I’ve
said before that one of the (many) things I love about Buster Keaton is his penchant
for going out on a final laugh. Thinking
about comedies today, I feel like the “comic climax” isn’t really a thing
anymore. There’s not as much of a sense
of jokes building to a head, or of a culminating punch line that hits you just
before the credits. With Buster, though,
the ending gag in a film or short is usually fantastic, sometimes one of the
best laughs in the piece. Today’s focus
is on independent shorts, but I may do the silent features later. (Comedic spoilers ahead.)
One
Week
Classic. Every beat of the climax is perfect – towing
the ramshackle house with the car, getting it stuck on the train tracks, and realizing
that the train was on the other track, only to have the house demolished by a
train coming the other way. The last image,
Buster putting the “For Sale” sign next to the wreck of the house before he and
his wife walk off into the sunset, is too funny!
The
Playhouse
This
whole short mines good comedy out of the twin sister angle, with Buster forever
getting into trouble when he mixes up his girlfriend and her sister. The final joke is terrific. Having finally determined which is which,
Buster paints an ‘X’ on the back of his girlfriend’s neck before going in to
the justice of the peace. And the
kicker? Even though he doesn’t let her
out of his sight the whole time, he still
double-checks her neck as they’re walking up the steps!
The
Boat
Nothing
like a good silent pun. The Damfino/damn-if-I-know
joke appears earlier in the short when Buster radios for help. Bringing it back at the end is inspired, and
executed so slyly – having already had the pun once, we don’t need another
intertitle saying it. When his wife asks where they’ve landed, it
can be read clear as day on Buster’s lips:
“Damfino.” Fade to black.
The
Paleface
This
one’s just cute. Having saved the day,
Buster marries the Indian princess, and they kiss with a dramatic embrace. At the “two years later” intertitle, you
expect to see Buster and his wife coming out of the teepee with a gaggle of
kids; whenever the marriage comes just before
the end, children are the typical go-to resolution. Instead, the film cuts back to show them still kissing in the same pose. They part, both taking a breath before Buster
dives in for more. Ha!
The
Balloonatic
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