Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Charles Reisner

Writer:

Carl Harbaugh (story)

Release Date:

20 May 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

Tagline:

The Laugh Special of the Age. See It.

Plot:

The effete son of a cantankerous riverboat captain comes to join his father's crew.

Plot Keywords:

Captain | River | Rescue | Riverboat | Hurricane

Cast

Buster Keaton	...	William Canfield Jr.
Tom McGuire	...	John James King
Ernest Torrence	...	William 'Steamboat Bill' Canfield Sr.
Tom Lewis	...	Tom Carter, first mate
Marion Byron	...	Kitty King (credit only)

Runtime:

71 min | Argentina:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U | Portugal:M/6 | Sweden:Btl | Spain:T | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Sacramento River, California, USA

Company:

Buster Keaton Productions

Trivia:

The stunt where the wall falls on Buster Keaton was performed with an actual full-weight wall. Half the crew walked off the set rather than participate in a stunt that would have killed Keaton if he had been slightly off position.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Just before the house facade falls on Keaton, a stagehand can be seen through the first floor window giving it an extra push.

Quotes:

William 'Steamboat Bill' Canfield Sr.: I'll run on this river if I'm the only passenger on the boat.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Steamboat Willie (1928)

That Hurricane Scene Blew Me Away!

Reading the back of the video or DVD case can be misleading as it made this movie to be one in which Buster learns from his dad the ropes of running of steamboat. Well, in the end it looks like he did just that, but his "training" was about less than a minute in this 71-minute film.

The rest of the movie is about other things, such as Buster - reunited with a Dad who never knew him - meeting his father, getting a new outfit (especially a different hat), beginning a romance with the daughter of the competing steamboat operator, later trying to get his father out of jail, on and on.

The part that makes this one of the more memorable silent films of all time is the hurricane segment near the end. There are some amazing scenes in that, including a very famous one in which an entire side of house falls on Buster, who escapes without injury because an open door on the house is exactly where Keaton is standing. He had not been exactly on the right mark, the famous comedian could have been seriously injured in that stunt. The man had guts, that's for sure.

Anyway, our hero does show in the end that he learned a few things about navigating the boat as he rescues all the major characters following the hurricane. Great stuff and a suspenseful finish.