Given
the subject matter of this short and the fact that it was the 1920s, it can be
a little uncomfortable at times, which knocks off some points in my overall
regard for it. That said, it has some
great humor, the narrative is put together well, and while it’s insensitive, it’s
not nearly as racist as it might have been (yes, that last point is pretty
faint praise, but it’s true.)
The
members of a Native American tribe, having been cheated by some greedy white
businessmen, are being forced off their land.
Three guesses as to who comes along when the chief orders his people to
kill the next white guy to show up? Yep,
Buster the daydreamy lepidopterist wanders in and finds himself receiving a chilly
welcome. Ultimately, though, once the
initial chasing and attempted executions blow over, Buster joins the tribe and
helps them in their mission to retain their land, declaring that “us Indians
must stick together.”
We’ll
start with the race stuff – I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears
repeating. The short has definite race
problems. While I understand that, as
the star, of course Buster is going to be important, his involvement with the
tribe feels White Savior-ish. There’s
also the fact that most (all?) of the Native Americans are played by white
actors in redface, including perennial costars Big Joe Roberts as the chief and
Virginia Fox as the girl (who’s barely even there – Snow White and the Seven Dwarves lays better groundwork for Prince
Charming, and he’s in, like, two scenes.)
This would’ve been standard industry procedure at the time – as such, it’s
uncomfortable, and it definitely bugs me, but it’s very much a product of the
era. As far as the depictions of the
Native Americans themselves go, for me, the only really serious infraction is
when Buster cheats death through some quick thinking and they think he’s a
god. Very
not cool.
Other
than that, it’s mildly insensitive throughout, but I don’t think it’s overtly
racist. After their early antagonism
with one another, Buster and the Native Americans are clearly the “good guys”
against the evil white land developers, and I enjoy the way Buster plays around
with mixing the cultures. Once he joins
the tribe, I like the feather in his porkpie hat and what appear to be slap
shoe moccasins. Buster “conducting” a
war dance is really funny, as is his pulling one tribe member aside to practice
his footwork. And as for Buster
evading/outwitting the Native Americans when they’re chasing him in the early
scenes, this is exactly the sort of stuff Buster pulls all the time. He makes white cops, rivals, and thugs look
foolish by besting them with silly tactics, so why not do the same with Native
Americans? Not to mention, mistaking him
for a god aside, they’re fairly on the ball.
There are a couple of fun scenes where Buster thinks he’s gotten the upper
hand, only to realize they’re totally onto him.
So what
about the rest of the short? Some great
moments and very funny stuff. The
asbestos suit is a stroke of genius, I love the final gag, and there’s some
impression action, including an epic tumble and an actual 85-foot freefall. The
little comic touches are really effective; I love the whole tribe lifting the
chief onto his horse, Buster’s puzzled “is it raining?” gesture when an arrow
appears as his feet (ha!), and Buster trying to punch a butterfly will always be hilarious.
Warnings
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