Topic: Mooching through Georgia (1939) - Buster Keaton

[Paul Pain]

Watch MOOCHING THROUGH GEORGIA in the box above and get the Damfino's note here:
http://www.busterkeaton.com/Films/F02_Mooching_Through_Georgia.html

We continue through our Buster Keaton Columbia adventure with a mixed short.  MOOCHING THROUGH GEORGIA is the original short that the later Three Stooges short, UNCIVIL WAR BIRDS, to which I link the thread here.

This is a tough short because, like the original, the major plotline is brothers trying to avoid killing each other.  But we have the advantage of a prime Bud Jamison and a young Cy Schindell.  The acting in this short is perfect, and I can't ask for more from a Columbia short.  And the short hasn't the two objectional spots like its remake does.

Buster is in top form here as is Monty Collins, in a rare starring role.  They handle the role well, but Monty is clearly better suited to more physical comedy, like his co-starring short with Tom Kennedy, NEW NEWS, which was a crap short I hope to review later done better by the Three Stooges as CRASH GOES THE HASH.  Buster is starting to click with the Columbia shorts style of comedy, but it's unfortunately about to return to full 100% Elmer character in another week.

I can't really say a whole ton about this one.  It's a solid comedy and worth watching every so often of its own merit, but it's not a legend either.

8/10    

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

I'm confused about just when Buster was working for Columbia and when he was working as an MGM gagman.  The dates seem very close.  Was there overlap there, or was he allowed to moonlight with one while working for the other, whichever was one and whichever was the other?  I know this is quite esoteric, but I believe we have on call Professors Finestein, Frankfurter and Von Stupor.  Anybody?  Von Stupor?

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

And oh yeah, it's okay, but any decent comedian could have done this, Buster by no means owns it, no idiosyncratic Buster schtick.  The stooges' Uncivil War  Birds is much lighter and funnier, even with an under-par Curly. In fact I think that Uncivil War Birds may be the best of the under-par Curly shorts - I see Curly as maybe 90% in that one, I have no problem with it, I think it's a good, solid, funny outing.  Mooching is O K, Uncivil War Birds is better.  And that really is some beak on Monty Collins, isn't it?  At times it seems to reflect light like an asteroid.

[Umbrella Sam]

Comparing this with UNCIVIL WAR BIRDS, I’d probably have to say that I slightly prefer this one. Neither is great, and I do prefer the opening to UNCIVIL WAR BIRDS with them acting like children, but MOOCHING THROUGH GEORGIA overall has a better supporting cast and, in my opinion, better variations in gags (for example, I prefer Keaton crashing into a tree over Moe and Curly pulling a carriage).

There’s not a whole lot for me to say about this one either. It’s funny throughout, just not as much as PEST FROM THE WEST. Given that this is his first short under Jules White’s direction, Keaton surprisingly doesn’t seem as restricted here as I would of imagined. There’s a few moments that feel too much like White’s style, like when Keaton gets stabbed in the tree, but for the most part Keaton does well with what he has to work with.

One thing that bothers me is how the Union and Confederate soldiers keep sharing the same space to lock up prisoners, a problem I also had with the remake. Also, Keaton ends up leaving his brother behind when he goes to take the map to the Confederates. Who knows what his brother’s punishment could have been?

It’s a good enough short, but not one of my favorites. Still, it was better than I expected.

8 out of 10

[Umbrella Sam]

I'm confused about just when Buster was working for Columbia and when he was working as an MGM gagman.  The dates seem very close.  Was there overlap there, or was he allowed to moonlight with one while working for the other, whichever was one and whichever was the other?  I know this is quite esoteric, but I believe we have on call Professors Finestein, Frankfurter and Von Stupor.  Anybody?  Von Stupor?

I think he was working at both at the same time. MGM didn’t seem to require his services full-time, since they only made a certain amount of comedies, and Columbia probably didn’t take up too much of his time either, considering that production on each short only took a few days. Keaton was not doing financially well at this time and supposedly Clyde Bruckman had suggested Columbia hire Keaton as a way to help him out.

[metaldams]

      Like UNCIVIL WARBIRDS, this has never been one of my favorite scripts, no matter who does it, yet it's not so majorly offensive I can't get some enjoyment out of it due to the comedians involved.  Especially towards the beginning, the drama is very heavy, and it almost seems inappropriate when they try to add humor.  Keaton and Collins play their roles a bit straighter in this regard than The Three Stooges, and that would make sense, considering The Three Stooges have all those years together to develop comic chemistry together in just about any situation.  Keaton and Collins were basically just thrown together.

      Still, some good Keaton moments.  Keaton's fake death scene is fantastic, hamming it up in a delayed Shakespearean way before taking a great fall to the ground.  Keaton does some nice physical bits as well in the beginning of the short when he can't get the kissing and handshaking right with Bud Jamison and Jill Martin.

      The most bizarre thing is stunt doubles are used for Keaton towards the end.  I want to guess this was Columbia's bidding.  Keaton could still take falls, check him diving out a window in this short and then compare to Monte Collins, for example, plus the aforementioned fake death scene, but when the character falls off the horse and buggy and rides the unicycle towards the end, it's a double.  Stunt doubles for Stooges are expected, but it's disappointing with Keaton.

      A good enough short overall, not a bad way to spend fifteen minutes on a Saturday morning.  Can't ask for anymore out of these shorts.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

I watched Mooching again tonight, just to make sure.  It's too dark.  Uncivil War birds is better. When you watch the two back to back, Mooching comes off as almost a rough draft of War Birds.  The three stooge "brothers", if for no other reason that there's three of them, can push the comedy mix-ups to a higher and more farcical degree than just the two brothers of Buster and Monty, though I disagree with whoever said that Monty is a drag here, I find him to be in there pitching as a good, solid second banana.  I also love the three officers getting knocked goofy ( twice! ) behind the door in War Birds, and the haystack scene is better, and such one-offs as Moe saying " no glass ! " and eye-gouging Curly for utterly no reason at all, these are short but sweet comedy moments that are lacking in Mooching.  I might repeat that when these shorts first ran, when I was maybe six, in maybe 1960, once the stooges hit big they released a mess of all the other Columbia comics, which is how I became aware of Buster, Andy Clyde, El Brendel, Joe DeRita, et. al. ( I think I remember seeing even The Glove Slingers ! ) Buster was a favorite of mine, but always less so than the stooges, and an A/B comparison like this reminds me why.

[metaldams]

I watched Mooching again tonight, just to make sure.  It's too dark.  Uncivil War birds is better. When you watch the two back to back, Mooching comes off as almost a rough draft of War Birds.  The three stooge "brothers", if for no other reason that there's three of them, can push the comedy mix-ups to a higher and more farcical degree than just the two brothers of Buster and Monty, though I disagree with whoever said that Monty is a drag here, I find him to be in there pitching as a good, solid second banana.  I also love the three officers getting knocked goofy ( twice! ) behind the door in War Birds, and the haystack scene is better, and such one-offs as Moe saying " no glass ! " and eye-gouging Curly for utterly no reason at all, these are short but sweet comedy moments that are lacking in Mooching.  I might repeat that when these shorts first ran, when I was maybe six, in maybe 1960, once the stooges hit big they released a mess of all the other Columbia comics, which is how I became aware of Buster, Andy Clyde, El Brendel, Joe DeRita, et. al. ( I think I remember seeing even The Glove Slingers ! ) Buster was a favorite of mine, but always less so than the stooges, and an A/B comparison like this reminds me why.

      Good thoughts.  Agree 100% MOOCHING is darker.  The script by its very nature is dark, especially at the beginning when the brothers are hiding each other, but yeah The Three Stooges adding the occasional farcical touch definitely lighten things more while Keaton and Collins mostly play straight.  The Stooges had a natural chemistry together and gags like the no glass eye poke you mention are tailor made for them.  Keaton and Collins again are thrown together and don't really gel comedically.  Dramatically, both are fine here, and Buster's best comic bits, like the fake death scene and the throwing of log in the air to hit strategically placed opponent's head, are either solo or with Ned Glass. 

[Dr. Mabuse]

One of Keaton's worst Columbia two-reelers — quite a comedown from the cinematic genius who brought you "The General" . . . or "Pest From the West."  Buster does his best under the circumstances, but it's a losing battle and a dreary affair.

3/10

[Kopfy2013]

Thanks to this thread I watched this and Warbirds back to back.  To me Warbirds blows it away, but I am a Stooge fan.  I laughed and smiled multiple times on Warbirds and hardly ever on Mooching.  However, I would not call this awful.  It was entertaining to watch but to me not comical. I will give it a 5.

[I. Cheatam]

One of Keaton's worst Columbia two-reelers — quite a comedown from the cinematic genius who brought you "The General" . . . or "Pest From the West."  Buster does his best under the circumstances, but it's a losing battle and a dreary affair.

3/10

It's pretty funny to see Buster's stunt double accidentally kick Monte Collins in the face when he falls off the unicycle.