Steamboat Bill, Jr.

(1928) Charles Reisner, Buster Keaton
viewed: 05/03/08

Buster Keaton rocks.  Steamboat Bill, Jr. is one of his masterpieces, featuring iconic scenes, amazing stunts and choreography, laughs that keen coming 80 years since its production.  After having screened The General (1927) with the kids a couple of months back, I brought them Steamboat Bill, Jr. It was met with glee and hysterics.  It was a great time.

Steamboat Bill, Jr. follows the story of the titular semi-dandy who returns after college in Boston to the agining steamboat captain, Steamboat Bill, Sr. who doesn’t take to his son’s character, clothing, or interest in the daughter of the captain of the posh steamboat who is trying to run him off the river.  After an altercation that sends him to jail, Bill, Jr. attempts to rescue his father and shows him that he is a good character after all.

What ensues is a wind storm, tornado, what have you, that leads to the most amazing visual stunts of the film.  There are many great smaller physical gags that Keaton performs that are equally amazing in the deftness and agility, planning and execution in the earlier part of the film, but Keaton pulls out the stops for the finale.

The most famous scene, in which a building facade falls on top of an unaware Keaton, with him standing amid the rubble as the only point and position in which a window opening falls over him, leaving him unscathed.  It’s a tremendous stunt, but it’s visual inventiveness and humor are utterly palpable.

The kids also loved the finale in which, hanging onto a tree, he goes flying over the town, ultimately landing in the river.

I love watching these films with the kids, both Felix and his 7 year old friend Samantha loved the film, but even my daughter, Clara was enraptured and laughing at everything.  It’s a true testament to the timelessness of these works, especially showing them to kids who still love slick, bright animation of the contemporary sort, over any live action, but also the color or the lack thereof.  The lack of the spoken word.  Once they are involved, they just ride with it.  They loved it and said so emphatically.  It was a total blast.