The Fall of Buster Keaton: His Films for MGM, Educational Pictures, and Columbia

A Fresh Look at the Later Keaton Films
Unlike the onscreen characters of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Harry Langdon, Buster Keaton’s persona seemed to grow old gracefully. His later films (made after his heyday as one of the silent screen’s greatest practitioners) were hardly works of art, but they showed the aging comedian still very much in command of his unmatched pantomimic skills. Even his voice–with its flat, midwestern accent and whiskey-soaked gravel–seems to add to (rather than take away from) his image as a no-nonsense clown. Although he was less successful in middle-age than he would be in his youth or his dotage, Buster was always working–either behind or in front of the camera–making audiences laugh and generating revenue for his producers. These years of workmanlike productivity (roughly 1928-1965) have been minimized so often by film historians, that it’s difficult to see them with any objectivity. It is easier (and more rewarding) to simply watch The General (1926) for the umpteenth time.It took some imagination, but James L. Neibaur has made a fresh assessment of the late-silent and early-sound films that Buster made at MGM, the two-reelers that he starred in for Educational Pictures and Columbia Studios, as well as his last appearances in various independent productions. With the same sense of methodical organization that he used to assess Charlie Chaplin’s early work (in Chaplin at Essanay) and Buster’s apprenticeship with the amazing Roscoe Arbuckle (in Arbuckle and Keaton: Their 14 Film Collaborations), Mr. Neibaur carefully examines each of Buster’s later works, be they good, bad or indifferent. What prevents this from becoming an exercise in tedium is the author’s thoughtful insights and efficient storytelling. It was, in fact, a pleasure to read, from start to finish.Excuse me while I go put on the new Kino-International DVD of Buster’s Educational shorts. I want to see if some of them hold up as well as Mr. Neibaur claims they do. Something tells me they will.

Fine study of Keaton’s talkies
There’s no denying that Buster Keaton’s shorts and features from the 1920s represent his finest achievements as a comedian and filmmaker. THE GENERAL, SHERLOCK JR., THE NAVIGATOR, ONE WEEK, THE BOAT, COPS and others are among the greatest motion pictures ever made. Yet far too often, critics and biographers have overlooked Keaton’s later efforts, the films he made after he lost, for various reasons, creative control over his work. True, these later comedies are often a pale shadow of his finest pictures but as is the case with Laurel & Hardy’s later films, Keaton’s efforts for M-G-M, Educational and Columbia prove there’s still a very real comic talent at work, no matter how unsatisfactory the vehicle is. THE FALL OF BUSTER KEATON does a fine job of examining this period of Keaton’s film career.Since this output covers three different studios with three different sets of pros and cons connected to each, it should come as no surprise that the films in question are quite a mixed bag. Some of them are painfully unfunny, emphasizing the tragic squandering of Keaton’s comic gifts (squandering on the part of screenwriters, producers and directors, not by Keaton himself). But they aren’t all clinkers either. Despite the alcoholism and marital woes that devastated his private life, Keaton was still a superb physical comedian and was still capable of executing impressive physical stunts. And when the right elements converged, Keaton could still produce magical moments comparable to his glory days.The book concludes with a trenchant overview of Keaton’s post-movie stardom career as an anonymous gag writer, TV performer and rediscovered artist.I don’t agree with all of the author’s critical assessments. He rates Buster’s largely mediocre Columbia efforts much higher than I do, and the Educational short JAIL BAIT is praised, I feel, beyond its worth, at the expense of other, funnier entries in the series. But this does not detract from my enjoyment of this volume. THE FALL OF BUSTER KEATON accomplishes what all good movie books do–it makes me want to watch these films all over again.