The Laugh Special of the Age. See It.
Director: Charles Reisner, Buster Keaton
The just-out-of-college, effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was a child.
70 min
Rating: 7.615/10
Released
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Top Cast
Buster Keaton
William 'Willie' Canfield Jr.
Tom McGuire
John James 'J.J.' King
Ernest Torrence
William 'Steamboat Bill' Canfield Sr.
Marion Byron
Kitty King
Movie Info
Director: Charles Reisner, Buster Keaton
Production Companies: Buster Keaton Productions
Countries: United States of America
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What Others Said
CinemaSerf:
"Steamboat Bill" (Ernest Torrence) gets a letter from his son - whom he hasn't seen for many years - saying he is coming to visit. Excitedly, he and his first mate "Tom" go to meet the train... What they meet, after a few mishaps, is a young man who looks more like a Parisian onion seller than a strapping man of the river! Add to this, that it turns out "Willie" (Buster Keaton) is also sweet on the daughter "Kitty" (Marion Byron) of dad's local arch enemy "JJ King" (Tom McGuire) and the poor old fella's disappointment is complete. Loads of daft shenanigans follow as the young man tries to impress his beau, her father, his own father and just about everyone else - largely failing in the attempt until his dad ends up incarcerated. The general rule here is - if it can go wrong for "Willie", it will - but it goes wrong devilishly well. The humour is, mostly, cleverly woven into a story with plenty of action, and a little romance. Admittedly, it does feature some slapstick - not my favourite form of comedy - but it is timed to such perfection as to be more art than acting; and once the tumultuous storm descends at the end, the staging effects are cleverly devised and, of course - there are opportunities a-plenty for our young lad to learn how to tie complicated nautical knots; pilot the steamship and come to the rescue...! This is great fun; and demonstrates the athleticism of the star marvellously. There are only 5 folks in this, and they all pull their weight - it's really good.