IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

While Our Hospitality was Buster Keaton’s third feature-length film, it can be argued that it was the first true Keaton feature.  In 1920, Buster had starred in The Saphead, but that was a work-for-hire as an actor, and he was otherwise uninvolved.  Then in 1923, Keaton produced and directed The Three Ages, a 63 minute satire of D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916).  However, The Three Ages was devised so that the three separate storylines in the film could be separated into three short subjects if the experiment in length didn’t pan out.  Keaton further hedged his bets by filling The Three Ages with the type of impossible, cartoonish gags that populated his shorts.

Our Hospitality (also 1923) was created with a completely new mindset.  Buster realized that in order for audiences to care about his characters at a feature length, he would have to use more realistic stakes and situations.  Going forward, he would avoid cartoon slapstick (except in the case of dream sequences), and would instead build laughs organically out of character traits, comic situations, misunderstandings, misdirection, and other natural means.  It was a tremendous leap in sophistication, and Our Hospitality, if not Keaton’s first feature, was his first masterpiece.

After an audacious opening prologue played completely seriously (and as effectively as other straight dramas of the time), we are introduced to Willie McKay (Keaton), a young man who must travel to his family “estate” to take possession of his inheritance.  Along the way, on the most ramshackle train in film history (a replica of Stephenson’s Rocket), he makes the acquaintance of a beautiful woman (Natalie Talmadge) and love begins to bloom.  Unfortunately, the lovely lady turns out to be the daughter of Joseph Canfield, the patriarch of a family that has been in a blood feud with the McKays for generations.  When the smitten Miss Canfield invites Willie to dinner, it is uncertain whether the rules of Southern hospitality can protect McKay from the wrath of the Canfields.

This smart, comedic take on the famous Hatfield/McCoy feud was the beginning of Keaton’s most creative period, and it is one of his most enjoyable features. It contains many excellent sequences, with the train trip and the waterfall climax as standouts.  And while Keaton dispensed with cartoon gags, in favor of a realistic, coherent storyline, in no way did he skimp on the laughs or on his signature acrobatics.  The film is hilarious throughout, including several darkly comic bits that were a bit ahead of their time.

Taken as a whole, I would rank Our Hospitality as my second favorite Keaton feature, following The General (1926).  In other words, it is one of the greatest comedies ever made.  Fans of silent comedy should consider it essential viewing.

USA/B&W-75m./Dir: Jack Blystone and Buster Keaton/Wr: Jean Havez, Clyde Bruckman, and Joseph Mitchell/Cast: Buster Keaton, Natalie Talmadge, Joe Roberts, Francis X. Bushman Jr., Monte Collins, Craig Ward, Joe Keaton, Kitty Bradbury, Buster Keaton Jr.

For Fans of: If you know and love Buster Keaton’s The General (1926), you owe it to yourself to see the comedian’s earlier period piece.

Video: Kino Lorber, which has previously released Our Hospitality on DVD and Blu-ray, retained the rights to the film and is releasing the Lobster Films 2K restoration.  While I thought that the Kino Lorber’s 2011 release of the film looked excellent for a title from 1923, the new Our Hospitality [Blu-ray], due on October 15th, is  a vast improvement in picture quality.  The 2K restoration by France’s Lobster Films was produced using the two best remaining prints of the film, and it removes most (but not all) of the scratches and blemishes that appeared on the previous version, without appearing digitally scrubbed.  Film grain is in evidence and it has a fresh, natural look.

A new orchestral score was composed by Robert Israel and recorded to accompany the new restoration.  While I was a fan of the Carl Davis score that appeared on the prior Blu-ray release, the Israel score is just as effective in supporting the visuals, and it sounds absolutely fantastic in 2.0 stereo.

Recently, the Cohen Film Collection has been releasing new restorations of Buster’s other silent features. My one complaint with the Cohen releases has been the lack of any worthwhile special features.  Kino Lorber really shows them how it should be done with an excellent package of extras.

Special Features:

• Audio commentary by film historians Farran Smith Nehme and Imogen Sara Smith
• Un duel à mort (A Duel to the Death, 1947): This is a rare 24-minute short film starring Buster Keaton, which was made while the comedian was on tour in France with the Cirque Medrano.
• The Iron Mule (1925): Buster Keaton loaned the replica train used in Our Hospitality for this short film starring Al St. John and directed by his pal Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle under his post-scandal pseudonym of William Goodrich.  It’s a very enjoyable little short and my favorite amongst the extras.
• A presentation on Our Hospitality by Serge Bromberg
• Scoring for Buster, a documentary on the recording of Robert Israel’s score
• Booklet essay by Jeffrey Vance (Blu-ray edition only)
• Reversible cover art

Streaming: At the time of this review Our Hospitality could be rented as a standard definition digital stream, but it is not available in high definition.  It is also unavailable on any of the standard streaming subscription services.

More to Explore: As I mentioned above, Cohen Film Collection has been distributing restorations of the other Buster Keaton silent features in the United States.  So far, they have released The Buster Keaton Collection: Volume 1 (The General / Steamboat Bill, Jr.), The Buster Keaton Collection: Volume 2 (Sherlock Jr. / The Navigator), and The Buster Keaton Collection: Volume 3 (Seven Chances / Battling Butler).

Trivia: This film was a family affair for Buster.  His love interest was played by his wife at the time, Natalie Talmadge.  The high-kicking train engineer was his father, Joe Keaton.  And the baby in the prologue was Buster Keaton Jr.

For More Info: There are several excellent books on Buster Keaton and his work. A couple of my favorites are Buster Keaton Remembered by Buster’s wife, Eleanor Keaton, and film historian, Jeffrey Vance, and The Complete Films of Buster Keaton by Jim Kline.