'Steamboat Bill, Jr.' perhaps marked the end of a golden era for fans of silent comedy genius Buster Keaton. The film was the last produced by Keaton's independent production team before his move to MGM, from which point, it is often said, his work had a marked decline in quality. However, having not yet seen any of Keaton's later works, I am still reserving my judgment. In any case, let us return to the tour-de-force that is 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.'
The first half of this film is amusing, without being uproariously so, basically acting as a lead-up to the fantastic climactic storm sequence. The crusty, irritable captain of a battered steamboat (Ernest Torrence) receives a letter from his estranged son, informing him that he has plans to visit after so many years of separation. However, Steamboat Bill Sr's enthusiasm at having the assistance of a younger version of himself quickly evaporates when Steamboat Bill Jr (Keaton) arrives in town, sporting a delicate moustache and a sophisticated French artist's hat. Furious, Bill Sr sets about improving his son's image, only to find that his son won't accept any drastic changes quite so willingly. Bill Sr is even more aghast when he discovers that Keaton has already fallen in love Marion King (played by Marion Byron, just seventeen years old when the film was released), the pretty daughter of John James King (Tom McGuire), his arch enemy and main rival in the steam-boating business. This section of the film contains some clever sight gags including a hilarious routine involving a multitude of different hats but it noticeably lacks the frenetic energy and remarkable stunt-work that is the reason we love to watch Buster Keaton.
The second half of the film, however, is a completely different story. When a destructive cyclone bears down upon the small riverside town, all hell breaks loose, and young Steamboat Bill Jr finds himself wondering precariously through a crumbling labyrinth of abandoned streets and buildings. As he endeavours to rescue his father, who is locked up in the local jail, Keaton endures the savagery of the hurricane winds and flying debris, frequently dodging tumbling building walls. The storm is probably the most ambitious extended silent comedy sequence since Harold Lloyd scaled the skyscraper in 'Safety Last! (1923),' and it is remarkable how, in the absence of any elaborate special effects, it all seems so believable. The storm effects were created using six powerful Liberty-motor wind machines and a 120-foot crane, and directors Charles Reisner and Keaton (uncredited) unleashed the machines' wrath on $135,000 worth of breakaway street sets specially built for the film.
In one extremely memorable stunt which has since become legendary Keaton stands willfully still as an entire building wall tumbles down on top of him, his only saving grace being the attic window that was intricately positioned to pass over his body. Believe it or not, there were no optical tricks employed to pull off this shot; the wall was very much solid, and Keaton's death would have been very much real had he positioned himself incorrectly. Reportedly, half of the film's crew walked off the set on the day that this stunt was performed, lest it went horribly wrong and Keaton was killed. If all this wasn't remarkable enough, then consider this final fascinating observation: throughout the entire stunt, as the mammoth wall thunders down upon him and his entire life hangs in the balance, Keaton doesn't even flinch once
The first half of this film is amusing, without being uproariously so, basically acting as a lead-up to the fantastic climactic storm sequence. The crusty, irritable captain of a battered steamboat (Ernest Torrence) receives a letter from his estranged son, informing him that he has plans to visit after so many years of separation. However, Steamboat Bill Sr's enthusiasm at having the assistance of a younger version of himself quickly evaporates when Steamboat Bill Jr (Keaton) arrives in town, sporting a delicate moustache and a sophisticated French artist's hat. Furious, Bill Sr sets about improving his son's image, only to find that his son won't accept any drastic changes quite so willingly. Bill Sr is even more aghast when he discovers that Keaton has already fallen in love Marion King (played by Marion Byron, just seventeen years old when the film was released), the pretty daughter of John James King (Tom McGuire), his arch enemy and main rival in the steam-boating business. This section of the film contains some clever sight gags including a hilarious routine involving a multitude of different hats but it noticeably lacks the frenetic energy and remarkable stunt-work that is the reason we love to watch Buster Keaton.
The second half of the film, however, is a completely different story. When a destructive cyclone bears down upon the small riverside town, all hell breaks loose, and young Steamboat Bill Jr finds himself wondering precariously through a crumbling labyrinth of abandoned streets and buildings. As he endeavours to rescue his father, who is locked up in the local jail, Keaton endures the savagery of the hurricane winds and flying debris, frequently dodging tumbling building walls. The storm is probably the most ambitious extended silent comedy sequence since Harold Lloyd scaled the skyscraper in 'Safety Last! (1923),' and it is remarkable how, in the absence of any elaborate special effects, it all seems so believable. The storm effects were created using six powerful Liberty-motor wind machines and a 120-foot crane, and directors Charles Reisner and Keaton (uncredited) unleashed the machines' wrath on $135,000 worth of breakaway street sets specially built for the film.
In one extremely memorable stunt which has since become legendary Keaton stands willfully still as an entire building wall tumbles down on top of him, his only saving grace being the attic window that was intricately positioned to pass over his body. Believe it or not, there were no optical tricks employed to pull off this shot; the wall was very much solid, and Keaton's death would have been very much real had he positioned himself incorrectly. Reportedly, half of the film's crew walked off the set on the day that this stunt was performed, lest it went horribly wrong and Keaton was killed. If all this wasn't remarkable enough, then consider this final fascinating observation: throughout the entire stunt, as the mammoth wall thunders down upon him and his entire life hangs in the balance, Keaton doesn't even flinch once