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Buster Keaton’s antics were displayed at the Pridemore Playhouse at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19, as his movie, Steamboat Bill Jr., was shown. Everyone was welcome to watch the silent film, which was free to the public. It was appreciated by movie-lovers, and the showing was attended by people who could use the extra credit for their cinema class. The silent film was complemented with a musical score for the entire film played by the band Boister. Their musical score added the effect to a great film by adding sound effects and mood music. Buster’s Keaton’s performance was both funny and riveting. The stunts that were performed were phenomenal, as the apparent danger to Keaton’s life was great at the time.
A particular stunt, where a full side of a house was to fall on Keaton, would have killed him if he was off on the measurements of where he was supposed to stand. They didn’t have the technology that they have now to simulate those stunts, so every stunt performed was dangerous.
Steamboat Bill Jr. is about the son of a riverboat captain, William Canfield Jr. (Buster Keaton), who comes to the town of River Junction to see his father. His father, William Canfield Sr. (Ernest Torrence), attempts to transform his son into a person worthy of working on the boat his father owns. After some disappointment that Canfield Jr. causes his father, like affiliating with the daughter, Marion King (Marion Byron), of his father’s boat rival, John James King (Tom McGuire), Canfield Sr. decides to send Jr. back to Boston and disassociate himself from his son. William Jr. desperately attempts to gain his father’s acceptance, so after his father is arrested, he attempts to get him out of jail. What makes it interesting is the huge cyclone storm that he must fight through. As his effort for his father’s acceptance ensues, he must try to escape with his life through the storm and win over the heart of the girl he likes.
Not having watched many silent films before this, I didn’t know what to expect. I was skeptical because the movie could have been really boring, being that it is a silent film, and interests for me wouldn’t last through the whole hour. I was wrong, because the overall experience of the movie was exceptional. The added effect of the musical score by Boister made it better. Boister, who has been together for 10 years now, has received great critical acclaim from such critics as Roger Ebert for its musical scores. The movie itself was a fun watch, as Buster Keaton didn’t fail to disappoint with his comedy. Ted McKosky, a faculty member in the Cinema Department, headed the event. When asked how he felt about the silent film when he first watched it, he responded, “It was a naïve experience when I first watched it, but still loved it.” Keaton is a favorite of Mr. McKosky’s. When asked which Keaton movie was his favorite, he said, “I don’t have a favorite; I love them all!”
Events of this kind are held every semester by the Cinema department, and another may be sooner than we think.
Gian Deguzman freelances for Whim.
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