Product Description

Perhaps the best known of all Buster Keaton s films, this was his last film for independent producer Joseph Schenck and also one of the last over which he was to have almost total control (although he was credited with just his acting, he is known to have co-directed, co-produced and co-written as well as performing his own stunts). Buster returns home after years of separation from his father. Whilst Steamboat Bill Senior is a burly, hard working steamboat captain, his son is almost the complete opposite: educated and effeminate, accident prone and simple minded. Ultimately, however, Steamboat Bill Junior triumphs and assists his father in overcoming a local rival for the lucrative Mississippi steamboat business, winning the affections of the rival s daughter for good measure. Buster s reputation was largely made on his death defying stunts, and this film is no exception. A three story building façade crashes down on him and Buster only survives because the third floor window opening clears his head!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45238 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-11-10
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, PAL, Silent
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 69 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Steamboat Bill Jr dates from 1928 and is the last great film Buster Keaton made before he gave up his independence and signed for MGM. Buster is the rather fey son of an elderly steamboat owner who is being driven out of business by a wealthy competitor. More by accident than intention Buster turns things around and gets the girl as well. The last 15 minutes are truly astonishing: a storm sequence in which a whole town is blown apart, with Buster experiencing a series of amazing escapes as buildings fall down around his ears.

On the DVD: The print is a good one, best seen in the 4:3 ration, with unobtrusive organ music added. As a nautical extra there's The Boat, a 1921 short (the print not in such a good state as the feature), in which in the course of launching his newly built craft Buster manages to wreck his house, tip his car into the river and sink the boat. And that's only the beginning. --Ed Buscombe

Synopsis
In STEAMBOAT BILL, JR., Buster Keaton plays the mild-mannered son of a steamboat captain caught in the middle of the bitter rivalry between his father and another Mississippi riverboat owner. This silent classic contains the famous stunt in which a cyclone blows down a two-story wall over Keaton who passes unharmed through an open window.

Customer Reviews

Movies to see before you die!
You may argue that this is not Buster Keaton's best. However, it contains one of the most daring and dangerous scenes in cinema history. During the typhoon scene toward the end of the film, Keaton stands in the exact spot where the front of a house will fall, so that Keaton is standing in the gap of a window frame when it does. With no CGI, this stunt is performed by Keaton himself. Not many people will risk their lives for a comedy sketch.