The Navigator (1924)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Directors:

Donald Crisp
Buster Keaton

Writers:

Clyde Bruckman (writer)
Jean C. Havez (writer)

Release Date:

13 October 1924 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Two spoiled rich people find themselves trapped on an empty passenger ship.

Plot Keywords:

Millionaire | Native | Scuba Diving | Sea | Ship

Cast

Buster Keaton	...	Rollo Treadway
Kathryn McGuire	...	Betsy O'Brien
Frederick Vroom	...	John O'Brien

Runtime:

59 min | Sweden:75 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Lake Tahoe, California, USA

Company:

Buster Keaton Productions

Trivia:

The underwater scenes of Buster Keaton trying to repair the ship in full diving gear were originally intended to be filmed in the local municipal swimming pool. However, the pool was not deep enough, so higher retaining walls were built around the edges, to hold more water. Unfortunately, the weight of the additional water broke the bottom of the pool, and Keaton had to pay for the repair. The production was moved to Lake Tahoe, where the water was very clear, but so cold that Keaton could only stay under for ten minutes at a time. The camera crew was sent down in a watertight box, with ice packed around the camera to keep the lens from fogging over.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Leader of a small gathering: Gentlemen, the enemy have just purchased the steamship Navigator.
[Walks over to open the double doors, and gestures to a vessel outside]
Leader of a small gathering: There she lies now, and it is our patriotic duty to destroy that ship. We will send her adrift in the fog tonight before the new crew goes aboard. The wind - the tide - and the rocks will do the rest.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fantôme d'Henri Langlois, Le (2004)

Buster's as Funny as Ever, on Land or ... at Sea!

Rollo Treadway (Buster Keaton) is a very rich young man and he asks Betsy O'Brien (Kathryn McGuire) to marry him. She refuses, and, eventually, they both end up on a 500-foot yacht, the Navigator, alone. After an unintentional (and amusing) hide-and-seek, they find each other and learn to live without servants, miles from home. All goes rather well until land is sighted, for cannibals inhabit the island. After many attempts at warding them off, the man-eaters are closing in... You should definitely see this film if you are a fan of Buster Keaton or of silent comedy in general. In some scenes, I could not stop laughing. Surely, the same effect will be produced in future viewers.