Steamboat Bill, Jr.

Unrated

5/12/19281h 10m

Premiere Release (US)

~ The Laugh Special of the Age. See It. ~

Overview:

The just-out-of-college, effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was a child.

Director:

Charles Reisner

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

wind
river
girlfriend
jail
steamboat
black and white
makeover
rescue from drowning
silent film
barbershop
carnation
father son reunion
catastrophe
rich man
unlikely hero
business rivalry
steamboat captain
hat shopping
falling building
violent storm

Cast

Buster Keaton

~ as ~

William 'Willie' Canfield Jr.

Tom McGuire

~ as ~

John James 'J.J.' King

Ernest Torrence

~ as ~

William 'Steamboat Bill' Canfield Sr.

Tom Lewis

~ as ~

First and Last Mate Tom Carter

Marion Byron

~ as ~

Kitty King

James T. Mack

~ as ~

Minister (uncredited)

Ford West

~ as ~

Barber (uncredited)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
"Steamboat Bill" (Ernest Torrence) gets a letter from his son - whom he hasn't seen for many years - saying he is coming to visit. Excitedly, he and his first mate "Tom" go to meet the train... What they meet, after a few mishaps, is a young man who looks more like a Parisian onion seller than a strapping man of the river! Add to this, that it turns out "Willie" (Buster Keaton) is also sweet on the daughter "Kitty" (Marion Byron) of dad's local arch enemy "JJ King" (Tom McGuire) and the poor old fella's disappointment is complete. Loads of daft shenanigans follow as the young man tries to impress his beau, her father, his own father and just about everyone else - largely failing in the attempt until his dad ends up incarcerated. The general rule here is - if it can go wrong for "Willie", it will - but it goes wrong devilishly well. The humour is, mostly, cleverly woven into a story with plenty of action, and a little romance. Admittedly, it does feature some slapstick - not my favourite form of comedy - but it is timed to such perfection as to be more art than acting; and once the tumultuous storm descends at the end, the staging effects are cleverly devised and, of course - there are opportunities a-plenty for our young lad to learn how to tie complicated nautical knots; pilot the steamship and come to the rescue...! This is great fun; and demonstrates the athleticism of the star marvellously. There are only 5 folks in this, and they all pull their weight - it's really good.