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Buster Keaton Educational Set 7/6/10

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  • Keaton's Educational DVD Coll: July 06, 2010 - July 12, 2010

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Offline metaldams

Oh, and Rich, I did not notice any splice in the opening scene in GRAND SLAM OPERA, but then again, I didn't notice it was Bud Jamison who was one of the singers either!  I was paying extra attention to the words during the song and can recall no problems. 
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Rich Finegan

Oh, and Rich, I did not notice any splice in the opening scene in GRAND SLAM OPERA, but then again, I didn't notice it was Bud Jamison who was one of the singers either!  I was paying extra attention to the words during the song and can recall no problems. 

Thanks for the report.
I actually did see the short just last night visiting some friends who have the DVD's, and sure enough the same old splice is there. But it's nice to see the much-improved picture quality.

Next time you watch it you should clearly hear Bud Jamison's voice in the song in the opening scene, and you can see him at the lower left of the screen.

I agree with all the posts so far who have praised these shorts. I've always liked them, too and will be purchasing the set myself soon.



Offline JazzBill

Oh, and Rich, I did not notice any splice in the opening scene in GRAND SLAM OPERA, but then again, I didn't notice it was Bud Jamison who was one of the singers either!  I was paying extra attention to the words during the song and can recall no problems. 
I believe I saw James C. Morton in "The Timid Young Man". I really like these shorts. I had heard that Buster didn't want to do a lot of talking and preferred to let the his costars do the talking. That seems to be the case in these shorts compared to the ones he did for Columbia.
"When in Chicago call Stockyards 1234, Ask for Ruby".


Offline falsealarms

I believe I saw James C. Morton in "The Timid Young Man". I really like these shorts. I had heard that Buster didn't want to do a lot of talking and preferred to let the his costars do the talking. That seems to be the case in these shorts compared to the ones he did for Columbia.

You did. You also saw a much younger Kitty McHugh (GENTS IN JAM). I barely recognized her as she was ~17 years younger. She was Milton's fiancee.

Stooge supporting players aren't in short supply in these. It's nice when they pop up.


Offline Blystone

Stooge supporting players aren't in short supply in these. It's nice when they pop up.

The Hollywood community of supporting comedy actors was a fairly small one, so they do tend to show up in surprising places, jumping from one studio to the other. The more old comedies you watch, the more you see of them, and Bud Jamison seems to have gotten around the most (probably because he was so versatile). The New York-based studio musicians of the time were like that, too. For example, if you know what they sound like, you can hear Fats Waller, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, and Red Nichols on all sorts of records where they're not credited on the labels.


Offline metaldams

In all honesty, I've seen so many old comedies at this point that I'm surprised when a Stooge supporting player doesn't show up in another studio's shorts.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

You also saw a much younger Kitty McHugh (GENTS IN JAM). I barely recognized her as she was ~17 years younger. She was Milton's fiancee.


....and a same age Kitty McHugh who played Curly's female admirer ("Go cut yourself a slice of throat") in HOI POLLOI.  It took me a long time to realize she was the same woman in GENTS IN A JAM and LISTEN JUDGE.

By the way, reading those notes in this DVD, I had no clue Buster Keaton's brother was in UNCIVIL WARRIORS.  I'll have to scope out the filmography on this site and look for him next time I watch that short.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Blystone

I just got this set a couple of days ago and I've been sampling it, but not enough to write a complete review. So here are some basic impressions, for now.

First of all, Kino has done no significant restoration on these films. Surprising, since they're noted for high-quality restorations, but maybe they figured that this collection wouldn't sell except to hardcore Keaton fans, and there just aren't enough of us to make it worth their while. So we get hiss and hum on the soundtracks, shorts that look like they were patched together from several different copies, and worst of all, plenty of jumps and splices. So many splices that some of the shorts look like they were run through a meat grinder at some point, rather than a projector!

The Columbia Keatons look gorgeous in comparison, and I'll caution anyone who expects decent image and sound quality to think about that before you buy this.

Now as to the content, the quality of these films that I've watched so far seems to be all over the map. "Hayseed Romance" is almost a return to Buster's old 1920's top form, with his trademark razor-sharp timing and hard pratfalls and some really funny gags: like the fat lady playing the organ. What happens there is totally unexpected, and it put me on the floor! Also, even though Educational was a cheapo-deluxe outfit, they had enough money to let Buster destroy a few sets once in a while, which he definitely does here.

More good ones: "The Chemist," "Blue Blazes," "Jail Bait" and "One-Run Elmer."

Major disappointments: "Palooka From Paducah" and (sadly) "Tars And Stripes." Watching Joe and Myra Keaton's stiff, wooden acting in the first short makes me wonder how The Three Keatons could have been one of the top acts in Vaudeville between 1900 and 1917 (Louise Keaton was never in the stage act). It must have been partly because the act involved mostly rough-house physical comedy and very little dialogue.

"Tars And Stripes" pairs Buster and Vernon Dent as a virtual team— which should have been great, but the actual results aren't. The short suffers from corny, stale gags and a complete lack of timing. Buster once said that he knew he had a drinking problem "when my timing started to go," and it sure looks like it's gone, here. The whole film has a sloppy, offhand feel to it, as if everyone's just going through the motions. You have to keep in mind that Buster was deep in his alcoholic period when he made these, and my guess is that the better ones were produced when he wasn't just coming off a bender.

I'll have some more comments after I watch the rest, but I'm taking them a little at a time so it might be a while.



Offline metaldams


"Tars And Stripes" pairs Buster and Vernon Dent as a virtual team— which should have been great, but the actual results aren't. The short suffers from corny, stale gags and a complete lack of timing. Buster once said that he knew he had a drinking problem "when my timing started to go," and it sure looks like it's gone, here. The whole film has a sloppy, offhand feel to it, as if everyone's just going through the motions. You have to keep in mind that Buster was deep in his alcoholic period when he made these, and my guess is that the better ones were produced when he wasn't just coming off a bender.




Man, I hate to agree with this, but I do.  Well said, Blystone.  I was very disappointed in this one, expecting more magic with Buster and Vernon Dent teaming up.  I found the film to be a sadistic mess with very few funny gags.

Interesting point about the alcohol.  Keaton cleaned up in the middle of his Education series, and I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact i enjoyed the later Educationals better. 
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Blystone

Man, I hate to agree with this, but I do.  Well said, Blystone.  I was very disappointed in this one, expecting more magic with Buster and Vernon Dent teaming up.  I found the film to be a sadistic mess with very few funny gags.

Interesting point about the alcohol.  Keaton cleaned up in the middle of his Education series, and I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact i enjoyed the later Educationals better. 

I'm not so sure about the relation between his drinking/not drinking and the time line. Checking the release dates, I found out that "One Run Elmer" and "Hayseed Romance" are the only the second and third entries in the series, and they're two of the best. But right after those comes "Tars and Stripes," where Buster appears listless and possibly hung over. He had the form of alcoholism where he could resist drinking for a while, but then the urge would keep building up in him until he couldn't fight it any more. Then he'd go on such severe binges that he'd black out and not remember what had happened to him while he was drunk. Including getting married to his second wife— the nurse who was employed to keep him off the sauce!

[skal]