This
was the last short Buster Keaton made before making the switch to feature
films. Overall, I’d say it’s a fairly
good midrange short – Buster’s fatigue with the format can be felt (he was
definitely ready to move on to bigger and better films,) but it also offers up
some good gags and has a lot of fun.
Buster,
jilted by his girl, has decided to take his broken heart on a ‘round-the-world
boating excursion. Of course, it’s only
a few days before his little motor boat is short on supplies, and, in dire
straits, he’s rescued by a whaling ship (the titular Love Nest.) The main bent of the short comes from the
captain, a notorious hothead who deals with minor screw-ups by throwing the sailors
in question overhead. Now, since Buster
is obviously clumsy and disaster-prone, he has his work cut out for him in
terms of staying alive aboard the ship.
The
short’s best bits are those that deal with this central idea. The captain himself (played by frequent
Buster collaborator Big Joe Roberts) has some fun running gags surrounding the
whole “the punishment is always capital” system; I like his routine of crossing
off the names of deceased crew, and the short mines some fine humor from his
abundant supply of wreaths on hand for eulogizing those who’ve displeased
him. Along with that, Buster’s attempts
to avoid getting thrown overboard are all pretty enjoyable, whether by running
away, fighting back, or trying to disguise his executionable offenses.
As
usual, his methods are inventive and silly.
Having seen one crewman thrown to his death for spilling hot coffee on
the captain, Buster is determined not to make the same mistake. He also pulls off a terrific save when he
accidentally points a gun at the captain (don’t you just hate it when you do
that?), and there’s a fantastic scene with a lifeboat in which he pretty
decisively makes the mountain come to Muhammad.
On the
less-stellar side, the short feels sort of meandering, especially towards the
end. While nearly everything aboard the
Love Nest is a winner, the jokes aren’t as sharp and the story isn’t as focused
whenever we stray away from the ship.
The last few minutes are the worst offenders – the short seems to have
about three different endings, like Buster realized the second reel wasn’t long
enough and kept adding on to fill out the remaining film. Considering what a punch Buster’s final
scenes can pack, that’s a little
disappointing.
I
wouldn’t say it seriously drags down the short, however. The stretched-out endings are still amusing
(Buster trying to kick a fish will never not be funny!) They just don’t come together as cohesively
as the main segment of the story, which is where the short’s highlights lie.
Warnings
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