Another
surprisingly fun Educational short. This
one is funny, put together well, and has quite a few nice Bustery
elements. It seems to me that Buster
started this period appearing in
shorts for Educational and gradually transitioned more to making shorts for them. Like
Grand Slam Opera, you can really feel
Buster’s hand in the comedy here, in the actual construction of the gags. Did Buster need some time before he was ready
to get back in the saddle, or did Educational need some time before it was ready
to hand over the reins?
Buster
plays an eager but disaster-prone fireman who’s been carted off to a smaller
fire house with the understanding that he’s on his final chance. Naturally, he starts out making a mess of
things – after losing track of the fire truck, he starts knocking on doors to
ask strangers if they know “where the fire is,” and since he’s new in town, he
can’t even find his way back to the station.
However, a bit of ill-advised strategy on the part of the fire chief’s
two daughters just might give Buster the chance he needs to become a hero.
First
of all, there are some good humorous touches seasoned throughout the
short. The dialogue feels a little bit
snappier than in a lot of the Educational shorts, and I like the sight gag of
all the firemen gardening (to show how little action they see at Buster’s new
station.) Also, the different elements
of the story come together really nicely.
The short establishes a clear conflict right off the bat, throws in
solid complications, and lays the groundwork for the beats that lead up to the
comedic climax. Much of the humor is
woven organically into the plot instead of meandering away from it, and
overall, it just feels fairly tight and well-thought-out.
Although
there are some slight “chump” elements to Buster’s character here – more than
one character delicately questions his sanity, what with him being a fireman
who can find neither the fire he’s looking for nor the fire station where he works – but they really don’t bother
me. I think that’s probably because they
don’t seem to matter to Buster. He’s so
focused on doing his job and (attempting) to do it well that he doesn’t notice
any sidelong glances thrown his way, so the short doesn’t have that “poor Buster”
air about it. He simply continues his
business, indifferent to how crazy he seems.
And of
course, he gets to come through in a big way.
The “one-man fire department” climax, complete with Buster’s
awesomely-hilarious DIY fire truck, is terrific. He shows mad ingenuity, is fantastically
clumsy but tenaciously plows ahead to win the day, and gets a really fun
opportunity to shine. Everything about
it is fab, from Buster’s tumbles to his reaction shots, and who doesn’t love
Buster frantically trying to prop a picket fence against the side of a house
because he’s mistaken it for his ladder?
Great stuff.
Warnings
Slapstick
violence and some “don’t try this at home.”
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