Battling Butler (1926)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Buster Keaton

Writers:

Al Boasberg (writer)
Lex Neal (writer)

Release Date:

19 September 1926 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Alfred's father wants him to make of a man of himself so sends him off on a hunting and fishing trip...

Plot Keywords:

Boxing Film | Kicked In Butt | Character Name In Title

Cast

Buster Keaton	...	Alfred Butler
Sally O'Neil	...	The mountain girl
Walter James	...	Her father
Budd Fine	...	Her brother (as Bud Fine)
Francis McDonald	...	Alfred Battling Butler
Mary O'Brien	...	His wife
Tom Wilson	...	His trainer
Eddie Borden	...	His manager
Snitz Edwards	...	Alfred's valet

Runtime:

Spain:61 min | USA:71 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:Atp | USA:Passed | UK:U | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company:

Buster Keaton Productions

Movie Connections:

Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997) (TV)

The set up scenes are funnier than the main plot scenes

The entire set up sequence which runs for a third of the film has more gags and is more fun than the latter two thirds set at the training camp. The sheer lunacy of "roughing it" with all the comforts of home, including one's own butler, is inspired. This sequence in the wilds contains all of the best gags: wildfowl all around but unobserved by our hero; the duck who keeps ducking under the boat when Buster is trying to get organized to shoot it; the dinner table slowly sinking in the mud; the heroine walking a lost Buster back to his camp after he has gallantly walked her home.

In contrast the rest of the film has only the eight mile run dupe and Buster combating with the fighting ring ropes to make us chuckle. That's a lot of film time with nothing amusing happening. Buster seems to have become uninspired once the pathos of the mistaken identity narrative take over. Still it's worth seeing the film for the first sequence.

KINO's print is crisp and clear and the music accompanying their print is made up of player organ, drums, violin and triangle.