Top Five Gags: The Love Nest

*Spoilers.*

IMDb just lists the release date for The Love Nest as “March 1923,” but the Buster Keaton Society says it was March 18, so that’s what I’m going with. When it comes to Buster’s independent shorts, this one can be something of an afterthought for me, but it actually has quite a few entertaining gags in it.

 

Swabbing the Deck

One of the (many) things I love about Buster is his talent for making things funny in the smallest of ways. During this sequence, the big-ticket moment is when he swings around and knocks another deckhand in the head with his mop, which is a terrific bit of physical comedy. But my favorite moment comes before that. When Buster first starts mopping, I just love the way he crouches down, choking up on the handle and almost dabbing at the deck with the mop. He then uses his foot to try and swipe the water around. In all his early films, his tumbling was incredible, but it’s little moments like this that really bring his personality to the forefront.

 

The Rifle

While dusting the cabin, Buster takes one of the rifles down from the wall and plays with it. The captain, who’s always ready to throw deckhands overboard for the slightest offense, walks in right as Buster points the rifle toward the door, naturally. After a quick deer-in-the-headlights moment and a bit of hemming and hawing, Buster tucks the rifle under arm and marches up onto the deck, then down the steps along the side of the ship, the captain watching him all the time. We see a shot underwater, and then Buster marches back up, carrying a fish. This is a deliberate, drawn-out gag that gets its humor from pacing itself. Buster’s unwavering calm in the face of the captain’s bafflement is awesome.

 

Serving Coffee

At this point, Buster has already seen the captain throw one deckhand overboard for accidentally spilling coffee on him (which can be tricky to avoid when the ship is rolling with the waves.) So when the captain demands to be served, Buster’s taking no chances! He whips out a funnel to ensure no coffee-related accidents. Everything’s going well, until he walks away and inadvertently drags the tablecloth after him.

 

Caught on a Rope

Buster’s on the run from the murderous captain, and as he’s chased around the deck, he completely clotheslines himself on a rope stretched across the path. I love the way he spins on the rope like a rotisserie chicken before landing on the ground in a classic Buster all-right-angles pose.

 

If the Boat Will Not Go to the Water…

Buster is trying to escape on the lifeboat, but he can’t get it off its little struts, let alone of the ship. But as the intertitle says, “If the boat will not go to the water, the water will come to the boat.” All it takes is a man with an axe, a vision and a wooden hull—easy peasy! Soon, the ship is sinking, and Buster waits for the water to rise up and meet the lifeboat. As a delightful capper, he sits in the lifeboat playing solitaire while he waits.

The Love Nest (1923)

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

Slapstick violence and presumed offscreen deaths.