Steamboat Bill, Jr. (United Artists) (1928)

REVIEW A Page^ of Reviews REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW Ha! Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! Ho! ad infinitum. That’s a fair summing up of Buster Keaton’s latest laugh riot, “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” which opened.. at the .Theatre for .run. Easily Keaton’s funniest and without a doubt one of the year’s biggest pic¬ tures, either comedy or dramatic, the feature is, first of all, 100 per cent en¬ tertainment. “Steamboat Bill Jr.” although obvi¬ ously made for laughing purposes only, has the added merit of providing audi- en^s with plenty of thrills, sustained sd^^nse until the sensational climax, and a delightful love story, a neglected virtue in many comedies. Originality—a welcome absence of moth-eaten “gags”—marks this modem river comedy all the way through. There is enough slapstick for every¬ body, but what there is is fresh, clean and not draggy. There is subtle humor —one of the hardest things in the world to put over effectively—and there are a few touches of pathos by way of contrast. Keaton proves that he is in a class by himself when it comes to motion pic¬ ture comedy of the type exemplified by “Steamboat Bill Jr.” Chaplin and Harold Lloyd have their undisputed niches in the laugh world, and Buster has his. Chaplin’s “Circus”, Lloyd’s “Grandma’s Boy” and Keaton’s “Steam¬ boat Bill Jr.” are perhaps among the ’funniest pictures ever made. To the star, of course, go the acting honors, but he does not monopolize the best situations. Chief of the support¬ ing players, and one who proves that he is as great a comedian as he is a villain, is Ernest Torrence. You saw Torrence in “The Covered Wagon,” “Tol’able David,” “The King of Kings,” “Twelve Miles Out,” “Cap¬ tain Salvation” and other dramatic fea¬ tures. Now see him in “Steamboat Bill Jr.” and realize the versatility of the man who can play a roaring, brutal rum-runner, a western gun-fighter, a religious disciple or a laugh-provoking steamboat pilot and be convincing in each role. As Buster’s hard-boiled father in ~4fc>teamboat Bill Jr.” Torrence is a startling contrast to the character played by the frozen-faced star. The comedy starts out with a bang. Keaton, who has been away to a polite boarding school since childhood, re¬ turns to a he-man river town just in time to get in on a bitter feud between his dad and a rival steamboat owner. Not having seen his boy for many years, old Bill expects to greet a six- foot plus, two fisted specimen like him¬ self, but instead, a collegiate-gar bed, ukulele-toting sap appears on the scene. Then the fun begins! • Bill tries to make a man out of the youth, who promptly complicates mat¬ ters by falling in love with the daughter of his father’s hated rival. Mixup after mixup keeps the audiences in roars until the spectacular ending, when a cyclone, which demolishes a town and jerks large steamboats from their moorings as if they were shells, gives the blundering hero a chance to demonstrate that he’s not so dumb after all. '* The settings are lavish, and thousands of people take part in some of the 4 , bigger scenes. Buster has a dynamic little comedi¬ enne, Marion Byron, for his leading lady, and she captures her share of the laughs. Buster Keaton, aided and abetted by Ernest Torrence, Director Charles “Chuck” Reisner, a girl by the name of Marion Byron, and seemingly thou¬ sands of other actors and actresses, has made one of the year’s funniest pic¬ tures. It is “Steamboat Bill Jr.” and it opened at the. Theatre . to capacity audiences which all but fell out of their seats at the antics of the frozen-faced star and his assisting mirth-provokers. The comedy, which was directed by Charles F. Reisner and released by United Artists, is a laugh riot. from the opening scene till the cyclonic fin¬ ish. Cyclonic is right, for the tornado which climaxes “Steamboat Bill Jr.” would be, even minus its laughs, a thrill in the most dramatic of dramatic fea¬ tures. “Steamboat Bill Jr.” is different, for it has a real story, with a logical de¬ velopment of plot, has recognized screen favorites in the supporting cast, and doesn’t underrate the intelligence of the audience. The “gags” or comedy situations, are clean, and above all, original. Buster’s characterization of the rah rah boy who comes home from college to help his hardboiled dad (Ernest Tor¬ rence) battle a rival steamboat line is the best thing he has ever done. How the rabbit becomes a roaring lion, teaches the rough fellows some new stunts, wins the town magnate’s daugh¬ ter (Marion Byron) and finally rescues the entire population from a tornado and flood, provides Buster with a laugh-a-minute picture which also abounds in love interest and photo¬ graphic surprises. “Steamboat Bill Jr.” is a story of modern river life, filmed against a beautiful background. The humorous side of steamboating predominates, of course, but there are moments when the thrills overshadow the laughs. Es¬ pecially is this true too in the final scenes, in which disaster is visited upon the river town and the comedy star turns hero. Don’t miss “Steamboat Bill Jr.”— it’s 100 per cent entertainment! Did you know that Ernest Torrence, who plays the chief supporting role op¬ posite Buster Keaton in the United Artists laugh feature, “Steamboat Bill Jr.,” which reaches the. Theatre next . used to be a musical comedy star? Torrence, an Englishman by birth, is world- famous as a screen villain, but “Steam¬ boat Bill Jr.” provides him with a straight comedy role. Another character who has plenty^ to do, and does it well, is Tom McGuire. He plays Torrence’s business rival, the father of the girl. The direction, by Charles “Chuck” Reisner, shows the expert touch of the man who was Charles Chaplin’s right- hand man for several years and who more recently has been directing Syd Chaplin. Reisner can be as proud of “Steamboat Bill Jr.” as he was of “Charley’s Aunt,” “The Better ’Ole” and “The Missing Link,” to mention just a few of his previous successes. All in all, “Steamboat Bill Jr.” is an exceptionally good evening’s entertain¬ ment and a big credit to United Artists, for whom Keaton made this comedy. As many laughs as can be crammed into seven thousand feet of film; ro¬ mance, suspense, thrills—these are some of the elements which go to make up the year’s surprise comedy, “Steamboat Bill Jr.,” which stars Buster Keaton and presents a number of noted sup¬ porting players of the calibre of Ern¬ est Torrence. Keaton’s new United Artists laugh feature is convulsing capacity audiences at the . Theatre, and this writer takes pride in especially recommending “Steamboat Bill Jr.” as one of the season’s “guaranteed pic¬ tures.” The fast-moving story of river life is Keaton at his funniest and Torrence in his most interesting role. Photoplay¬ goers who invariably associate the noted character actor with villainous parts are due for a shock when they see him sharing laughs in his portrayal of Bus¬ ter’s hardboiled, swashbuckling dad, a modern river pilot with a hatred for mollycoddles, and with a penchant for getting into trouble. How his son, “Steamboat Bill Jr.,’’ as played by Keaton, turns from sap to hero, wins the town belle, defeats a gang of river rowdies intent upon ruining him, and finally rescues the entire community from a tornado and flood, forms a background for scores of mirthful situations. The settings in the big comedy are as spectacular as the action itself. A typical lower Mississippi river town suddenly given a new lease on life by a bitter war between rival steamboat owners! Thousands of townspeople taking sides in the feud! Buildings swept into the river by a cyclone! Large packets helpless in the storm! And a laugh a minute throughout the excitement, which starts with the first scene and reaches its climax in the wildest, funniest ending ever shown on the screen. The director of “Steamboat Bill Jr.” was Charles <f Chuck” Reisner, former right-hand man of Charles Chaplin and the megaphone expert responsible for Syd Chaplin’s “Charley’s Aunt”, “The Better ’Ole” and “The Missing Link.” In the opinion of last night’s audience, “Steamboat Bill Jr.” has more laughs than any feature in either Keaton’s or Reisner’s career. In addition to the star and his chief supporting player, Torrence, the cast includes Marion Byron, petite leading lady and Tom McGuire, veteran char¬ acter actor. Marion Byron, a new comedienne, is Buster Keaton’s leading lady in “Steam¬ boat Bill, Jr.,” which also has Ernest Torrence in a co-starring role and which will be seen at the. theatre. Marion is only seventeen. Who is your favorite comedian? Buster Keaton? Charlie Chaplin? Harold Lloyd? Ray Griffith? Louis Wolheim? Ernest Torrence? Harry Langdon? For the price of one admis¬ sion you can see two of them, Buster Keaton and Ernest Torrence, in one picture, “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” at the .theatre. Harry Houdini, the late wizard of magic, was the man who first called Joseph Francis Keaton, “Buster.” Kea¬ ton was a babe in arms then. Now he is “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” at the. theatre. Ernest Torrence is co-starred. To the accompaniment of river ship- ng wars, tornados and love affairs, uster Keaton is leading a laugh car¬ nival this week at the . Theatre, where the frozen-faced star’s new United Artists comedy, “Steam¬ boat Bill Jr.”, is showing in this ter¬ ritory for the first time. Keaton has made several highly suc¬ cessful feature comedies during his career—“Seven Chances,” “The Navi¬ gator,” “Battling Butler,” and “Col¬ lege”, to menticn a few—but “Steam¬ boat Bill Jr.” has them all beat for abundance of laughs, originality of story, colorful background and excel¬ lent supporting cast. The star, still his frozen-faced self, is a master of subtle comedy and pan- tomine in “Steamboat Bill Jr.” as well as the limb-risking, blundering farceur whom the lovers of broader risibilities prefer. He also gives the other mem¬ bers of the company opportunity to glean their share of the laughs, es¬ pecially Ernest Torrence, who is as funny in Buster’s picture as he has been villainous in most of his previous vehicles. Torrence’s venture into straight comedy stamps him as a gloom chaser of the first degree. Another supporting player who should be heard from as a result of “Steamboat Bill Jr.” is Marion Byron, a little comedienne who has a rollick¬ ing love affair with the star. This hoy¬ den has a distinctive naivete greatly reminiscent of Mabel Normand. Tom McGuire, the veteran character actor, is another sharer of honors in Keaton’s river comedy. “Steamboat Bill Jr.” is replete with thrilling situations. Steamboat crashes, fights and a cyclone which demolishes an entire town and makes a hero out of the blundering character played by Keaton are included in the entertain¬ ment menu. One of the biggest laughs of the pic¬ ture is the scene in which Keaton, by a ruse, liberates his father (Tor¬ rence) from the town bastile. The brilliant direction is the work of Charles “Chuck” Reisner, former right- hand man of Charles Chaplin and more recently the director of Syd Chaplin’s comedies. The titles in “Steamboat Bill Jr.” are a scream. Buster Keaton’s leading lady in the United Artists comedy, “Steamboat Bill Jr.,” arriving at the..• • • • • Theatre .. is 17- year-old Marion Byron, who was sing¬ ing and dancing in a Hollywood stage revue when the frozen-faced star dis¬ covered her and placed her under con¬ tract. Miss Byron, a former Ohio girl, had never been inside a studio until Keaton made her his leading lady. She weighs 100 pounds and is a viva¬ cious brunette. She shares honors in “Steamboat Bill Jr.” which was di¬ rected by Charles “Chuck” Reisner, with Ernest Torrence, T«m McGuire and other prominent supporting players. Buster Keaton, who. is co-starred with Ernest Torrence in “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” soon to come to the...... theatre, played in nine comedies with Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle many years ago. Buster Keaton’s real name is Jo¬ seph Francis. But this week he is “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” at the.- theatre.