In this silent classic, Buster Keaton plays spoiled millionaire’s son Rollo Treadway, who wants to marry snobby rich girl Betsy O’Brien (Kathryn McGuire, SHERLOCK, JR.) He plans the wedding and books a cruise for their honeymoon. All he has to do now is ask her. However, she denies him. So, saddened Rollo heads out on the cruise by himself. Through some mishaps Rollo and Betsy both end up on a steamship that is set adrift in the ocean.
Most of the humor of the film comes from the two rich kids being completely helpless on the ship. The gags are often character based and flow nicely. Besides Keaton’s impeccable comic timing, this film shows off McGuire’s skills as well.
The only detriment to the film is its touch of cultural insensitivity. The film has many black characters, but they’re presence can be either read as simple or primitive or both. To call the film racist might be too much, because the film presents stereotypes rather than superiority and the black actors are never made to act over-the-top buffoonish.
An interesting thing about the film is that it was co-directed by Keaton and famed character actor Donald Crisp, who won an Academy Awards for his supporting work in HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY. Keaton thought Crisp could handle the film’s more dramatic moments while he tackled the comedy. However, Crisp was more interested in the comedy so Keaton ended up letting him go and directed the dramatic scenes as well.
The idea for the film came when Keaton saw the large ship being used on another picture and convinced the producer to buy it for $20,000 so that he could make a film using it. It just shows Keaton’s brilliance that he could design unique characters and an interesting plot from the simple inspiration of wanting to make a film around a ship. Keaton proves again that he is a master of both comedy and film.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
