This was one of the two-reelers Buster made for Educational pictures in the thirties. These films were nowhere near as good as his classic work from the twenties, nevertheless they do provide amusing entertainment. In this one Buster is eloping with his sweetheart and unbeknownst to them the shop next door is being burgled. The police arrive looking for the burglars and Buster and his girl mistakenly head off in the cop car. Before long they are being chased, leading to some shenanigans in a farm and with hitch-hiking attempts. This little film is not as bad as some would have you believe and is worth seeing, especially if you're a Buster fan.
4 Reviews
Mildly diverting...
planktonrules28 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Buster Keaton's greatest films were made in the 1920s. However, when the sound era came about, his films faded dramatically in quality. Much of this can be attributed to his moving to MGM--who had absolutely no idea how to handle the comic. Instead of relying on his physicality and natural talents, they shoved him into bizarre plots--teamed with the VERY overbearing Jimmy Durante--the absolute worst pairing in film history. Fortunately, in the mid-1930s Keaton signed up to make shorts for the tiny studio Educational Pictures. While these films aren't even close to the quality of the old films, they were a heck of a lot better than most of his MGM flicks.
Unfortunately, among the Educational productions, "The E-Flat Man" might be among the least funny. It's mildly diverting and has a cute parody of the hitchhiking scene from "It Happened One Night", but otherwise I recommend you try one of his other films for the studio.
The plot involves Buster trying to elope with a young lady. However, they mistakenly take a police car instead of their own and are now wanted criminals. The police soon realize what happened but the pair still think they are wanted and spend too much of the film trying not to get caught. A rather listless plot, but it could be worse...
Unfortunately, among the Educational productions, "The E-Flat Man" might be among the least funny. It's mildly diverting and has a cute parody of the hitchhiking scene from "It Happened One Night", but otherwise I recommend you try one of his other films for the studio.
The plot involves Buster trying to elope with a young lady. However, they mistakenly take a police car instead of their own and are now wanted criminals. The police soon realize what happened but the pair still think they are wanted and spend too much of the film trying not to get caught. A rather listless plot, but it could be worse...
How you gonna keep em' down on the farm?
mark.waltz27 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
With fresh baked donuts, that's how, literally ringed around a duck's neck, and fresh outa the fryer. Eloping couple Buster Keaton and Dorothea Kent end up having a literal roll in the hay, having gone into hiding after being mistakenly believed to be thieves after accidentally stealing a police car while trying to elope. The funniest of the Educational Buster Keaton shorts I've seen up until now, with some genuine belly laughs, especially coming from their roll and rise from the hay. It's obvious that Keaton has found his footing in the world of short films, and adding lovely Ms. Kent into the series was a wise move.
Another Sad One from Keaton
Michael_Elliott1 May 2011
E-Flat Man, The (1935)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Here's yet another very unfunny Buster Keaton film that he did at Educational Pictures. This time out Elmer (Keaton) and his girlfriend (Dorothea Kent) are about to elope but while they're sneaking out of her house a robbery is taking place next door. The thieves head off in Keaton's car and the future husband and wife team accidentally take a police car. The couple hear that they're wanted by police so they go on the run but soon the police learn the truth but our young couple don't get the news that they're no longer wanted so they just keep running. THE E-FLAT MAN is yet another dud from Keaton and Educational. I think it's fair to say that no one should go into any of these Educational pictures expecting anything near his classic silent pictures but at the same time I don't think it's too much to ask that they at least deliver a few laughs but sadly that never happens. This is a pretty flat story from start to finish as the screenplay really doesn't offer us anything we haven't seen countless times before. Fans of Keaton's THE SCARECROW will see a similar scenes here but you'll also see how badly it doesn't work here. There's even a spoof of the hitchhiking scene from IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT but it too falls flat on its face. We even get a bizarre ending on board a train that comes out of no where and ends just as fast without the joke ever paying off. The one saving grace is that Keaton and Kent at least has some nice chemistry together. Keaton's performance is somewhat lacking but Kent is so cute and charming that she'll at least put a smile on your face.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Here's yet another very unfunny Buster Keaton film that he did at Educational Pictures. This time out Elmer (Keaton) and his girlfriend (Dorothea Kent) are about to elope but while they're sneaking out of her house a robbery is taking place next door. The thieves head off in Keaton's car and the future husband and wife team accidentally take a police car. The couple hear that they're wanted by police so they go on the run but soon the police learn the truth but our young couple don't get the news that they're no longer wanted so they just keep running. THE E-FLAT MAN is yet another dud from Keaton and Educational. I think it's fair to say that no one should go into any of these Educational pictures expecting anything near his classic silent pictures but at the same time I don't think it's too much to ask that they at least deliver a few laughs but sadly that never happens. This is a pretty flat story from start to finish as the screenplay really doesn't offer us anything we haven't seen countless times before. Fans of Keaton's THE SCARECROW will see a similar scenes here but you'll also see how badly it doesn't work here. There's even a spoof of the hitchhiking scene from IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT but it too falls flat on its face. We even get a bizarre ending on board a train that comes out of no where and ends just as fast without the joke ever paying off. The one saving grace is that Keaton and Kent at least has some nice chemistry together. Keaton's performance is somewhat lacking but Kent is so cute and charming that she'll at least put a smile on your face.
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