More
ending gags – the features this time. Once
again, Buster Keaton shows off his flair for perfect final shots. Although his films are crammed with laughs of
all sorts, a great ending gag makes a film feel like a single joke, building splendidly
to its punch line. (Spoilers, of
course.)
Our
Hospitality
The
Canfield clan, having just discovered Willie’s marriage to Virginia, decide to lay
down arms, ending the feud once and for all.
Amidst his strapping, olive-branch-bearing new relations, diminutive
Willie proves quite the pragmatist. He’s
been made to look even weaker than usual, wrapped up in a blanket after a
recent tumble in the river, but when he opens the blanket, he reveals himself
to be basically made of concealed guns,
placidly unburdening himself and laying them all on the table beside each of
his in-laws’ single weapons. My
favorite, without a doubt.
Sherlock
Jr.
After
the inventive things Buster does with film earlier in the picture, it ends
fittingly with the projectionist taking cues from the big screen to woo his
girl. It’s wonderfully set up – the projectionist’s
shy, diffident imitations of the onscreen lothario’s moves, and the amusing
shots of him turning from the girl to consult the movie for his “next step.” Then, we get the brilliant kicker: onscreen, a shot of the lovers embracing
fades directly into them with twin babies, leaving the projectionist to puzzle
out the logical progression. I love
Buster’s last expression.
Go West
Having
saved the day (and the ranch,) Friendless is offered anything from the rancher
as a reward. When he says, “I want her,”
film convention suggests he – sexistly and presumptuously – means the rancher’s
daughter, who is, after all, “the girl” in this film. But Go
West isn’t that kind of movie, and he of course means Brown Eyes, his
beloved cow. The last image of the rancher
driving away, with Friendless and Brown Eyes sitting together in the backseat,
is a stitch.
Battling
Butler
As one
of Buster’s independent features, Battling
Butler is decidedly middle-of-the-pack.
Its final shot, though, is a knockout – I adore the sight of Alfred and
his wife walking arm in arm down the street, Alfred with his top hat, cane,
boxing trunks, and gloves. Too fun.
The
General
Johnnie, the hero of
the hour, has finally been made a soldier, and not just that – a lieutenant! He wraps his arm around Annabelle for a little
post-epic-train-chase smooching, but every time another soldier walks by, he
has to stop so they can exchange salutes.
At first, there are just enough
of them to be irritating, but when Johnnie sees the entire camp has risen and
is heading his way, he takes matters into his own hands. He and Annabelle trade places and, with him
sitting on her left, he can kiss and salute simultaneously. Oh, that Buster; he’s a crafty one…
