In The Works: Elk's Head Hotel Commercial

Work has begun on another BK video tribute. We're trying our hand at a commercial for the Elk's Head Hotel which also doubles as a trailer for The Bell Boy. 

As mentioned in a previous post, The Bell Boy celebrated its centennial earlier this year, but a hundred years later, it's still funny. It stars the Comique trio of Roscoe Arbuckle, Al St. John, and Buster Keaton. Alice Lake is along as well as Buster's pop, Joe Keaton. This is the first film we have of Joe and Buster working together. A Country Hero is lost, and in Out West the two do not appear together.

So stay tuned for an important word from our sponsor, The Elk's Head Hotel.

Poll Results 5/16

It should come as no surprise that everyone who voted in the last poll hopes A Country Hero will one day be found. And I imagine if anyone can pull off a miracle, it would be Buster! Let's keep those fingers crossed.

Al, Buster, and Roscoe

NOTE: Blogger has changed some of their gadgets and removed the poll. So this was the last poll (for now anyway).

Bustration

The wait is over! Here is our new video tribute to Buster. Enjoy!!

Buster Keaton Day

The city of Los Angeles in CA has declared June 16, 2018 as "Buster Keaton Day." This coincides with the weekend of June 15-17 as the Damfinos are hosting a number of interesting BK events. The reason for all the festivities is to dedicate a new plaque to mark the location of Buster's silent movie studio. Here is a link with all the info.

Poll Results 5/1

Well, since I'm the only person to vote on my last poll, the results are not very surprising to me. And since the question was "how long have you been a Keaton fan?" maybe I should take this opportunity to relay my entry in Busterdom. The first BK film I saw was The General (lucky me) in a high school film study class. I liked it well enough and remember the class laughing throughout, but to be honest it didn't stick with me. That was pre-internet days (yes, there was a time with no Google, Wikipedia, or Youtube commonly called The Dark Ages) so I went Busterless for the next decade or so. Lo and behold, cable TV was born. I once again watched The General. This time I was hooked.

If I'm remembering my timeline correctly, that coincided, more or less, with most of BK's silents being released on VHS tapes. I know, how primitive. I bought those, and still have them too.

I've been a Keaton devotee ever since, but it was only one year ago that I thought to look up our hero on Youtube. Well... seeing the Comique films with Arbuckle... the rest is history.

Random Keaton Note #7

Buster Keaton hired Robert E. Sherwood to write a screenplay for him. The Skyscraper story was started but never completed. Buster and a girl are trapped atop an yet completed skyscraper. Neither Buster nor Mr. Sherwood could think of a suitable ending.

from Exhibitors Herald 1925

A different rooftop, Sherlock Jr  1924

So Why Keaton, Part 4: Buster In Trouble

Buster Keaton's life reads like a well crafted story. A blissful beginning, wild success, dark clouds gather on the horizon, the hero struggles, sinks, only to rise again and reach a happy ending. Buster's struggles, in case you don't know, started when he signed to work for MGM in 1928. He would later call it the biggest mistake of his life. The studio system clipped his wings and assigned him to films that were way off the Keaton style.

His marriage to Natalie Talmadge came to an end several years later. Natalie took most everything, including their two sons. Buster turned to alcohol. MGM considered him unemployable and fired him. He married a second time during what he called an alcoholic blackout to the nurse hired to keep him sober. After two years, he chalked up another divorce. He finally reined in his drinking and remarried for a third and last time.

Buster and his third wife, Eleanor

During all this chaos, Buster kept working. He made a couple films in Europe, starred in low-budget shorts, and was rehired by MGM as a behind-the-scenes gag man. Then he went on to television, more movies, returned to the stage, and made commercials. He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1959 "for his unique talents which brought immortal comedies to the screen." And happily, he lived long enough to see renewed appreciation for his remarkable silent films.

I find a lot of strength in Buster's survival. He hung on. He kept going. He succeeded. 

Poll Results 4/16

According to our last poll, half of us BK fans can name Buster's three wives and half can't. For those of you who cannot, here is a mini study guide:

Buster and Natalie Talmadge 1921

Buster and Mae Scrivens (I have also read her last name as Scriven) 1933

Buster and Eleanor Norris 1940

Bustrating Indeed!

I know, I know... our next video, Bustration, is long overdue. The tried and true phrase "Life gets in the way of living" can sum up the delay. We'll get to it one of these days... Thanks for your patience.

Random Keaton Note #6

The Three Keatons performed in England in 1909.

Poll Results 4/1

75 percent of voters in our last poll have seen a Buster TV appearance. Pretty amazing that we have them to view today.

Buster recreating "the molasses sketch" from The Butcher Boy with Billy Gilbert on The Ken Murray Show, 1952.