• Literally Anything: Movies
  • Film Index
  • The Criterion Collection
  • Collections
  • Academy Award Nominees
  • Notes and Links
  • About
  LITERALLY ANYTHING: MOVIES

Updates

Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)

10/28/2016

Comments

 
Picture
An era before film ratings.  Ahh...a breath of fresh air.  There's not a thing objectionable about this movie, so feel free to watch with Grandma and the kids.

DIRECTORS: Chas F. Reisner and Buster Keaton

Chaplin I have down.  The Marx Brothers I crush with.  Harold Lloyd I have a firm grasp on.  Buster Keaton is my weak spot.  I never watched him.  I don't know how I managed to avoid his movies for so long, but I did.  That probably makes me a bad person, so I apologize for that.   Although I really want to sit down and watch the rest of his movies in one sitting.  Okay, that's a bit extreme.

I don't want to pigeonhole this movie because I do believe that Keaton has his own voice from the rest of the era.  I can't help but make comparisons to Chaplin's Tramp character.  They share many of the same qualities in terms of physical humor and depending on an archetype.  But Keaton holds his own narrative and his own commentary.  Not really attacking the political landscape as Chaplin does, Keaton instead focuses on the hardships of family.  Like many stories, Steamboat Bill Jr. builds its foundation on the Romeo and Juliet trope.  The first half of the movie is sweet and romantic and typical.  Keaton plays the abandoned son of a steamboat captain.  I think I might be most attacked for how many base and low brow comparisons I make, but I can't help but see Jim Varney and the influence this movie makes on the Ernest franchise.  

But maybe that's what this film blog is all about: the abandonment of snobbery.  The trope of estranged and disappointed father plays well here.  Back in the day, Steamboat Bill Jr. probably wasn't viewed as some artistic triumph.  This is just a fun movie with hilarious physical gags, much like Ernest P. Worrell presented to me.  I don't know why the jokes really land significantly better in an old timey setting.  Perhaps it is the lack of winking at the camera which gives these kinds of movies an atmosphere of class, but every joke pretty much lands.

The second half of the movie is what astonishes me.  The budget on this movie must have been astronomical.  For an era that mass produced movies on the cheap, the hurricane hitting the town is absolutely impressive.  On top of that, I keep thinking that Keaton probably almost really died a dozen times.  After finishing Strangers on a Train with the class and discovering that the merry-go-round operator was actually in danger the entire time, there is no doubt in my mind that the stunts pulled were without precaution and probably extremely dangerous.  And yet, the stunts kept coming.  Keaton almost died on screen and then he came back and did it again.  

The movie is pretty fantastic.  It doesn't get as heart-wrenching as The Kid because the family relationship is played for laughs, but there is something genuinely touching here.  Maybe this movie isn't perfect, but it has me straight up Jonesing to watch Sherlock Jr.

​
Comments

    Film is great.  It can challenge us.   It can entertain us.  It can puzzle us.  It can awaken us.  

    It can often do all these things at the same time.  

    I encourage all you students of film to challenge themselves with this film blog.  Watch stuff outside your comfort zone.  Go beyond what looks cool or what is easy to swallow.  Expand your horizons and move beyond your gut reactions.  

    We live in an era where we can watch any movie we want in the comfort of our homes.  Take advantage of that and explore.

    Author

    Mr. H has watched an upsetting amount of movies.  They bring him a level of joy that few things have achieved.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Literally Anything: Movies
  • Film Index
  • The Criterion Collection
  • Collections
  • Academy Award Nominees
  • Notes and Links
  • About