This is
frequently considered Buster’s worst independent short, although a much funnier
alternate version of the film was discovered in 2013 and we’ve come to realize
that the common cut is most likely a preview version that went through
significant reshoots prior to its official release. I was fortunate enough to see the alternate
version back in 2014, and it’s definitely far superior. It hasn’t been commercially released at this time,
but it sounds like it’ll be included as a bonus feature on Kino Video’s forthcoming
Buster shorts collection, out in May.
For
now, though, the lesser version is the one I’m more familiar with, since I’ve
only seen the alternate cut once. A
review for that may be down the pipeline, but today’s post is on what, until
recently, was believed to be the official verson of The Blacksmith. The plot is
pretty basic: Buster, a blacksmith’s
assistant, gets into huge amounts of trouble.
It involves horses, cars, a giant magnet, a pretty girl, a bit of a
chase, and copious wanton destruction.
Much
like I said with My Wife’s Relations,
The Blacksmith feels a bit more like
a Fatty Arbuckle short than a Buster short, although for different reasons (it
probably seems mean to compare my least favorite Buster shorts to the Arbuckle
stuff, but in general, I really am talking content rather than quality – while
I prefer Buster’s style in his independent work, Arbuckle did very well with
the kind of shorts he made.) This short
has a slapdash feel that’s reminiscent of the Arbuckle stuff, where things just
sort of happen. It comes across as a
string of gags rather than a story made of gags that build and come to a
head. That’s the main trouble with this
short. It feels kind of inattentively
made, with little of Buster’s usual care – repeating almost the exact same “obliviously
making a mess of things” routine with both a horse and a car seems particularly
sloppy. (Side note: the heavy emphasis on property destruction
has an Arbuckle ring to it as well. I
could totally see Fatty and Buster accidentally destroying a Rolls Royce
together.)
However,
the short has its good points, too. When
Buster’s creativity shines through, it’s like a breath of fresh air. The scene where Buster plays an accommodating
shoe salesman to a fussy horse is a delight, and I like the little touches of
the not-so-work-related uses Buster makes of the forge, like cooking his
breakfast on it. Also, who doesn’t love
a good startled hat-flip?
No surprise,
the short features Big Joe Roberts and Virginia Fox. Roberts is the strict blacksmith, and Fox, as
usual, is the girl, although the love story feels pretty tacked-on here. They seem to get together more for something
to do than anything else – we don’t even get to see Buster’s patented
lovestruck look! It’s unconfirmed, since
Buster, Roberts, and Fox are the only credited names, but there’s been speculation
that Charlotte Greenwood (who later appeared with Buster in the MGM film Parlor, Bedroom and Bath,) may also make
a small appearance. While I couldn’t say
for sure, the actress in question bears a resemblance to Greenwood, and the
flexibility she shows off definitely reminds me of Greenwood’s acrobatic
performance in Parlor, Bedroom and Bath
(the big scene she shared with Buster was easily the best part of that film.)
Warnings
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