Top Five Redeeming MGM Moments: Buster Keaton

I spent lots of time taking Buster Keaton’s MGM talkies to task, as they well deserve, but there’s a reason all of them – save Free and Easy, which is a crime against movies – are written up as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly posts.  There is good there.  This is Buster we’re talking about, and he almost always wrestled at least one wonderful scene or moment into these films.  Here are my favorites – you’ll notice they’re heavy on physical comedy.  What does that tell you, MGM?

(Some of the pictures are pending.  I couldn't find shots of all the pertinent scenes online, and since I'm moving this weekend, all my movies are in boxes right now.)

The Art of Seduction (Parlor, Bedroom and Bath)

Straitlaced Reggie wants to convince the girl he loves that he’s a roguish playboy, but he’s not sure how to go about it.  A ringer is brought in to teach him the seductive ropes, and he learns his script – verbal and physical – dutifully.  It’s terrific slapstick, and Buster as hilarious as he is athletic here, whipping his practice girl around with diligent gusto.

Dancing at the Company Show (Doughboys)

The only way Elmer can see his girl is to join the company revue, already in progress.  In hastily-dressed drag, he first fakes his way endearingly through the big group number, then goes full-on deer-in-the-headlights when he’s pulled into the spotlight for a partner dance.  It’s half-dance, half-wrestle as Elmer frantically tries to get away and his tenacious partner keeps an increasingly tight grip on him.  Some amazing tumbling from Buster.

Trying to Save the Show (Speak Easily)

Everything goes wrong on the Broadway revue’s opening night, and Professor Post’s fumbling, pedantic efforts to right the ship only add to the chaos.  Buster is very funny as the stiff professor getting caught up in the action; he punctiliously lectures the audience, runs onstage at the slightest provocation, and ultimately winds up tangled in the scenery.  Some great gags here.

The Princess Rajah Dance (The Hollywood Revue of 1929)

I didn’t review this film, which is mostly a bunch of MGM stars proving they can talk and performing lavish numbers.  In the midst of the self-congratulatory ostentation comes Buster, in an act he created in vaudeville and perfected overseas during WWI.  Wearing a DIY Arabian princess outfit – his skirt is decorated with ladles and his headdress is adorned with a toothbrush, and so on – he does a fantastic snake-charming dance (with a string of sausage links standing in for his snake.)  It’s equal parts acrobatic and hysterical, and Buster just kills it.  Masterful.

Hiding the Dog (The Passionate Plumber)

This is just a tiny bit of business, but it cracks me up.  The girl Elmer loves is out on some errands, and Elmer follows with her tiny dog in tow.  As he waits for her outside the hairdresser, he cannot figure out what to do with the dog, and in a short wordless sequence, he explores all his equally bad options for trying to conceal a small dog on his person (in the inside pocket of his jacket, etc.)  In a pretty middling talkie, it’s a great Bustery moment with a lot of personality.