Savior, Cdark Marshall Malandrinos, Hilda Moreno, C'lifford lleathcrlcv, Webster
Booth
The Passionate Plumber (19 -52)

Released: February 6, 1932. .\ Buster Keaton Production. El Modemo Barba .\zul ( 1946)

Produced and Distributed by: Metro-Goldwy n-Mayer. (American title: Booj» in the Moon)
.\daptation: Laurence L.Johnson from the pla\ Her Released: August 2, 1946. Produced b\: Alsa Films (Mexico).
Cardboard Lover b\ Jacc|ues Deval. Dialogue: Ralph Spcnee. Script: X'ictor I'rivas, Jaime Salvador. Photography: Agustin
Recording Direetor: Douglas Shearer. .\rt Director: Cedrie Jiminez. Producer: .Alexander Salkind. Direetor: Jaime

Gibbons. Photograpln Norbert Brodine. Editor: William

: S. SaKador. Cast: Buster Keaton, Angel Garasa, Virginia Serret,
Gray. Producer: Harr\' Rapf Direetor: Edvsard Sedgwick. Cast: Luis Barreiro, Fernando Sotto, Jorge Mondragon, Luis
Buster Keaton. Jimm\ Durante, PolK Moran, Irene Pureell, Mondragon
Gilbert Roland, Mona Maris, Maude Ebnrne, Henr\
.\rmctta. Paid Porcasi, Jean Del \'al, .August Lollaire

E Duc .A T o NI ,\ I . S 1 1 C) i< 1 .s

Speak Easily (mi)

Released: August Is, 19s2. .\ Buster Keaton Production. T/ieGo/c/G/iosf(1934)
Produced and Distributed b\ : Metro-Goldw\ n-Ma\er. Released: March 16, 1934. Distributed by: Fox Film
Adaptation: Ralph Spenee, Laurence E.Johnson from the Corporation. Presented by: E. W. Hammons. Produced by:

story Footlights by Clarence Budington Kelland. Recording Educational Films Corporation of America. Story: Ewart
Director: Douglas Shearer. .Art Direetor: Cedrie Gibbons. .Adamson, Nick Barrous..Adaptation/Conlinuit\-: Ernest
Photographx: Harold Wenstrom. Lditor: William Lc\anua\. Pagano, Charles Lamont. Producer: E. H.. Allen. Director:
Costimies: .Arthur AiJj^ell. Producer: Laurence Weingarten. Charles Lamont. C^ast: Buster Keaton, Dorothy Dix, William
Direetor: Eduard Sedgwick. Cast: Buster Keaton, Jimmy Worthington, Lknd Ingrahani, Warren H\ nicr, Joe 'doling,

Durante, Ruth Selu-y n, Thelma Todd, Hedda Hopper, BilK F.ngle, .Al I'hompson, Leo Willis
William Pauley, Sidney ibler, Laurence Grant, Henry
Armetta, Eduard Brophy, Sidne\ Braes 225
 AZ/ezOop (19?4) Story: Vernon Smith. Photograph} Gus Peterson. Producer:
:

Released: MayZS, 19^4. Distributed b\: Fox Mini Corporation. E. H.Allen. Director: Charles Lamont. Cast: Buster Keaton,
Presented by: E.W. Hanimons. Produced by: Educational Lona Andre, Harold Goodwin, Grant Withers, Barbara
Films Corporation of America. Story: Frnest Pagano, Fwart Bedford, John Ince, Fern Emmctt, Ph\llis Crane
Adamson.Photograpby: Dwigbt Warren. Producer: F. H.Allen.

Director: Charles Lainont. Cast: Buster Keaton, Dorothy Grand Slam Opera (1936)

Sebastian, George Lewis, Harr\ M\crs, The M\ ing Fscalantes Released: February 21, 1936. Distributed by: Twentieth

Century-Fox Film Corporation. Presented by: E.W.

Palooka from Paducah (1935) Hammons. Produced by: Educational Films Corporation of
Released: January 11, 19-)5. Distributed In : Fox Film America. Story: Buster Keaton, Charles Lamont. Photography:
Corporation. Presented by: F.W. Hammons. Produced by: Gus Peterson. Producer: E. H.Allen. Director: Charles

Educational I'ilms Corporation of America. Storv: Clen Lamont. Cast: Buster Keaton, Diana Lewis, Harold Goodwin,
Lambert. Photography: Dwight Warren. Producer: E. H. Allen. John Ince, Melrose Coakley, Bud Jamison
Director: Charles Lamont. Cast: Buster Keaton, Joe Keaton,
Myra Keaton, Louise Keaton, Dewey Robinson, Bull Blue Blazes (1936)
Montana Released: August 21, 1936. Distributed by: Tv\entieth Century-
Fox P'ilm Corporation. Presented by: E.W. Hammons.
One Run E/mer (1935) Produced by: Educational Hlms Corporation of America.

Released: February 22, 1935. Distributed by: Fox Film Story: David Freedman. Photograph}': George Webber.
Corporation. Presented by: E.W. Hammons. Produced by: Producer: E.H.Allen. Director: Raymond Kane. Cast: Buster
Educational Films Corporation of America. Story: Glen Keaton, Arthur Jarrett, Rose Kessner, Patty Willson,
Lambert. Photograph\: Dwight Warren. Producer: E. H.Allen. Marilyn Stuart
Director: Charles Lamont. Cast: Buster Keaton, Lona Andre,
Dewey Robinson, Harold Goodv\ in, Jim Thorpe The Chemist (1936)

Released: October 9, 1936. Distributed by: Twentieth

Hayseed Romance (1935) Century- Fox Film Corporation. Presented bv: E.W.
Released: March 15, 1935. Distributed by: Fox Film Hammons. Produced b\': Educational Films Corporation of
Corporation. Presented by: E.W. Hanimons. Produced by: America. Story: David Freedman. Photography: George
Educational Films Corporation of America. Story: Charles Webber. Producer/Director: Al Christie. Cast: Buster Keaton,
Lamont. Dialogue/Continuity: Glen Lambert. Photograph\': MarKn Stuart, Earl Gilbert, Don McBride, Herman Lieb
Dwight Warren. Producer: E. H.Allen. Director: Charles

Lamont. Cast: Buster Keaton, Jane Jones, Dorothea Kent Mixed Magic (1936)

Released: November 20, 1936. Distributed b}': Twentieth

Tars and Stripes (1935) Centurv-Fox Film Corporation. Presented b}': E.W. Hammons.
Released: May 3, 1935. Distributed by: Fox Film Corporation. Produced b\: Educational Films Corporation of America.
Presented by: E.W. Hammons. Produced by: Educational Story: Arthur Jarrett, Marc}' Klauber. Photograph}-: George
Films Corporation of America. Story: Charles Lamont. Webber. Producer: E. H.Allen. Director: Ra}inond Kane.
Adaptation: Ewart Adamson. Photograi^h}-: Dwight Warren. Cast: Buster Keaton, Eddie Lambert, Mark n Stuart, Eddie

Producer: E.H.Allen. Director: Charles Lamont. Cast: Buster 1 lall, Jinun\' Fox
Keaton, Vernon Dent, Dorothea Kent, Jack Slnitta
Jail Bait (m7)
TheE-FlatManimS) Released: January S, 1937. Distributed b\ Twentieth Centiu}-
:

Released: August 9, 1935. Distributed b\ : I'ox I'ihn Vo\ Film Corporation. Presented b\': E.W. Hannnons.
Corporation. Presented by: E.W. Hammons. Produced by: Produced b\': P'.dncational Films Corporation of .\merica.
Educational Films Corporation of America. Story: Glen Story: Paul Gerard Smith. Photograph}': Dwight Warren.
Lambert, Charles Lamont. Photography: Dwight Warren. Producer: E. H. Allen. Director: Charles Lamont. Cast: Buster
Producer: E. H.Allen. Director: Charles Lamont. Cast: Buster Keaton, Harold Goodwin, Mathew Betz, Bud Jamison, Bett}

Keaton, Dorolhca Kcnl, Brodcrick O'l'arrell, C^harlcs McAvoy, Andre

Si Jcnks, I'crn F.nimetl, Jack Sliulla

Ditto (1937)
The Timid Yoimg Man (1935) Released: February 12, 1937 Distributed b}: Twentieth
Released: October 25, 1935. Distributed bv: Twenlicth C'entury-Fox Film C>orporation. Presented bv: E.W. I lammons.
('enturv-l'bx I'ilm ('or])orali()n. Presenled h\ : I'l.W. Produced b\: Educational Films Corporiilion of America.
I ianimoiis. Produced b\ : Educational I'ilms C;or|)oration of Storv: Paul Gerard Smith, Pholograpln: Dwighl W.irren.
America. Photography: Dwight Warren. PnKluccr/Direclor: Producer: F,. II. Allen. Director: Charles Lamont. C;ast: lousier

Mack Sennett. Cast: Buster Keaton, Lona Andre. Stanlc\ J.

Keaton, Harold Goodwin, Barb:n:i antl Gloria Brewster, Al
Sandford, Kitty McHugh, Harry Bowen 'Thompson, Bob Ellsworth, l,}uton BrenI

ilirec on <i l.iiub (1936) Love Nest on Wheels (1937)

Released: January 3, 1936. Distributed b\ : Twentieth (\-nlurv- Rclea.scd: March 26, 1937 Distributed by: Twentieth Centur\-
I'ox I'ilm (corporation. Presenled b\: E.W . I lammons. Fox I'ilm (Corporation. Presented b\ : E.W . 1 lammons.
224 Produced by: I'.ducational Films (;or|)oralion ot America. Produced b\: Educational I'ilms Corporation ol .\merica.
Slorx: WillKini lla/kit Upsiin. Ad.iphilioii: P.iiil ( ic r.iul Plu)t()grai)hy: Benjamin Kline. ICditor: .\rtlinr Scid. Producer:

Siiiilli. I'hotograpliv: l')\\i^lil Warrcu. I'rodiKcr: i. 1 1 \llcn. Del Lord, Hugh McCollum. Director: Di 1 Lord. (Cast: Buster

l")irccl()r: C^luirlcs 1 .anioiil. ("ast: l^iistcr Kcalou. Myra Kcatoii, Kcaton, Mall Mel high, i.ddic Kclhcrstone

Al St. John, lAiitou l^itnl. Diana Lewis. Bnd )aniis<in, I.onisc

Kcaton, llarrv Kcaton General J^uisance ( 1941

Released: September IS, 1941. Produced and Distributed b\

Columbia Pictures (Corpor.ilion. Screen|)lav: Felix Adler,

C> () I, (' \i m \ .S II o K I s (Clyde Bruekman. Phol()gra|)hy: Benjamin Kline. Kditor:

Jerome I'homs. Producer/Director: Jules White. (Cast: Buster

Pesttrom the West {m9) Keaton, i'Clsie Ames, Dorotin ,\p|)lcb\, Mont\ Collins
Released: June Id. l'-)'^'-). I'rodueecl and nislrihuled by:

C^ohinihia PieUnes (Corporation. Sereenplav ClKde : S7it''.s()j7j\/i;R'(194l)

Bruekman. I'lioto^rapln : Henry I'Veulieli. Editor; CCharlcs Released: No\ember20, 1941. Produced and Distributed by:

Nelson. I'rodueer: Jules White. Direetor: Hel Lord. CCast: (-olumbia Pictures (Corporation. Screenj^hn: I'clix Adler.

Buster Keatou, Loriia Cray (later Adrian Booth), Gino Photograph): Benjamin Kline. Kditor: Jerome ilionis.

Corrida, Richard Kiskc Producer/Director: Jules White. Cast: Buster Kcaton, Klsie
.\mcs, Mont\ (Collins, Kddie Laughton
Mooching Through Georgia (19 19)

Released; ,\ugust 11, l^i^. Produced and Dislrihuted by:

Columbia Pictures (Corporation. Screenplay: Clyde Kl, .\1L1RI: I'll.M .\ I' I' I. .\ R.\ N c i; s

Bruckiuan. Photo<;ra|ih\ John Stuniar. Lditor: ,\rthur : Scicl.

Produccr/nireetor: Jules \\ bite. (Cast: Buster Kcaton. \lont\ Holh-wood Cavalcade (19^9)

CCollins, Jill Martin. Bud Jamison Released: October B, 19 s9. Distributed by: Twentieth

Ceutury-l"V)x. Serccuphn: Lrncst Pascal. Story: Hilary Lynn,

frothing but Pleasure (1940) Brown Holmes. Based on an idea b\ Lou Brcslow.

Released: Jauuar\ 19, 1940. Prodnceil and Distributed b\ : Photographs': Krnest Palmer, Allen M. Da\e\-. Kditor: Walter
CColumbia Pictures (Corporation. Serccuphn (CKtle Bruckmau. :
I'hompson. Kc\ slouc Kojis sc(|ucnces directed b\ : Mai. St.

Photograpln : 1 lcnr\ iMculicb. I'.ditor: Arthur Scid. Producer/ Clair. I'echuical .\d\isor: Maek Seunctt. Producer: Darr\l K.

Director: Jules White. (Cast: Buster Kcaton, Dorotin .\|:)pleby, /anuck. Director: Irving (^ummings. Cast: Don Aiueehe,

Beatrice Blinn Alice Ka\e, Buster Keaton, J.

Kduard Bromberg, Alan Curtis,

Stuart Krwin, .\1 Jolson, Maek Sennett, Ben I'urpin, Chester

Pardon A/y Berth Marks (1940) Conkliii, Harold Coodwin
Released: March 22, 1940. Produced and Distributed b\:

Columbia Pictures Corporation. Screenplay: Clyde Bruckmau. The Villain Stilt Pursued Her (1940)

Photograpln : Bcujamiu Kline. Editor: Mel 'I'horsen. Producer/ Released: October 11, 1940. Distributed b\ : RKO. Produced bv:

Director: Jules White. Cast: Buster Keatou, Dorothy .\ppleby, Kranklin-Blauk Productions. Screenplay: Klbcrt Kraukliu.

Richard Kiskc, X'crnon Dent, Clarice (parrot) Based on the ])la\ I'he haiku Saved (also known as ihe

/)ri/;?/.-<;rc/)..\dditional Dialogue: I'.thcl La Blanche. Music:

The Taming of the Snood (1940) Frank Lours. Photography: Lueien Ballard. Kditor: Arthur
Released: June 28, 1940. Produced and Distributed b\: I lilton. Producer: Harold B. Kranklin. Director: Edward Cline.

Columbia Pictures Corporation. Sereenpla\ : I'Cwart Adamson, Cast: 1 high Herbert, .\nita Louise, Alan Mowbray, Buster

Clvdc Bruckmau. Photography: Henry Frculich. Kditor: Mel Keaton, Jcnce Compton, Richard Cromwell, Billy Gilbert,
'I'horscu. Producer/Director: Jules White. (Cast: Buster Keatou, Margaret Hamilton, Diane bisbcr. (Charles Judels
Klsie Ames, Dorotin .\ppleby
Li7AZ)ncr(1940)
The Spook Speaks iW-iO) Released: November 1, 1940. Distributed by: RKO. Produced
Released: September 20, 1940. Produced and Distributed by: b\ : Vogue Pictures. Screenplay: Charles Kerr and T\ler
CColumbia Pictures Corjjorat ion. Screenplay: Kwart .\damsou, Johnson. Krom an original story by Al Capp. Based on the
Clvde Bruckmau. Photographv: llenr\ Ireulich. Kditor: Mel United Features comic "Li'l .\bncr" b\ .\1 Capp..\rt Director:

Thorsen. Producer/Director: Jules W bite. Cast: Buster Keaton, Ral])h Bcrger. Photography: Harry Jackson. Kditor: Otto
F.lsie Ames, Don Bcddoc, Dorotin .\pplcb\', Orson (penguin) Ludw ig, Donn Hayes. Produced b\ .\stor Pictures
Corporation for Vogue Pictures., Associate Producer: Herman
Hi's Ex Marks the S/jof (1940) Sehlom. Director: .\lbcrt S. RogclKCast: (Cramillc Owen,
Released: December 1 s, 1940. Produced and Distributed by: Martha O'Driscoll, Mona Ra\, Johnnie Morris, Buster

Columbia Pictures Corporation. Sereenpla\ : Kelix Adler. Keaton, Billie Seward, Edgar Kenncdx, Lueien Littlefield,

Photographs : Henrv FVeulieh. Kditor: Mel "1

horscn. Chester Conklin, .\l St. John, Kddie Cribbon. Hank Maim,

Producer/Director: Jules White. Cast: Buster Kcaton, Klsie Louise Keaton, Blanche Pajson

Ames, Matt McHugh, Dorothy Appleby

Forever and a Day (1945)

So You Won't Squawk (1941) Released: March 26, 1943. Distributed hv. RKO. Produced by:

Released: Kebruar\ 21, 1941. Produced and Distributed by: Anglo-American Productions. Script: Charles Bennett, C. S.

Columbia Pictures Corporation. Screenplay: Klwood Ullman. Forester, Lawrence Hazard, Michael Hogan, W. P. Lipscomb, 22^.
 Alice Duer Miller, John Van Drutcn, Alan Campbell, Peter In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

Godfrey, S. M. Herzig, Christopher Isherwood, Gene Released: July 29, 1949. Distributed b\': Metro-Goldwv n-

Lockhart, R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Norman Corw in. Mayer. Screenplay: Samson Raphaelson. Adaptation: Albert
Jack Hatfield, James Hilton, Emmett Lavery, Frederick Hackett, Frances Goodrich, han Ibrs. Based on the play
Lonsdale, Donald Ogden Stewart, Keith Winter. Music Parfuwerie by Miklos Laszlo. Photographv: Harrv Stradling.
Director: Anthony Collins. Photograph}': Robert DeGrasse, Editor: Adrienne Fazan. Producer: Joe Pasternak. Director:
Lee Garnies, Russell Metty, Nicholas Musuraca. Editors: Robert Z. Leonard. Cast: Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S. Z.
Elmo J.Williams, George Crone. Production Supervisor: "Cuddles" Sakall, Spring Byington, Buster Keaton, Clinton
Lloyd Richards. Directors: Rene Clair, Edmund Goulding, Sundberg, Marcia V;m Dyke, Lillian Bronson
Cedric Hardwicke, Frank Lloyd, Victor Saville, Robert
Stevenson, Herbert Wilcox. Cast: Brian Aherne, Robert Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Cummings, Edmund Gwen, Cedric Hardwicke, Edward Released: August 4, 1950. Distributed b\ : Paramount Pictures.

E'-verett Horton, Buster Keaton, Elsa Lanchester, Charles Script: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D. M. Marshman, Jr.

Laughton, Ida Lupino, Herbert Marshall, Victor McLaglen, Based on the story "A Can of Beans." Music: Franz Waxman.
Ray Milland, Anna Neagle, Merle Oberon, Claude Rains, C. Photography: John F. Seitz. Editors: Doane Harrison, Arthur
Aubrey Smith, Roland Young Schmidt. Producer: Charles Brackett. Director: Billy Wilder.
Cast: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich \on Stroheim,
Sail Diego, I Love You (1944) Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Jack Webb, Cecil B. De Mille,

Released: September 29, 1944. Distributed bv: Universal Hedda Hopper, Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson, H. B. Warner
Pictures. Screenplay: Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano. Story:

Ruth McKenney, Richard Bransten. Photography: Hal Mohr. Lime/ig/it(1952)

Music: H.J. Salter. Editor: Charles Maynard. Producer: Released: October 23, 1952 (pre-release); February 6, 1953
Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano. Director: Reginald Le Borg. (general release). Distributed by: United Artists. Screenpla\-:

Cast: Jon Hall, Louise Allbritton, Edward Everett Horton, Charles Chaplin. Musical Score: Charles Chaplin. Photog-
Eric Blore, Buster Keaton raphy: Karl Struss. Editor: Joe Inge. Assistant Director: Robert

Aldrich. Producer/Director: Charles Chaplin. Cast: Charles

That's the Spirit {19^5} Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton, S\dne\-
Released: June 1, 1945. Distributed b\ : Universal Pictures. Chaplin, Norman Lloyd, Andre Eglevsky, Melissa Hayden,
Screenplay: Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano. Photography: Marjorie Bennett, Wheeler Drvden, Charles Chaplin, Jr.,

Charles Van Enger. Music: H. J. Salter. Editor: Fred R. Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Chaplin, Josephine Chajjlin
Feitshans, Jr. Producer: Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano.
Director: Charles Lamont. Cast: Peggy Ryan, Jack Oakie, June L'lncantevole Nemica (1953)

Vincent, Gene Lockhart, Johnny Coy, Andy Devine, Buster Released: June 14, 1953 (not released in the United States of
Keaton, Arthur Treacher America). Distributed b\ : Orso Films (Rome), Lambar Films
(Paris). Executive Producer: Ferruecio Biancini. Director:
That Night With You (1945) Claudio Cora. Cast: Silvana Pampanini, Robert Lamoureux,
Released: September 28, 1945. Distributed by: Universal Carlo Campanini, Buster Keaton
Pictures. Screenplay: Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano. Story:

Arnold Belgard. Photography: Charles Van Enger. Musical Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Director: H.J. Salter. Editor: Fred R. Feitshans, Jr. Executive Released: October 17. 1956. Distributed by: United Artists.

Producer: Howard Benedict. Producer: Michael Fessier, Screenplay: James Poe, John Farrow, S.J. Perelman. Adapted
Ernest Pagano. Director: William A. Seiter. Cast: Franchot from the novel by Jules Verne. Music: Victor ^'oung.
Tone, Susanna Foster, David Bruce, Louise Allbritton, Buster Photography: Lionel Lindon. P^ditors: Gene Ruggiero, I low ard

Keaton Epstein, Paul Weatherwax. Producer: Michael lodd. Director:

Michael .Anderson. C'ast: l^axid Niven. C'antinflas. Robert
God's Countn (1946) Newton, Shirle\' MacLaine, Ronald Colman, Noel Coward,
Released: May 18, 1946. Distributed by: Screen CuM Marlcne Dietrich, John Giclgud, Buster Keaton. Beatrice
Productions. Produced by: Action Pictures. Producer: William Lillic, Peter Lorre, Frank Sinatra

B.David. Director/Screenplay: Robert Tansey. Cast: Robert

I.owery, Helen Gilbert, William I'arnuni, l-iustcr Keaton The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960)

Released: June 17, 1960. Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-

The Lovable Cheat (1949) Ma\er. Scri|5t: James Lee. Based on the novel bv- Mark Twain.
Rclea.scd: May 11, 1949. Distributed by: Film Classics. Music: Jerome Moross. Photographv: led McC^ord. Editor:
Produced by: Skyline Pictures. Screenplay: i'xlward Lewis, Frederic Steinkamp. Producer: Samuel Goklwv n, li. Director:

Richard ( )swald. Based on ihe pla\ Mcrcddcl Ic luilscur bv Michael Cautiz. C'ast: 'lbn\ Randall. Ldclic 1 lodges. Archie

lloiiorcdc Bal/ac. Music: Karl I lajos. i'.dilor: Douglas Bagier. Moore. Pallv McCornuick, Neville Brand, Mickey
/Xssociate Producer: Rosario C^aslagna. Producer: Richard Shauglinessv, .\ndv Devine, Buster Keaton, )()hn (^arradine

()sv\ald, Edward Ix-wis. Director: Richard Oswald. Cast:

Charlie Ruggles, Peggy Ann Garner, Richard Ney, Alan 7't')i(;ir/,v Ago (1962)

Mowbray, Buster Keaton Never released. ProduectI In: Am-C-am Pioduclions. Scn|)l:

Peter F.irrovv. i^ianc L.nnptrl. Music Director: |oscph

226
I lai iicll. Musif/l A iKs: Diaiic Lampril. S:iiniii\ I'.iiii, A iiiiiiiy ihing WajyfH'ued on the \\a\ /o llie loruni 1 1966)
C^liorco^raplu: Hill I'oskT. PlK)t()t;r.i|)li\: I ,t'c ( lamics, Jackson Released: Oclobci K), |9r.6. Dislnbulcdbv : I liiilcd \rlists.

M. Samiifls. I'loduccr: I'.ilward A. (

'.olliii. niicclor: I laiold Sereen|)lay: MeKin I'rank, Michael Perlwee. iiased on tiie

nanifls. Clasl: Bcii Lalir, Busier Kcaloii, I'.dilif l'()\, )i.. Dion stage pla\ produced by I larold S. Prince. Music/Lvrics:

niMucci, Ausliii Willis, Risclla Bain, jciiiiilcr Billingsl), Jan Slc|)hen Sondhcim. Book: Burt She\clo\e, Larr\ (lelljart.

Miner l'li()togra|)h\: Nicolas Roeg. I'.ditoi : John Victor Smith.

Producer: \lcl\in Trank. Director: Richard Lester, (last: Zero
It's Mad, Mod, Mad. Mad W'or/c/ (I'^fr^
a Mostcl. Phil Silvcis, Busier Kc;ilon. Michael Crawford. Jack

Released: November ", l%r Distrilniled by: United Artists. Gilford, .\iiiicllc \iidic-. Mu li;icl I ioidcrii. 1 ,eoii Cfreene,

Sereeiiphu: William Kose.'I'ania Rose. Produelion Design: Patricia Jessel

Rudolph Steruad. Musie: I'.ruest Cold. l'li()lo<;ra]ili\ : I'aiiest

l,a/lo. I'.diloi: I'led Knucllson. Assistant Hirector: han War Italian S7y/cMl967)

\'olkman.Pr()dueer/l')ireetor: Staule\ Kramer. (last: S])eneer (Italian I illc: Due Marines e iin Cenerak)
Traey, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar. Budd\ I laekelt, I'.thel Released: January IS, 1967. Distributed l)\: .American
Merman, Miekey Rooney, Diek Sliawu, Phil Sihers, 'lii'rry- International Pictures. Scri]it: i'Vanco Castellano, Pi|)olo,

'I'homas, Jonathan Winters, Joe Iv Brow n. Buster Keaton, I'liK io I .ncis.ino. Music: Picro I Imiliaiii. I'hotograjjln : Pausto
/aSu Pitts, Jnnm\ nurante Zuccoli. Producer: FuKio Liicisaiio. Director: Luigi Scattini.

Cast: Buster Kcaloii, franco franc hi, Ciccio ingrassia, I'red

Pajama Part)' (\9M) Clark, Martha liver

Released: No\ ember II, 1964. Distributed by: .Anieriean

International Pieture.s. Seript: l.oui.s M. Ueyward. Musie: Lcs

Baxter. i'hot<)t;ra])h\ : I'loxd Ca()sb\. i'.ditors: I'red I'eitshans, M I s c !•, I , I , \ \ i: ( ) I ' s \ \ o U \ c : K I , I) 1 II'. n
E\'e Newman. Producer: James 1 1. Nicholson, .Samuel Z. A I' P I', A R A N t; K S
.\rkoff. Director: Don Weis. Cast: Ibmmy Kirk, Annette
Kuniecllo, I'lsa Lanehcster, Harvey I.embcek, Jesse White. 77it'Roi/»c/U/j(192())

Jod\ MeC'rea. Susan Hart. Bobbi Shaw, Buster Keaton, Released: October 10, 1920. Dislnbutccl 1)\ ; Paramount
Doroth\ I, amour, Don Ricklcs, Irankie A\alon Pictures. Produced b\ : famous Pla\ers-Lask\ Corp. Length:
7 reels. Scenario: I'.dmuncl i')a\, lom forman. Photography:
Beach Blanket Bingo (196S) Paul Perry. Producer/Director: (ieorge Melford.Cast: Roscoe

Released: .\])ril l\ 1965. [distributed by: .-Xmeriean .Arbuekie, Ibm Forman. Irving Cmnmings, Mabel Julienne
International Pictures. Script: William Asher, Leo rownsend. Scott, Jean Acker. Liicien Littlefield. Wallace Becrv. .\.

Music: Pes Baxter. Photograjjln : Kloyd Crosb}'. lulitors: Fred Fdward Sutherland, Buster Keaton (as the Indian who is shot

Kcitshans, I'ac Newman. Producer: James H.Nicholson, b\ .Arbucklc)

Samuel Z..\rkoff. Director: William .\sher. Clast: I'rankie

.\\alon, .\nnette Fimieello, Deborah Walle\', Har\e\ Seeing Stars i]"-)!!)

Lcmbeck, John ,\shle\, Jod\' McCrca, Donna Loren, Marta Released: 1922. 1'roduccd In the Independent Screen .Artists"

Kristcn, l,inda E\ans, I'imothy Carey, Don Riekles, Paul Ciuild and Associated First National Pictures. Distributed by:
IaikIc, Buster Keaton, Pari \\ ilson First National. Length: 1 recl..A ])romotional film with footage

of the formal dinner at the Ambassador Hotel. Los Angeles

How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (196S) u])on the formation of the Independent Screen .Artists' Guild.

Released: Jul\ 14, 196^ Distributed by: .\nierican international Buster is show n acting as a waiter attending to Chaplin and
Pictures. Script: William .\sher, Leo lownsend. Music: Les Jackie Coogan.Cast: Charles Chaplin, Norma I'almadge,
Baxter. Pholograpln : Klo\d C'rosbv I'.ditors: I'Vcd I'eitshans. Constance I'almadge, Jackie Coogan, Buster Keaton. Thomas
Kve Newman. Producer: James H. Nicholson. Samuel Z. H. ince. Marshall Neilan
Arkoff. Director: William Asher. Cast: Annette Kunicello,
Dwaync Hickman, Brian Donlevy, Harvey Lemheck, Beverly 7/ie/ro7jMu/e(1925)
.Adams, John .'\shle\, Jod\ McCrea, Len Lesser, Bobbi Shaw, Released: .April 12, 1925. Distributed b\ : flducalional Films

Marianne Caha, Irene I'su, Buster Keaton, Mickc} Rooney, Corporation of .America. Produced by: Reel Comedies, Inc.

Frankic .\\alon, Fli/abcth \Iontgomer\ Scenario: Roscoe Arbuekie. Director: Roscoe Arbuekie. Cast:

,A1 St. John. Buster Keaton (as Indian)

Sergeant Deadhead (1965)

Released: .Vit^ust IS, 1965. Distributed h\ : .\merican The Baby Cyclone \VP-'t^)

International Pictures. Script: Louis M. He\\\ard. Music: Les Released: September 2~, 192S. Distributed In: Metro-
Baxter. Photograph\ : I' lend Crosln. Lditors: RoUcdd Sinclair, GolcKv\n-Mayer. Scenario: F. I lugli 1 lerbcrl. B.iscd on a play

Eve Newman, Fred Feitshans. Producers: James H. Nicholson, bv George M. Cohan. Director: A. Edward Sutherland. Cast:
Samuel Z..\rkoff. Director: Norman Taurog. Cast: Frankie Lew Cod\, Ailccn Pringle, Robert Armstrong, Cxwen Lee,
.\\alon, Deborah Walle\, Cesar Romero, FVcd Clark, Gale Buster Keaton (as the stand-in for Lew Cod\ when he falls

Gordon, Harvey Lembeck. John .Ashley, Buster Keaton, down the stairs)

Reginald Gardiner, Pat Buttram, Pac Arden, Dwa\ne

I lickman

77'
 ) 1 : )

The Voice ofHollwood, 10 (19?0) Alan Friedman and DcVallon Scott. Photograph}: Charles
Released: April 28, 1930. Distributed by; Tiffany. Length: 1 Salerno. Producer: Frederick Stephani. Director: Willis

reel. Director/l'roducer: Louis Lc\\\ n. CJast: Lew Cody, Cliff Goldbeck. Cast: James Craig, Francis Gifford, A\a Gardner,
Edwards, Buster Keaton, Al St. John, Raquel 'Ibrres Fdmund Gwcnn, Buster Keaton (as a bellbox

The Stolen fools {]9M) You're My Everything (1949)

Released: April 3, 1931. Distributed by: Paramount Pietures and Released: August 1949. Distributed by: Twentieth Ccnturv-
National Screen Service. Length: 2 reels. Supervisor: L. K. Fox. Screcnpla\': Lamar Trotti, Will H. Ha\ s, Jr. Original
Nadel. Producer: Pat Casey. Director: William McGann. Story: George Jessel. Photography: Arthur E. Arling. Music:
Cast: Wallace Beery, Buster Keaton (as a policeman), Edward Alfred Newman. Exlitor: J.
Watson Webb, Jr. Producer: Lamar
G. Robinson, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hard), Our Gang, Norma Trotti. Director: Walter Lang. Cast: Dan Dailey, Anne Baxter,
Shearer, Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Maurice Chevalier, Anne Revere, Stanley Ridges, Alan Mowbray, Buster Keaton
Mitzi Green (as a butler)

Holh'M'ood on Parade, A-6 (1933)

Released Januar}' 8, 1933. Distributed b) Paramount Pictures. Oiiii:r Short Films A\n I n d u st in .-x l
Length: 1 reel. Producer/Director: Louis Lewyn. Cast: Richard Films
Arlen, Talullah Bankhead, Lew Cody, Clark Gable, Buster
Keaton Un Duel a Mort (1950)

Released: September?, 1950 (not released in the United States

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935) of America). Produced by: Films Azur, Paris. Script: Pierre
Released: December 7, 1935. Distributed by: Mctro-Goldw) n- Blondy, Buster Keaton. Photography: Jacques Isnard. Music:
Ma\er. Length: 2 reels. Script: Alexander Van Dorn. Georges Van Parys. Producer: Rene Beanco, Louis Lefait.

Photography: Ray Rennahan. Narrator: Pete Smith. Director: Pierre Blondy. Cast: Buster Keaton, Antonin Ber\al

Producer/Director: Louis Lewyn. Cast: Gary Cooper, Andy

Devine, the Garland Sisters (with Judy Garland), Buster Paradise for Buster (1952)
Keaton, Ida Lupino, Harpo Marx, Gilbert Roland, Robert Released: for private showings oiiK. Produced by: Wilding

Taylor Picture Productions. Made for the John Deere Company.

Script: J. P. Prindle, John Gre}', Harold Goodwin. Music:
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs (1936) Albert Glasser. Photography: J. J, La Fleur, Robert Sable.
Released: 1936. Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Editor: William Minnerly. Supervisors: H. M. Railsback,
Length: 2 reels. Dialogue: John Kraft. Photography: Allen G. M. Rohrbach. Director; Del Lord. Cast: Buster Keaton,
Davey, Aldo Frmini. Producer: Louis Lewyn. Director: Roy Harold Goodwin
Rowland. Cast: Robert Benchle\, Jackie Coogan, Bett\'

Grable, Walter Huston, Buster Keaton, Claire Tre\or, Johnn\ The De^'il to Pay (1960)
Weissmuller Released; not released commercialh. Produced b\ : Education
Research Films for the National Association of Wholesalers.
Mew Moon (1940) Production Compan\ Rodel : Productions. Script: Cummins-
Released: 1940. Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Maycr. Script: Betts, Art Director: Peter Masters, Joseph W. Swanson. Sound:
Jacques L5eval, Robert Arthur. Photography: William Daniels. Nelson Iniuk. Photograph) : Del Ankers, Fritz Roland. Editor:
Producer/Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Cast: Jeanette Cunmiins-Betts. Director: Herb Skoble. Cast: Buster Keaton,
MacDonald, Nelson Fddy, Mary Boland, H. B. Warner, Ralph Dunne, Ruth Gillette, Marion Morris. John Rodnev
Buster Keaton (as a background player)

The Triumph of Lester Snapwell (1963)

Screen Snapshots: Seeing Holhnvood (1940) Released: not released commercialK. Produced by: Eastman
Released: March 29, 1940. Distributed b} : Columbia Pictures Kodak Company. Director: James Cahoun. Cast: Buster
Corporation. Photography: Robert ibbey. Producer/Director: Keaton, Sigrid Nelsson. Nina X'arela

Ralph Staub. C'ast: Gloria and Barbara Brewster, Joe F.

Brown, Gar\' C'oopcr, i3iug (>rosb\, i^ita liaNuorlh, i^ob There's No Business Like No Business (1963)
I lope. Busier Keaton, I hirold Llo\d, Groucho Marx Made for Maremont Exhaust and Gabriel Shocks Division/

Arxin (]or|5orati()n. C-ast: Busier Ke.ilon

S'crc't'Ji Snapshots: Keystone Party (1941
Released: Angus! 15, 1941. Distributed by: C^ohimbia Piclures 77ier(///G.n(1965)
(Corporation. Editor: I'.dmuiKl Kimbcr. Producer/Director: Madeby U.S. Steel. Director: Dariel Balcman. Cast:
Ralph Slaub. C;ast: Millon Ikric, i^arbara and Gloria Busier Kealou

Brewster, Errol Flynn, Billy Ciilbert, Buster Keaion. Ken

Murray, (]esar Romero, Lupc \'ele/ /•i7»M(l965)

Released: Se|5teinber 1965. Distributed In: Grove Press.

She Went to the Races 1945 ( Produced bv : Evergreen Theatre. Scrijil: Samuel Beckell. Arl

Released: Noxemher 1945 l^ishibulcd b\: \k'iro-( lolcKw ii- Director: Burr Smidl. (Camera ()|)eralor: Joe (Collev. Editor:

Mayer. Screenjilay: 1 ,a\\ rence I la/ard. Based on a slorv b\ SidiRV \lev ei s. Pholot;r,iphv : Boris Kauhnan. Producer:
22H
I^:iinf\ Rossft. niiccloi; Al.iii Sc liiRulfr. ( ^nsl: l^nsU'i Kcalon, Sidnc\ Sin Idoii Director: Sidne\ Slicklon. ("ast: I )oiiald

Nell Harrison, James Karen. Sus.iii \{lc(.\ O'C^onnoi, Ann BKth, Rhoiidi I'leming, Peler Forre, l,arr\

Keating, Richard .\ndcrson, I )a\e Willock, ( Claire ( larktoii.

17ic'Kc//7nK/(/fr(19f)S) Farr\ White, Jackie CJoogan, Ckcil B. De .\Iillc

Released: ()elnber2, I'^fn. Dislnhnled l)\: National Mini

Bo.ircl of (Canada. Sc ripl: ( leralcl I'ollirlon. Mtisit :

Mldon
Ratiibnrn. Sonud I'.lTeels; Karl cln Tlessis Sound Reeorcling: I) N c K i: n I I I n C \ c s \ \ n T r c ii \ i ca i.

Ck'ortje enroll, led I laley. Pliolo^rapln : Robert I lunible. A n\ I c: !•:

I'.ditor: Jo Kirkpafriek. Cerald Potterlon. Assistant l^ireetor:

Jo Kirkpatriek. Produeer: Julian Biggs. Director: Gerald .S/)/d.v/i!il931)

Pollerton. C^asl: Busier Kealou Released: October 3, 1931. Dislribiited b\ : Mctro-Coldwyn-

Mavcr. i^ircctor: Jules W liite, /ion Myers
The Scribe (1966)

Released: Januarx S, 1966. Produced by: I'ilni-lele Produelions I'ast Comjyany il93S)

for the Oonstruetion Safet\ Association of Ontario. Script: Released: 1938. Distributed In: Mctro-C ioldwy n-\la\cr.

Paul Sullierland. Clliltord Braggins. Music: Quartet Director: Fdward l^u//ell. C-ast: Mclwn i^ouglas, llorence

Productions. Pliotograplu: Mike I , cute. I'.ditor: Kinnetli Rice, Claire Dotld, 1 ,ouis C^alhcrn

Heclv-Rav. F,xecuti\e Producers: Raymond Walters, James

Collier. Producers: .Ann and Kenneth i leel\-Ra\. !")irec(or: 'i'oo//of<o//(nic//t' 11938)

John Sebert. Cast: Buster Kcatou Released: I93S. Distributed b\ : \letro-Coid\\\ n-Ma\er.

Director: Jack C^onwa). Cast: C^lark Ciablc, .\l\rna L,o\;

Walter Piclgeon
() ! |- s c: R I-: K \ h' I 1. M C k i mis
Love I'inds And\ J/c/rc/y (1938)

Life in Sometown, U.S.A. (195(S) Released: 1938. Distributed by: Metro-Cold\\yn-Ma)er.

Released: February 26, 19^8. Distributed by: Metro-C^oldwyn- Director: George Seitz. Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garhind,
Mayer. Narrator: Care\ Wilson. Scri]5t: C^arl Dudley, Richard l.ana lurncr, Few is Stone
Murpln. Director: Buster Keaton

At the Circus (1939)

Hollpmod Handicap (19^S) Relea.sed: 1939. Distributed h\: .\letro-C;oldwyn-Ma\er.

Relea.sed: MavZS, 1938. Distributed b\: Metro-Coldwvn- Director: Fdward Buzzell.Cast: 'I'he Marx Brothers

Ma\cr. Producer: Louis I.ewyn. Director: Buster Kcatou. Cast:

riie Original Sing Band Comrade X (1940)
Released: 1940. Distributed b\-: Metro-Goldwy n-Ma\er.
Streamlined Swing (19sS) Director: King Vidor. Cast: C^lark Cable, Hcd\ Famarr, Felix

Relea.sed: September 10, 19sS. Distributed b\ : Metro- Bressart, Fve Arden

Cold\\'\n-Ma\cr. Script: Marion Mack. Dialogue: John Kraft.
Producer: I.ouis l,e\\\n. Director: Buster Keaton. Cast: Ihe Go West (1940)

Original Sing Band Released: 1940. Distributed by: Metro-Coldwyn-Mayer.

Director: Fdward Buzzell.Cast: Flic .Marx Brothers

I he Jones Family in Hollywood (1939)

Released: Jmie 2, 1939. Distributed by: Metro-Cold\\\ n- Tales of Manhattan (1942)

Ma\er. Script: Harold larshis. Original Story: Joseph Released: 1942. Distributed bv: 'Iweutieth Century-Fox.

Hoffman, Buster Keaton. Based on characters by Katherine Director: Julien Duvivier. Cast: Henry F"onda, Rita Hayworth,
Kavanaugh. Director: Mai St. Clair. Cast: Jed Prouty, Spring Ginger Rogers, Charles Bovcr, Fdward C Robinson, Charles
Byington, Ken Howell, Jime Carlson, Florence Roberts Laughton

The ]ones Family in Quick Millions (1939) /Dood/f (1943)

Released: August 2 ^ 1939. Distributed b\-: Metro-Goldwy n- Released: 1943. Distributed by: Metro-Goldv\-yn-Mayer.

Maver. Script: Joseph Hoffman, Stanley Rauh. Original Story: Director: X'incente Minnclli.Cast: Red Skelton, Flcanor
Joseph Hoffman, Buster Keaton. Based on characters by Powell, Lena Home, John Hodiak
Katherine Ka\anaugh. Director: Mai St. Clair. Cast: Jed

Pr(>ut\, Spring B\iiigtoii, Ken Howell, June Carlson, Morence Bathing Beaut}' {\9-\^)

Roberts Released: 1944. Distributed by: Metro-Goldwy n- Mayer.

Director: George Sidney. Cast: Red Skelton. Esther Williams
The Buster Keaton Story (19S~) Basil Rathbone
Released: Ma\ 19". Distributed b\: Paramount Pictures.
Script; Sidne\- Sheldon, Robert Smith. Photography: Foyal JSothing but Trouble (1945)
Griggs. Editor: .Archie Marshek. Costumes: Fdith Head. Released: 1945. Distributed by: Metro-Coldwyn-Mayer.

Fechnical .\d\ iser: Buster Keaton. Producers: Robert Smith, Director: Sam 'l'a\ lor. Cast: Stan Faurel, 01i\er Hardv

229
 The Equestrian Quiz (1946) The Buster Keaton Show (1949)
Released: 1946. I^Jistrilnited b\: Metro-CkjkKw n-lVhner. A Pete ?()-minutc comedy, KT'I'V I lolKwood. A local tele\ision pro-

Smith Speeialt\, C^ast: Daxe O'Brian, Chistiani l^rotliers gram that ran 17 episodes. Premiered: December 22, 1949.

Script: Clyde Bruckman, Henry Taylor. Producer: Joe Parker.

EdsvtoWec/(1946) Director: Philippe Delacy. Cast: Buster Keaton, Alan Reed,

Released: 1946. Distributed by: Metro-C.oldwMi-MaNer. Leon Belasco, Ben Weldon, Dick Elliot, Shirley Icgge
l~)ireetor: b'.dward Bu//ell.Cast: Van Johnson, i'.slher

Williams, Lucille Ball Toast of the Town {\95Q)

(The Ed Sullivai^ Show)
Cynthia (1947) 6()-minute variety, CBS. Host: Ed Sullivan. Air date:

Released: 1947 Distributed by: Metro-Cioldw) n-Mayer. November 5, 1950

Director: Robert Z. Leonard. C'ast: Lli/abeth 'la\lor, IVIar\

Astor, James Lydon, Cieorge Murphy, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall Four Star Revue (1950)
60-niinute variety, NBC. Host: Ed W\ nn. Air date: \o\ ember
It Happened in Brooklyn (1947) 15 and December 13, 1950
Released: 1947 Distributed by: Metro-GokKw n-Mayer.
Director: Richard Whorf. Cast: I'Vank Sinatra, Jimmv The Buster Keaton Show (1950-51)
Durante, Kathr\n Cjra\son, Peter Law ford 5()-minute comedy, syndicated. Produced by: Consolidated

Television.'! he program was renamed Life with Buster Keaton

Merton of the Movies (1947) in syndication and later se\eral episodes were strung together
Released: 1947 Distributed b\ : Metro-C7old\\\ n-Ma\cr. and released in Great Britain by British Lion in 1953 as a the-

Director: Robert Alton. Cast: Red Skelton, Gloria Cirahame, atrical feature film called The Misadventures of Buster Keaton.

Virginia O'Brien, Leon Ames, Alan Mowbray Script: Carl Hittleman, Jay Sommers, Clyde Bruckman, Ben
Perry, Harold Goodw in. Photography: Jackson Rose. Producers:
A Southern Yankee (1948) Carl Hittleman, Clyde Bruckman, Jav Sommers. Directors:
Released: 194S. Distributed b\ : Mctro-Cioldwyn-Mayer. Arthur Hilton, Eddie Cline. Cast: Buster Keaton, Marcia Mae
Director: Edward Sedgwick. Cast: Red Skelton, Arlene Dahl Jones, Dorothy Ford, Jack Reitzen, Philip Van Zandt, Eddie
Gribbon, Eleanor Keaton. Episodes: "The Army Story," "The
Neptune's Daughter {\9-[9) Bakery Stor\," "I'hc Billboard Story," "The Collapsible
Released: 1949. Distributed by: Metro-Gold\\\n-Mayer. Clerk," "The Detective Story," "'Vhe Fishing Stor\'," "The
Director: Edward Buzzell.Cast: Esther Williams, Red Gymnasium Story," "The Haunted House," "The Little

Skelton, Ricardo Montalban Theater," "The Shakespeare Story," "The Time Machine,"
"The Western Storw" and "'I he Gorilla Stor\"
Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)

Released: 1949. Distributed b\-: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The Jack Carter Show (1951 )

l^irector: Busb\- Berkeley Cast: ?'rank Sinatra, Gene KelK', 6U-minute \arict\, NBC. Host: Jack Carter. Air date: Fcbruar\

Esther Williams 24,1951

Watch the Birdie l]9W) All Star Revme {\9Sl)

Released: 1950. Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 60-minute \ariet\; NBC. Host: Ed W\ nn. Air date: No\ember
Director: Jack Donohoe. Cast: Red Skelton, Arlene Dahl, 10,1951

Ann Miller

The Colgate Comedy Hour (1952)

The Yellow Cab Man {]9^(]) 60-minute \ariet\, NBC. Host: Donald (yConn()r..\ir date:

Released: 1950. Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. March 2, 1952

Director: Jack Donohoe. Cast: Red Skelton, Gloria DcHaven
Eord Festival (1952)
Excuse My Dust (1951) 60-niinulc musical variety, NBC. Air date: April 1", 1952

Released: 1951. Distributed b\ : \ielro-(;oldw\ n-Ma\er.

Director: Roy Rowland. C^ast: Red Skelton, SalK I'brrest, Kate Smith Presents: Matinee in Neve York (1952)
MacDonald C;are\ NBC:..\irdale:|uK 15, 1952

Summer Review (1952)

All Star

T K I, !; \' I S I () N 60-mmule varietv. NBC. Air date: hilv 19, 1952

']7.eFdW>7inS7unv(1949) A//S^/rReviVM'(l952)
30-minute variety, C;BS.Air Dale: December 22, 1949, 60-mmute variety, NBC. 1 lost: Waller C)'Keete..\u- dale:
Cast: V.d Wynn, Buster Keaton, Virginia O'Brien December 27, 1952

230
Douglas I'airhanks, Jr. Presents: The RheiugoUl Iheatre 7'o(/(n'(1956)

(19S4) Ncws-lalk, NBC.Airckile: Scplemhei 14, 1956

'ill-iiiiiinlc .iiillioloi^N, \IK;. Ail tiale: Jul\ 14, \'-)~>-\. I'lpisodt-

lillf: "I lif \\\,iki.'iiin<;.

"
Slorv Siipcrxision: iUw Morgiin. Producer's Showcase (1956)
\liiMc: Brclloii H\ 111 I )inci(>i ol I'liolo^rapln : Ken lillhol. 9l)-mmule anthology, NBC..\ir date: Scplcinbcr 17, 1956.

Strc'cnphn: l,ari\ Manns, Hastd dm "

llif ( )\crc()al" bv I'.pisodc lillc: " Ihc' I ,ord Don'l Pla\ I'axorilcs." Ad.iplalioii: Jo

\ikola\ \asil\c\icli Clogol. Piocluctr; Lance C^omlort. Swcrling. Based on a story In Patrick 1 1. .Vlaloy. .Music/i.vrics:

niicclor: Michael McCIartliy. C^ast: Hustcr Kcatoii. jaiiics 1 lal Stanley. Choreography: Ibny C^harmoli. Producer: 1 lal

llaytcr, C^arl jaffc, Iamiic Cole, Geoffrey Keen Stanley. C^ast: Buster Keaton, Robert Slack, Ka\ Starr, Hick
1 lavnies, l.onis .\nnslrong, Nejla Ates, Mike Ross, .Arthur Q.

Best of Broadway {\9S-\) Br\an, Oliver Blake, Barr\ Kellc\, Jerry Marcn
60-minulc antliolo^y, CBS. Air date: October B, 1954. l''.|)is()clc

title; "I he Man Who (^anie to thinner." .\cla])tati()n: Roiiaici The Steve Allen Show (1956)
Alexander. Based on the pla\ b\ Kantman and I lart. Mnsic: 6()-minute variety, NBC. Host: Sle\e Allen. Air date:

David Broeknian. Prothiccr: Martin Mannlis. Hirec lor: Havid December ^0,1956
Alexander. C>ast: Moiih \\i)i)llc\, jo.in Bciincll. C.illicrine

Doncct, S\Kia I'ield. Reginald Cartliner, Margaret Haniillon, The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney (1956)
Bnster Keaton, Bert I ,ahr, Merle Oberon, '/aSu Pitts, \Villi;ini 5()-minnte musical \ariet\, NBC
Prince, Howard St. John, Frank Iweddcll
Lux Video Theater ( 1956)

T/i.s/,s- Your Li/cM 1954) 6()-miniilc anthology, NBC

'50 minutes, NBC. Host: Ralph F,dward.s. Air date: November
3, 19S4. Keaton aj^j^ears with <;ncst of honor )oe I',. Brown Do You Trust Your Wife? (1956) (The Edgar Bergen Show)
5U-minnte quiz-audience participation, CBS. Host: Edgar
Make the Connection (1955) Bergen
^l)-miiinlc tini/, NBC!. I lost: )im McKav .\ir date: August 18,

1955 The Johnny Carson Show (1956)

•!(l-minnte comed\-\arict\', C^BS. Host: ()inm\ Car

-arson
V.

The Diinninger Show 1955 (

?()-minutc mind reading-audience particijiation, NBC. Host: IfCouWBcYou(I957)

Joseph nnnningcr. .\ir date: August 20, 1955 ?()-minute qui/, NBC. Air date: March 19, 1957

To»ig/iMl955) This Is Your Life a957)

9()-minute talk-variety, NBC. 1 lost: Steve Allen.. \ir date: 30 minutes, NBC. Air date: April x 1957 Host: Ral])h Kdwards.

August 24, 1955 Keaton appears as guest of honor

The Sunday Spectacular (1955) Today (1957)

NBC. Air date: October 9, 1955. Kpisodc title: "Show Biz" News-talk, NBC. Air date: .\pril 2\ 195-

Eddie Cantor Theater (1955) Tonight! America After Dark 195 ( , )

3(l-minute variety, ABC. Host: Eddie Cantor. Air date: 105-minute talk-variety, NBCl Host: Jack Lescoulic. Air date:

October 10, 1955. Episode title: "The Square World of Alonzo April 24, 1957

: ennvvvortli

C/ufc60(1957)
Screen Director's Playhouse (1955) NBC. Air date: May 2, 1957
3()-minutc anthology, NBC. Air date: December 21, 1955.

Episode title: "I'hc Silent Partner." Writer: Barbara Hammer Eve Got a Secret (\9S7)
(from a story by Barbara Hammer and George Marshall). 3()-minutc quiz, CBS. Moderator: Garry Moore
Producer: Hal Roach. Director: George Marshall. Cast: Bnster
Keaton, ZaSu Pitts, Joe E. Brown, Evelyn Ankers, Jack What's My Line? (1957
Kruschen, Jack Elam, Perc\ Helton, Joseph Corey, Lyle 30-minute quiz, CBS. Moderator: John Daly
I,atcll.C;liarlcs llorvath

IfCou/dBeYou(1957)
The Martha Rave Show (1956) 30-minute quiz, NBC..\ir date: December 23, 1957

60-niinute comedy-variety, NBC. Host: Martha Rave. Air date:

March 6, 1956. Guests: Buster Keaton, Paul Douglas, Harold Truth or Consequences (1958)
.\rlcn, the Baird Marionettes 30-minute quiz, NBC. Air dates: January 3, 1958, January 10,

1958, Januarv 13, 195S, January 15, 1958

If CouW Be You (1956)

30-minutc quiz, NBC..-\ir date: June ~, 1956 The Betty White Show (1958)

30-minute variety, ABC. Air date: Februarv 12, 1958. Host:

Betty White
 You Asked for It (m^) Oscar Night in Hollywood (1960)
?0-minulc audience request, ABC. Air date Fehruarv 16, 1958. Special, NBC. Air date: April 4, 1960
Host: Art Baker

P/c/v Your Hu/ic/j (1960)

The Adventures of Mr. Pastry (1958) 30-minute quiz, NBC. Air date: August 19, 1960
26-minute unsold pilot episode for I'lV (Great Britain). Aired

in 1958 (filmed in 1956). Screenplay: Angus MacPhail, Harold 7fCou/c/BcYoii(1961)

Kent. Director of Photography: C>crald Gibbs. Editor: Inman 3()-minute quiz, NBC. Air date: June 27, 1961
Hunter. Executive Producer: Hannah Weinstein. Associate
Producer: Sidney Cole. Director: Ralph Smart. Cast: Richard Candid Camera (1961)
Hearne, Buster Keaton, Pegg}- Mount 30 minutes, CBS. Host: Allen Eunt

Playhouse 90 (1958) Here s Hollyyvood (1961)

90-minute anthology, CBS. Air date: June 5, 1958. f^pisode NBC. Air date: August 10, 1961
title: "The Innocent Sleep." Script: Tad Mosel. Director:
Franklin Schaffncr. Cast: Buster Keaton, Hope Lange, 7Vj7ig/i( Zone (1961)
Dennis King, John Ericson, I lope Emerson 30-minute sci-fi anthology, CBS. Air date: December 15, 1961.

Episode title: "Once Upon a Time." Host: Rod Serling. Script:

Telephone Time (\95S) Richard Mathcson. Photograph\ George T. Clemens. :

30-minute anthology, ABC. Host: Dr. Erank Baxter Producer: Buck Houghton. Director: Norman Z. McEeod.
Cast: Buster Keaton, Stanley Adams, Milton Parsons, Jesse
The Jack Paar Show {\9S8) White, Gil Lamb, James Elavin, Michael Ross, George E.
105-minute talk-variety, NBC. Host: Jack Paar. Air date: Stone, Warren Parker
November 14, 1958

Your First Impression (1962)

The Garry Moore Show (1958) NBC. Air date: January 12, 1962

6()-minute \ariet\, CBS. Host: Garr\- Moore

Medicine Man (1962)
The Donna Reed Show (1958) 30-minute sitcom. Screen Gems. Episode title: "A Ponv for
30-minute sitcom, ABC. Air date: December 24, 1958. Episode Chris." Script: Jay Sommer, Joe Bigelow. Producer: Harrv
title: "A Very Merry Christmas." Cast: Donna Reed, Carl Ackerman. Director: Charles Barton. Cast: Ernie Kovacs,
Betz, Paul Peterson, Shelley Eabares, Buster Keaton Buster Keaton, Ke\ in Brodie

If CouW Be You (1959) Candid Camera (1962)

30-minute quiz, NBC. Air date: October 26, 1959 30 minutes, CBS. I lost: Allen Eunt

Masquerade Part)' (1959) The Scene Stealers (1962)

30-niinutc quiz, CBS. Moderator: Bert Parks 60-minute comedy-drama, CBS, Distributed bv March of
Dimes. Air date: April 1962. Script: Joimn\ Bradford. Director:

Toddy (I960) Jack Shea. Cast: Ed Wynn, Buster Keaton, Rosemarv

News-talk, NBC. Air date: January 20, 1960 Clooney, Jimmy Durante, Ralph Edwards, James Garner,
Lome Greene, David Janssen, Eartha Kitt, jack Lenimon
Sunday Showcase (1960)

60-minute anthology/variety, NBC. Air date: P'ebruarv 7, 1960. Your First Impression (1962)

Episode title: "After Hours." Script: Tony Webster. Director: NBC..\ir date: August 29, 1962
Alex March. Cast: Buster Keaton, Christopher Plummer,
Sally Ann Howes, Robert Emhardt, Philip Abbott, Natalie Route 66 (1962)
Schafcr, John Eiccllcr 60-niinute atKcnIurc, CT3S. Ej^isodc lillc: ")(>urnc\ to

Nincxch." Air date: Sc]Menibcr 28, 1962. C-ast: George

Masquerade Party (1960) Maharis, Martin Milner, Buster Keaton, Joe E. Brown. Jennv
30-minutc quiz, NBC. Air date: i'ebruary 5, 1960. Host: Bert Maxwell, Guy Ra\'mond. John .\stin, Edgar Buchanan. John
Parks l^avis Chandler, John Durrcn

lfCouWBt'You(1960) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1963)

30-niinulc <|uiz, NRG. Air date: March 3, I960 30-ininute sitcom, ABC>. Air date: Januar\ 19, 1963 Episode
title: "Think Mink." Cast: I'ess Parker, Buster Keaton, JessK n
Rev/on Presents (1960) lax, Sandra Warner
60-niinulc\ariclv, CBS.Aird.ilc: March 24, 1961). GasI: Paul

Whileman, Busier Kcalon, Peggy Lee, James Karen Your I'irst Impression (1963)
"M) niinulcs.NI3C:. Air (laic: i'cbruarv 12, 1963

2U
iruth or Consequences (196^) C; () \i \i r K c I \ i.s

^O-iiiiiiiiU- i|iii/. NIK;. Air dale: Marcli ~, l^f)'?

'I Ins listing ot c-onnnereials does not inelnde the nian\ loeal
'loda\[\')U^->\ eoniinereials — ])riinarily beer eommereials — made by Kealoii
12(l-niiiiulc iicws-lalk, NIK], Air date; April 26. 1%\ I '.pisodc that remain unidenlified.
lilli.': "Biiska Kcaloii IUa isiltcl." I losi: I ln<;l) Downs
1956:

77ic' /u/Si/Z/m/;).S7ioiiMl96V| Colgate loothpaste

611-iiiiiuilc \aricl\, CMiS. Host: I'.d Sullisaii

1958:

Ihe Greatest Show on Earth ( WM) Alka-Selt/er

6()-miiiutc drama, ABC:. Air date: April 28, 1964. Kpisodc title: Northwest Orient Airlines
"You're Alright, l\\," Direetor: )aek Palauee. (^ast: Jaek Simon Pure Beer
Palanee, Stuart lawiu. Buster Keatou, l,\nn I .oriiig, lli'd

Bessell, )oe I',. Brown, )oan BloiKlell. Bets\ Joues-Moreland, 1959:

Barb.na Pepper, l,arr\ \l()nlai<;ue Shamrock Oil

7- Up
Burke's Law (WM) U.S. Steel
60-uiinule deteetive drauia, ABC], Air dale: Ma\ S, 1964.

Kpisode title: 'A\ lio Killed / olClorx Pee." Seripl: Harlan 1960:

Pllisoii. C^ast: C'.ene Barr\, C".ar\ C'onwa\, iU'gis 'lbonie\, Wen ower I loo
lools

BiLstcr Keatoii, Joan l^londell, Nina Ibeli, Anne 1 leliii, iktt\'

liutton, Clisele Maeken/ie 1961:

Milky Way Candy Bar

Holh-M'ood Palace (1964) Philips 66 Gasoline and Oil
6()-ininute \ariet\, .\BC^ I lost: Clene Barr\. Air date: June 6, Marlboro Cigarettes
1964
1962:

The Man Who Bought Paradise (196? Canadian I'ileetrie Razor

60-niinute comcdy-draiiia, C>BS. Air date: Januarx 17, 1965. Ford Motor Compan\' (five eaeh year for three \ears)

Seri|)t: Rieluird Alan Sinniioiis. Produeer/Oireetor: Ralph

Nelson. Cast: Buster Keaton, Robert Horton, Angic 1963:

Diekinson, Paul Lukas, Ra\ AValston, lloag}' Carniiehael, Minute Rub

Dolores Del Rio, Cyril Riehard, Walter Sle/ak
1964:

The Jonathan V\ infers Show (1965) Georgia Oil

Coniedy-\ariet\', NBC. Host: Jonathan Winters. \ir date: Ford Motor Company
Mareh 29, 1965 U.S. Steel
Budwciser Beer
The Donna Reed Show (1965) Salt Lake City Bank
l(l-ininute siteoni, .\BC]. .\ir date: l''ebruar\ 1 1 , 1965. Episode Seneca Apple Juice
title: "Now ^ou See it. Now ^ou Don t. Direetor: Cene
Nelson. Cast: Donna Reed, .\nn MeRea, Carl Bet/,, Bob 1965:

Crane, Paul Peterson, Darr\l Riehard, Buster Keaton Pure Oil

Pepsi-Cola
Truth or Consequences (1965
^O-niinnte qui/, NBC..\ir date: .\pril 6, 1965

DOC U M E N T .'k RY
A SaUite to Stan Laurel (1965)
60-niinute speeial, CBS. Host: Diek \'an Dyke. Air date: Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965)
November 23, 1965. Cast: Lueille Ball, Fred Gwynnc, Danny Relea.sed: October 30, 1965. Produced by: National Film Board
Kaye, Buster Keaton. Gregory Peek, Cesar Ronrero, Phil of Canada. Commentary: Donald Brittain. Editors: John
SiKers Spotton (picture), Maica Gillsom (music), Sidnev Pearson
(sound). Producer: Julian Biggs. Director/Photogra|)her: John

Spotton. Cast: Buster Keaton, Eleanor Keaton, Gerald

Potterton

233
 Index Christy Dorothy 180, 181

Cirque Medrano. Paris, 29, 175, 199, 203

C;fy Lights, 182

Note: Page numbers in italics refer (o illustration

Clark, Kendall, 200
eaptions
Cline, Eddie, 14,24, 64, 65, 67, 85, 101, 112, 115,202, 216

Abbott and Custcllo in llollywoocl, 198 College, 26, 27, 56, 88, 155, 152-55, J52, 153, J54, 155, 165

Abranis, Hiram, 16 "Comedy's Greatest Era" (Agee), 29

Adoree, Renee, 96 Coney Island, 54, 55

Agee, James, 29 Connelly, Marc, 205

Albert, Katherine, 6? Considine, John, 16

Allbritton, Louise, 199 Convict 13, 7{}-7\, 71

Allen, K, H., 194 Coogan. Jack. 58

Allen, Woody, 129 Cook, I he, 55

AllezOop.7S,\7'^ Co/js, 41,65, 88, 88, 97,155

Anger, Lou, H, 52, 64, 65, n5, 155 Country Hero, A, 55, 92

Arbuekle, Roseoe "Fatty," 14, 17, 23, 51, 58, 6 J, 66, 104,
Crane, Ward, 106, 122

128,213,215 Crane, William H., 62, 63

Arbuckle-Keaton shorts, 52-61, 52, 55, 54, 55, 57, 60, 67, Crisp, Donald, 151, J32

92, 160, 174 Cummings, lr\'ing, 63

Around the World in Hi) Davs, 5 (J, 58 Cummings, Robert, 40

Arthur, George K., J74
Asher, William, 210 Day, Marccline, J66, 167, 169, J69

At the Circus, 198 Daydreams, 96-97, 96

Dell, Wheezer, 91

Baby Cyclone, The, 215 DeMille, Cecil B., 176, J76

Back Stage, Denn\', Reginald, 180

17, 58, 60, 85, 160, 174

Ball, Lueillc, 2J2

Donlin, Mike, J49

BalloonatK\'l'he,2"\M), lOl Doughboys, 178-79, J79

Barnes, Lee, 155 Do You Remember?, 38

Battling Butler, 26, 56, 62, 155, 141, 142-45, J42, H5, Dulo, Jane, 205-4
182

Beach Blanket Bingo, 209, 210 Durante, Jimmy, J84, 185, i85, 186, J86, J87, 188, 189

Beckett, Samuel, 50, 208 D«yer, Ruth, 134

BeeryWallaee, 110-11, )I5, 176

Be//Boy, 77!g, 55, 57 Earle, Edward, 171, 172

Bimbo the Klephant, -12 Eas^' Street, 71

Blache, Herbert, 62 Ed Sullivan Slum; The (1V), 209

Blacksmith. The, 17, 61. 92, 92, 160 Educational Films Corporation. 194-96

Blystone, John G. "Jack," 116 Edwards, Cliff "Ukclele Ike," 179

Boasberg, Al, 142, 179 Edwards, Ral]3h, 45

Boat, The, 25, 24, 65, 84, 8-1, 150, 152

Edwards, Suit/, 155, 142, J49, 152, 155. J53

Booker, Beulah, 63 Ed Wynn Show (IV), 29, 200, 201

Bracy, Sidney, J66 Filers, Sally, 179

Brand, KdwardR.,56, 36 Electric House, 'I he, 14. 25. 66. 82. 98. 98, 106

Brand, Harry 155-55, 156 Elmer (dogs), 43. 19]. 195,214

Brophy, Kd, J67, 169, 179

Brown K\es Fairbanks. Douglas, 16, 62
(cow), 158-40, Ml
Bruekman, Glyde, Parley, Jim, J49
24, 57, 64, 65, JJ2, 157. 140, 145, 166, 172,

196,201,202 I'arnum, Joe. /76

Busier Kcaton Show, I'hc CIV), 29, 201, 202 I'aye, Alice, 198

Buster Keaton Story, The, 50, 58-59, 40, 126, 195, 207 F//m, 50,208-9,210

Butcher Boy, The, 52-55, 53, 55, 76, 200, 201, 215
Fleischer, Max, 114

Buxton, Frank, 200 Flying Escalantes, 75

Byron, Marion "Peanuts," KiO foreign-language lilms, 176-77

Forrest, Allan, 16

Caesar, Sid, 208 Fox, Janet, 200

Cameraman, The, 166-69. Fox, Virginia, 75, 75, 76, 79, 84, 88, 92, 102
J9, 27, 155, /66, i67. J69. 198

Cannon, Ra\ inond, 140 Franchi, h'raneo, 212

Free and Easv, 29, r5, Td-"". n6, 1"". 186
Cavender, Ckn, M')
l"'rigan/a. IVixie. 176. /~7
Chaplin, Charlie, H, !(,, 17, 50, 55, 65, 65, 71, 91, 110, 152, 158.
Frozen North, I'he, 25, 95. 95
164,182,202-5,205,215
(;ha])lin. Svdnev, 16, 155, |56
I'unnv Thing Hajijx'ncd on the Wav to the i'orum, \. 41. 212

2?4
 M. S4, ^)S. U)l H, l^d. P^r H", 1^6. 192; hirih and childhood. 13-14, 45-51. 45, ^{7, 50. 51;
Ciihonnc, I'Vccl. 24, , I

career, 12. 13- 14. 17, 23-24, 27. 29-30; as clown, 29, 199;
ISS, 166, 172
comedy st\ le, 17, 66, 180, 184. 210; deadpan. 40. 47. 55. 212;
Cdrdi^c.T/K'. 60, 61.92
dc-.ilh of, 33, 43; as diiecloi. 198.216; engineering skills. 23,
Cliiibo, ClrcUi. 1~/
161, I9S; ,iiul I, HIS. 14; Icilurr films. 24. 2f). 1 10 63; m films.
(;aihi.Kl,)iulv,2()2

26. 27, 37, ^9, 41. 87. 116, P.O. r^2. ^S. see speeifie titles; as gag writer, I9S; innncnee of. 129, 169,
Cc'/KTd/, T/;c, 21 1

126-27; Italian
141144 SI, Hi, 146. 14". W, h'O. h'I.P2,16l 173, 215; injuries. 26, 46, 69, 98. 104, 115,

Villa, 107, 108, 181; at M-G-M,27.29. 189, 190; photo col-

19S.2r\2P
5,,214 lections, 7-8; and previews, 115. 128, 135; puhlicit\ stills, 2,
Ck'or^c IvisliiKiii House-. Rotlicstcr.

20, 23. 24. 26. 164; "ranch." 39. 40, 41 ; reputation. 33, 38,
Ccr/iclH
40. 132; shorts. 24, 52-61, 64-103, 160, 174, 194-96, 198;
Ciltorcl, Jack, 41
silent film.s,27,29,37,213;sonsof. 106.107.108-9, 109,189;
C'.isli, Lillian, 1411, 141

so, 92 special effects, 87, 88, 121, 124, 135, 147, 149, 150, 156, 158.
C;o(//, 77r', 6S, so,
160-61. 162; summer stock, 199, 200, 204, 207; supporting
C'.oodmau, Dody. 204
roles. 199. 202; technological innoxations, 23-24, 27, 83;
Good \ioht. Nurse!, SH

61, 128 television and. 29. 200. 201-2, 202, 207, 209, 212; tributes
C'.oodricli, William,
16". 19S. J95. 202 to, 29, 37, 39, 214; in vaudeville, 14,46-51, 46, 47, 48, 58;
ChhkKmii, Harold, h'^ P^r
wives, see Keaton, f'.leaiior Kulh Norris; Scri\cu, Mae;
C;on7/cy. 7/r', 199 ,

BH. HJ. 198 'Talmadge, Natalie

Co West, 2'\l(h 138-41.
Keaton, Kleanor Ruth Norris (third wife), 12, 29, 30, 30.33. 33.
(;r(//u/S7dmC)/x'r(;.194-9S, J95

C;rccn\vood,C:liarloUc, 180-81, IHl 203. 208. 210. 214-15; death of. 33; "Mv I ,itc with Buster."

14_4^,, ^-f, ^6, 37.39.43

Griffith, il\\'.,i2. 110, 131. 139
Keaton family. H, 34-35. 39. 51, 91, 195-96

Keaton, larry "Jingles," 14, 34, 48, 50, 51, 71, 195, 196
Hall, Jon, J99
I

Keaton, Joe (father), 13, 14, 45-51, 50, 52. 109. 158, 215; in
f/i/rJ/.i/cl 7'9. 79
Busler-shlms.64.71."5,116. 12". 149. 194. 195. 196; in
Hart. Williams., i6, 95

louse. I'he, 76. 76

vaudeville. 46-51. 46. 47, 48, 126
/ Liunlecl i

Keaton, Louise (sister), 14,34, 50, 51, 160, 194,195,196

Haver. Plnllis. 100. 101

Keaton, Myra (mother), 14, 34, 45-48, 47, 48, 50-51, 194,
Have/,. Jean, 24, 57, 64. 65. (J2. 118. 130. P." 140
195 196
Havseed, The, 92
Kell, Sherman, 64
lleplnirn. Audrey, 173 J.

High Sign, The, 66-6". 66, 67, 68 Kellerman. Annette. 82.83.158

Kellv. Arthur. 16
HollowaN. C-arol. 63
llollY^wodCayalcclde, 198,199

llolhwond llandieap, 198 Lake. Alice. 55,57, 58,104

Lamont, Charles, 194, 194
i lolhwood Revue of 1929, The, 174-75, J74
Hopkins, Boh, PI La/nrus, Sidne\, 179

iloikheimer, 11. \1.. H Leahy, Margaret, no, HI, IP, 115

I lornc, James W.. 154 Lembeck, Harvey, 210

Le Roi des Champs-Elvsees, 190, 192, 192
lloudini. Harry. 13. 45-46. 51

Lessley, Elgin, 24, 64, 67, 83, 119. 124-25, 135, 166, 172
llow to Stuff ci Wild Bikmi,2i)9
Ix'ster, Richard, 41
Ihans. F,ddie,200
Ihinans, l.elia, ]~2 Lewis, Diana, 195

Life, 29
Life in Sometown V.S.A., 198
IDooJI/, 173,198
Life with Buster Keaton (TV), 201
Inee, Thomas H., 83

Ingrassia, Ciccio, 212

Limelight, 30, 38, 202-3, 205, 207

111 the Ciooc/ Old Summertune, 202 Lipton, Lew. 171

Lloyd. Harold, 29, 30, 33, 37, 79, 88, 91. 110. 121. 132, 137,
l»v<;c/c'r,7/!c', 190,192,196

Mad, Mad, Mad. Mad World, 208 152,164,213,215

It's a
Loew, Marcus, 62, 64

27 Loos. Anita, 106

Jazz Singer, I'he,

Jennings, Cordon, 119

Lord, Del. 196
Love Nest, The, 102, J02
Jobson, Kdward, 63
John.son, Van, 202
Love Nesf on Wheels, 195

Josephine (monkey), 167

McCay, Winsor, 114

Karen. James. 203-4. 208 McDermott, John. 135

Kaufman, George S., 203 MacDonald, Francis, 142

Keaton, Buster, 12. 14, 16, 18, 30,42, 1J2; .\eadeniy .\\vard.29,
MacFarland. James Hood, 16
McGuire, Kathrvn,122, 129, 130,131
40, 41, 214; advertising shots, 42; alcohol and. 29, 38, 163,
235
172. 183, 186, 189, 190. 193; autobiography, 40; bankruptcy.
McHugh, Jimmy, -il
 Mack, Marion. 146. M9 Pickford, Lottie, 16

MacNeil, Nornian, 172 Pickford, Mary, 16, 37

Madison, Harry, 9J Pittenger, William, 145, 146

Malone, Molly, 58 Playhouse, The, 16, 17, 23, 65, 82-83, 83

Mann, Alice, 54 porkpie hats, 23, 32,55,84,88, 112, 132,213,213

Maris, Mona, J84, 185 Post, Buddy, 58

Marx Brothers, 169, 198 Potterton, Gerald, 209-10

Mason, James, 37 Price, Kate, 58, 91

Mayer, Louis B., 29, 164, 189 "Princess Rajah" act, 58, 60, 174, 174

Merton of the hdovies, 143, 203-4, 207 Purcell, Irene, 185

Metro-Goldvvyn-Mayer (M-G-M), 27, 29, 143, 163, Purple Rose of Cairo, The, 129
164-90, 198
Mitchell, Joseph, 24, 64, 65, U2. 137, 140 Railrodder, The, 209-10, 211, 212

Montgomer\', Kli/abcth, 210 Rambova, Natacha, 16

Moonshine, 57 Rappe, Virginia, 61, 128

Mostel,Zero,41,208 Reed, Susan, 208

Murphy, Steve. 127 Reeves, /\lf. H
Museum of Modern Art, 208 Rickles, Don, 210
Myers, Zion, 182 Riesner, Charles "Chuck," 156, 160, 174

My Wife's Relations, 91, 9J Roberts, Joe, 64, 71, 71 72, 75, 75, 76, 87, 91
, , 92,

My Wonderful World of Slapstick (Keaton). 40, 48 98,102.119

Rogers, 'Will, 215

National Film Board of Canada, 210 Rohauer, Raymond, 29, 30. 37, 41, 79, 137, 203, 216

Navigator, The, 24, 26, 62, 130-33, BO, 132, 142, 143, Roland, Gilbert, 185, 185

146, 149, 179 Route 66, 208

Nawn, Tom, J49 Russell, Jane, 41

Neal, Lex, 140, 142

Nebenzal, Sevmour, 190 St. Clair, Mai, 80, 92
Neighbors, 75, 75 St.John,Al, 53, 55. 57, 58,67
Niblo, Fred, 176, J76 Salute to Stan Laurel (TV), 212
Night at the Opera, A, 169 Samuels, Charles, 40
Nilsson, Anna Q.,20J, 202 SdnD;cgo,/ Love You. 199, 199

Nosscck, Max, 192 Saphead, The, 1, 62-63, 63. 142, 179

Nothing but Pleasure, 173 Scarecrow, The, 61, 72, 72

Schayer, Richard, 171. 179

O'Brien, Mary, J42 Schenck. Joseph M., 16. 23, 24. 27. 52, 61. 62-63, 64,

O'Connor, Donald, 38, 126, 207 102. 104. 110, 114, 134-35, 143, 149, 152, 153, 155, 156, 163

Oh Doctor], ^2, y^ Schenck, Nicholas, 64, 163, 164

Old Spanish Custom, An, 192 Schneider, Alan, 208, 210

Once Upon a Mattress, 204 Scribe, The, 43

O'Neil, Sally, 142,143 Scriven, Mae (second wife), 190, 191, 192-93

One Week, 17,23, 65, 66, 67, 68-69, 69, 84, 160, Sebastian, Dorothy, 35, 108, 170, 171 , 173, 176

180,216 Sedgwick, Edward M., 166, 167, 172. 176, 179, 179,

Orsatti,Frnie,36,121,127, 172 182,185,198

Our Hospitality, 23, 26, 87. 115, 116-21, 116, 119, Seely, Sybil, 69. 69, 71, 72, 72,84
J2J,215 Sennett, Mack, 17, 24, 52, 64, 196

Out West, 55 Sergeant Deadhead, 209

Owens, R.J. , 164 Service, Robert \\'., 95

Seven CVu/nce.s, 26. 134-3- /34. 136, 137.189

Pagano, Ernest, 171, J72,194 Sewell, Leah, 192-93

Page, Anita, 176,182,183 Shearer, Norma, 184

Pajanui Party, 209, 209 Sheldon, Sidnew 38

Paleface, The, 23, 87, 87 Sherlock }r, 6, 24. 26, 106, 122-29. 122. /25. 12',

Palooka from Paducah, 91, J94. 195 128. 129,215

Parlor, Bedroom and Bath, 173, 180-81, 18/ Shuman,Jack,36,193

Passionate Plumber, The, 173, 184-85, J84, 185, 199 Sidewalks of New York. 182-83. 182, 183. 196

Payson, Blanche, 111, 112 Silvers. Phil, 41

Peck, Gregory, 173 "Singin' in ihe Rain," 1'74, l~-i

PesI from the West, V)(k 197 Skelton, Re(l.r3, igs

Peters, Joan, 181 Smith, t;lKnies 11.. 142

Phillips, Nornian. Jr.. 182 Smith, Paul Gerard. 142

236 I'lekford.Charlollc. 16 Smith, VVinehell, 62

Soiilhcrn Ytinkcc. A. I'^S Todd, Muh.iel.lO
SiK-ak Easily, 4, !">, ISfi-S':'. iS6, /.S", \W 16(1(1. I he hna, 186, J«6

SpciK'c. Kiilpli, 1(S4 loler. Sidne\, 186, ]87

Spiegel, Sam, 192 lopllaLl'-H

S>(7c' Marricioe, 27, ^5. 170-73, 171, 172, 186, 1'H, 19S, Ibrrenee. r.rnesi.l56. ISH

191], 2(11,201 'l()\ai . 1 ,npila. 192

Slcaiuh,Hil Bill. jr.. 17,26,27, 16, 1S4, 1S6-61. (56, /58, 7u/7/V'/"n('. //k'(!'\'),207
I6f), 16/, 162 two-strip leehiiieolor. 115. 1~4

Slcchhau, ll.O.. H
Slc'|)licns()n, Ccorgc, 118 UniledArtists. 141. 161

SlcNfiis, Josephine-, SI

Strcdniliiicd Swiiiu^. 19S \ aleiiliiui, Rudolph. /6

Sullivan, lul, 209 vaudeville: Keaton family in, 14, 46-51, 46, 47, 48; in

Su;i,se^ Boulevard, 10, 18, 20(, 202 Kcaton's films, 10, 11, 51, 71, 75, 82, 81, 122, 126, ]28;

S\vans()n,C;i()ria, 20], 202 medicine shows and, 45-46

Venice Film Festival, 29, 30, 41, 2/0
talking pietures, 27. 161, r4, 176, 177, 179, 186 Verge, Cene, HIS

'lalnuKlge, Bobhv (son), 106, 107, 108-9, 109, 121, 189 \'idor. King, /79

'lalnuidge, Constanee, 16, S2, 104-x J04, 107, 111, 114, 117 \'/7/(//;i S//7/ Pursued Her. The. 199. /9y
aim ads e, lunnn (son) /06, 107, 108-9, 109,116,189

'lalmadgc, Natalie (first wite), J6,29, 82,104-9. 104, U)H, Walker, Mieke\, /41
116, 119, 121. ISl, 161. r2. 180, 189, 190, 21S \V(;r/k//;c/;;Sh/t'. 41.2/2
'I'almadge, Norma, J6,21, 52, 104-S. 104. ISl Warner. 11. B.. 20/. 202

'I'almadge, Peg, 16,106,107 Warren, Herbert, 57

laming of the Snood, 171 V^'atch the Birdie. 198

'lati, Jacques, 10,215 Wcingarten, Lawrence, 164. 172-71. 180. 182

TcnCirlsAoo.IOH What-No Beer?. 171, 188-89, 188

Thalberg, Irving, 164, 172-71, 181, 189 White, Jules, 182, 196

T/j;s/,sYoi/rI.//'c'('lV), 41 Whitney, Art. 14

I'liompson, Ra, J4J Wilder, Billy, 10, 202

777ree Ages, 26, 110-15, //). 112. 1/1. IM. 1/5 Wilson, Ibm, 9J
jliree Kcatons. 4 'he. H. 46-4S, 4:^, 48, 52, 81, 158, World War I, 58

176, 195 Wyler. William, 171

Three Men on a Horse, 199, 200 Wynn.l':d.200
Tillie's Punctured Romance, 52
Toast of the I'own ['IV),202 Zanuck, Darr\i K, 75

237
 Acknowledgments Photograph Credits

This book could not lia\e been possible \\ ithoiit the full coop- Battling Butler, Go West, The Navigator, Our Hospitality,

eratiou of l.iucki Mclir and other staff at the Margaret Herriek

Seven Chances, Sherlock Jr., Three Ages Cop\ right © The
Douris Corporation. All Rights Reserved
Library of the Academy of Motiou Picture Arts aud Scicuces.
Beach Blanket Bingo Copyright © 1963 .American
I am especially grateful to Robert Cushman, Photograph
International Pictures. All Rights Reserved. Courtes\'
Curator, v\ho o\ersaw Eleanor Kcaton's donation of her
Metro-Goldv\\n-Mayer
Buster-related photographs, papers, and artifacts into the The Buster Keaton Story, Sunset Boulevard Copyright ©
Academy Foundation and later helped Eleanor and mc Paramount Pictures. .Ml Rights Reser\ed. Courtesy

through the amazing photographic holdings of that institu- Paramount Pictures

tion, making certain that this book is of a high pictorial The Cameraman, Doughboys, Free and Easy, The
Hollywood Revue of 1929, The Passionate Plumber,
standard. I am also appreciative of his kindh' reading the
Sidewalks of New York, Speak Easily, Spite Marriage,
manuscript and improving it with his suggestions.
What-No Beer? Copyright ©Turner Entertainment. All
Manoah Bowman printed all of the superb photographs for
Rights Reserved
this book and ser\ed as photographic editor. More than that,
"Chaplin at Work" photoessa\ photographs by W. Eugene
he made sure that this book made it to publication and filled Smith. Cop\right © The Heirs of W. Eugene Smith,
the collaborative void left by Eleanor's death. I am \er\ grate- Courtesy Black Star, Inc., New York Collection, Center for

ful to him for his help. Creative Photograpln, the Unixersity of Arizona

I am grateful to jon S. Bouker for his friendship and his The Ed Sullivan Show, The Ed Wynn Show, Route 66, A
Salute to Stan Laurel, Toast of the Town, The Twilight
numerous contributions to this project; to Kevin Brownlow for
Zone Copyright © CBS Worldwide, Inc. Courtes\ CBS
graciously providing the book's afterword; to David Shepard
Photo /\rchi\'e
for assisting with picture permissions and for helpful sugges-
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
tions with the manuscript; to David Robinson for his friend-
Copyright © 1966 Quadrangle Eilm, S.A. All Rights
ship and guidance with the manuscript; to Casey Shaw for his Reserved. Courtesy Metro-Goldwy n-Mayer
friendship and moral support, as well as his reminders of the Hollywood Cavalcade Copvright ©' 1919 Twentieth Century

things that are most important; and to James Karen for his Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved

constant encouragement and invaluable information deriving It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Copyright © 196?
M-G-M-Pathe Communications Company. All Rights
from his long friendship with Buster and Eleanor Keaton.
Reserved. Courtesv' Metro-Goldwyn-Maycr
I thank m\ editor Elisa Urbanelli for her enthusiasm,
Buster Keaton with Bimbo the elephant in a photo shoot for a
patience, and judicious editing. am also grateful to Kate
1
U.S. Steel advertisement, 1964. Copyright © 1964 Sid Avery.
Guyonvarch of Association Chaplin, Richard W. Bann, Robert Courtesy Motion Picture & Television Photo Archive
S. Birchard, Marc Wanamaker of Bison Archives, Michael Limelight Copyright © 2001 Rov' Export Company
Schlesinger of Columbia Pictures, Melissa Talmadge Cox, I'.stablishment. All Rights Reserved

Gary Dartnall and Tim Lanza of The Douris Corporation, Pajama Party Copyright ©1963 American International

Pictures. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy Metro-Goldvvyn-

Joel C»oss, Lukas HoNorka, Phil Moad of I'he Kobal
Mayer
Collection, Bruce Le\inson, Lo}al I'. Lucas, Da\id Macleod,
Pest From the West Copyright © 1939, renewed 1967
the late Roddy McDowall, Ann Lewis of Metro-Goldwyn-
Columbia Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Mayer, Dean Riesncr, Ruth i'.arl SiKa, Antlion\' Slide, Kevin
Courtesy Columbia Pictures
Eugene Smith. James Talmadge, Roger L. Mayer of Turner San Diego, I Love You Copyright ©2001 Universal City
Entertainment, Sebastian iwardosz, and u\\ faniih', particu- Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved. C'ourtesy Universal

larl\- m\ mother Sandra Vance, for their sui3]5ort. Studios Publishing Rights, a Division ot Universal Studios
Licensing, Inc.

War Italian St}'le C'o])vright "^ 1967 .American International

Pictures.. Ml Rights Reserved. C-ourlesv Metro-Colclwyn-
Maver

238
 iulitor; I'.lisii I lrl)MiK-lli

l,il)iai\ ot Clougrcss OiiLilo^iiiy-iii-l'iibluatioii D.ila

Kcatoii, I'.lcanor.

Busier Kcalon rciiK-inlH'R'd / In I'Jciiior Kcalou and Jeffrey Vance;

alk 1 word In Kc\lii l^rownlow ;

pli()l()<;r.iplis Ironi llic t nllriliDU

ot llic ,\cadcm\ of Motion I'icturc .\rts and Seicnees; Manoali

l^owm.ni, |)liolo<;raplnc' editor,

p. cm.

Includes bil)liogra])liical references and index.

ISBN ()-8in9-4::"-s
1. Keaton, Bnstcr, 1S9S-1966. 2. Keaton, I'.leanor. U)1S-199S.

3. Motion ])ictnre actors and actresses — L'nitcd States —

Biograph). 4. Comedians — United States— Biograplu. I.

Vance, Jeffer\'. II. Bowman, Manoali. III. .\eacleni\ ot Motion

Picture Arts and Sciences. I\'. Title.

PN2287.K4K4"^:()l)il

7914r()2S'09:-dc:i

[B] 00-061853

Text copyright ©2001 Eleanor Keaton and Jeffrex Nance

.Afterword copyright <:'2001 Kexin Brownlovv

Compilation of Illustrations cop\right ©2001

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Published in 2001 b\ Harr\ N..\brams, Incorporated. New "\'ork

All rights reser\ed. Xo part of the contents of this book ma\ be

reproduced without the written perniissioii ot the publisher.

Printed and bound in lapan

H
Harr\ N. Abrams, Inc.

100 Fifth Avenue

New ^hrk.N.Y. 10011

www. abramsbooks.com
 ""^11 II II II.

^^^IPf

^
 ABOUT THE A U T H O

^ I'.lcanor Kcatoii

born

worked
iincl niisul in

ill \
(

irtiuilly
I91H-IWS) wa
I lollywoocl.

ever) nuijor film

Slu

studio ;is a claneer in nnisieals. In

19^H she met Muster Keaton clurini;

a game of bridge; tliey were married

two years later. The eon|)le workeil

together in theater and on telex ision

for tile next twenty-five years, until Buster died in I W/i.

I'.leanor Keaton finished working on this book just before

her death in Oetober 1998.

>^ jM.r

w Jeffrey \'anee

.111 authorit)
is

on
a film areliix

silent-film eoniech.

eollaboraled on two books on Charlie

ist and

Me

I
Chaplin: Wife of the Life of the Party w it

i I-ita Crey Chaplin and Makini; Music

? with Charlie Chafjhn with l.rie )aines.

X'aiice has been imoKed in the restoration of iiiaiix silent

films, inelnding the Buster Keaton films released as I'he Art

of Buster Keaton. lie earned an \l.\. degree in I'.nglish

literature from Boston University and lives in l,os Angeles.

^
SOME OTHER ABRAMS BOOKS
Mar}' Pickford Rediscovered:

Rare Pictures of a Wolhwood lA.'gend

By Kevin Brow nlow

Introduetion by Robert Cushman
2^2 blaek-and-white photographs

S";;j in Soft I'ocus: Pre-Code Uollywood

B\ Mark A. Vieira

275 black-and-white |)hotographs

Jacket front: Buster Keaton, c. 1920. Pliofoi;r;ipli attribnled to I loovcr.

Jacket hack: One of the most famous images of Keaton is this

photograph from I'he Kiiri^ator ( 1924).

i'liologniplis conrtcsv of the Margaret I icrrick i.ibrarx. Academy

Arts ancl Sciences, C'jlifornia

I larr) N. Abrams. inc.

100 I'iftli .\\cnuc

New York, \.V. 10(111

\\ \\ \\ .abramsbooks.com

I'rintcd in Japan ail

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