Our Hospitality (1923)
Grade: 47
"Our Hospitality" is a silent comedy starring Buster Keaton, one of his first features. Grading this film provides one of the occasions where my grade is much lower than that of the consensus, and it may well be that I have severely undergraded it.
"Our Hospitality" has Keaton returning via a rickety train to the land he left as an infant to claim an inheritance. Keaton's family (the McKays) and a rival family (the Canfields, similarity to Hatfield and McCoys intended) have had a feud spanning several generations. This feud is typically resolved with a shotgun. Upon arrival, the Canfield men make numerous attempts on his life. Keaton is also courting a Canfield daughter. This leads to much slapstick and several stunts, which are hallmarks of Keaton silents.
The plot has some elements later put to use in better Keaton films. A train is central to the story, as in "The General" (1927). Keaton is a stranger entering a family feud (and courting the rival family's daughter), as in "Steamboat Bill, Jr." (1928).
Perhaps the best part of "Our Hospitality" are the scenes with a mock circa-1830s steam train. The sluggish train and its bumpy ride are the butt of many gags. My favorite is when a mule refuses to budge from the train tracks. The train conductor stops the train, and unable to move the mule, he picks up the train track and moves it!
The film has a slow start, and the characters are one-dimensional. The plot also has several repetitive elements, such as the point made about how slow the train is, and especially the Canfields shooting at Keaton in one scene after another. An occasional gag that works, and a spectacular stunt or two, do not have a significant effect on a film's grade.
Some trivia: Keaton's father Joseph and his son Buster Jr. have bit parts. Keaton's wife Natalie Talmadge plays his love interest (this was their only film together). The film's most famous stunt (Keaton swings from a rope to rescue Talmadge from falling off the edge of a waterfall) was executed by Keaton, but a dummy stood in for Talmadge. Keaton was injured performing the stunt.
kollers@shell.mpsi.net http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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