Spite Marriage (1929)

Director:

Edward Sedgwick
(more)

Writers:

Robert E. Hopkins (titles)
Lew Lipton (story)
(more)

Release Date:

6 April 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Elmer is a dry cleaner. He is madly in love with stage star Trilby Drew; for each of her 35 performances...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Pants Presser | Yacht | Theater | Actor

Cast

Buster Keaton	...	Elmer Gantry
Dorothy Sebastian	...	Trilby Drew
Edward Earle	...	Lionel Benmore
Leila Hyams	...	Ethyl Norcrosse
William Bechtel	...	Nussbaum
Jack Byron	...	Scarzi (as John Byron)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ray Cooke	...	The Bellboy (uncredited)
Pat Harmon	...	Ship Captain (uncredited)
Sydney Jarvis	...	Man in audience next to Elmer (uncredited)
Theodore Lorch	...	Actor as 'Union Officer' (uncredited)
Hank Mann	...	Stage Manager (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Tough Sailor (uncredited)

Directed by
Edward Sedgwick
Buster Keaton		(uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert E. Hopkins		titles (as Robert Hopkins)
Lew Lipton		story
Ernest Pagano		adaptation (as Ernest S. Pagano)
Richard Schayer		writer

Produced by
Buster Keaton	....	producer
Edward Sedgwick	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Fritz Stahlberg		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Reggie Lanning

Film Editing by
Frank Sullivan

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Costume Design by
David Cox

Production Management
Lawrence Weingarten	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Rose	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
George Gordon Nogle	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
William Axt	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Edward Cupero	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Richard Schayer	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Joseph M. Schenck Productions (for)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1929) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Joseph M. Schenck Productions

Trivia:

Buster Keaton wanted this film to be a full talkie, but MGM released it with only a musical score and sound effects.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the dressing-room scene while attempting to trim the hair for his false beard, Elmer accidentally severs the left-hand shoulder strap of his vest and has no time to repair it. When we see him hurriedly changing back into his smart clothes after the performance, both straps are still whole.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Roman Holiday (1953)

Buster's gentle swan song silent.

Yes, this was the last film Keaton made without dialogue, but in reality, it wasn't silent at all. It was a sound film, utilizing a full orchestral score with many many sound effects (applause, audience laughter, horse gallops ala coconuts, crowd noises, cash register rings, steam whistles, ambient voices, cheers, etc.) Calling it Keaton's last silent is rather a misnomer - dialogueless, yes, but not released without a soundtrack.

It is a gentle work. Lovestruck Buster marries a woman who is on the rebound from a spurned lover, but through Buster's bravery in defending her, she learns to love him, so a happy ending is ensured.

We miss the usual Buster outfit, especially with the pork pie hat. Also closeups reveal Buster's face rather lined - he's getting too old either to play a young leading man or a love interest at all - which works against the plausibility of the plot line. There are only six main characters. Actually there are only six gag routine set ups:

1. The hat-raising competition which occurs three times; 2. Buster's attempt to attach a fake beard with spirit gum; 3. Buster's clumsy onstage movements which wreck the sets; 4. Dorothy Sebastian's luring thugs down a ship's corridor to be coshed by a hiding Buster; 5. Climactic fight on deck with rigging prop. 6. Putting the rubbery drunken wife to bed.

Very few for a Keaton feature (77 minutes). The most memorable is the putting the wife to bed scene, which runs under five minutes. Seen once or twice though, it is not one to return to over and over again as in most Keaton films. It occurs exactly halfway in the film.

It is a shame that the MGM/UA Turner VHS (released in 1990) is out of print. The copy used is perfection itself - crystal sharp and clear and with a pristine soundtrack (no hiss from worn Vitaphone discs transferred to film stock). It's as if the sound had been recorded directly onto the film track, and indeed by 1929, when it was released, perhaps the industry had already discarded the disc method. Hopes are that this will be reissued on DVD as it is important to have ALL of Buster's silent work available to the public, even the small pieces like this one.

Certainly worth seeing as a fine comedy and by the mere fact that it is Buster performing.