Topic: Palooka From Paducah (1935) - Buster Keaton

[metaldams]

      The pleasure of this third Buster Keaton Educational short is simply watching the majority of his family get in on the fun.  Brother Harry does not show up in this week's short but will be in a later film.  Father Joe we've seen several times in Buster's silent work, but as far as mother Myra and sister Louise, this is our first time seeing them.  Joe was always much taller than Buster, so seeing how petite his Mom was we now know where Buster got his height.  Even facially, one can see the resemblance Buster had with his Mom and sister.  The family acted on stage together for several years and it's a shame they couldn't all work together when Buster had a higher budget, but what's here is still of interest to any seasoned Keaton fan.

      Not too much else to say about this one.  The pace of the characters is purposefully country bumpkin slow and this really feels like a series a fun little moments without any major gags that truly build up.  I guess the closest to a build up is Louise throwing the dynamite stick that gets used mistakenly as a stick for horeseshoes. You know eventually the horseshoe will hit the dynamite and cause an explosion, and it's fun watching Buster get his clothes half blown off in the process.

      I like Myra, Louise and Joe in the denture scene talking about saving money with two upper sets of dentures, not to mention Buster's Mom getting in on the wrestling action later on, eventually hanging upside down from her wrestler son's arms!  Some physical skill from a woman in her 60's, but this is Buster's Mom after all.  Buster takes a few good falls and I do enjoy watching him get dragged around as he leg scissors his wrestling brother who barely notices.  Just a lot of subtle little bits like this thrown in plus the idea of watching the Keaton family makes PALOOKA FROM PADUCAH not a place to be for the uninitiated, but of great interest to the seasoned Keaton fan.

      In addition to James C. Morton, another Al Thompson sighting is upon us. He shall now be referred to as the Forrest Gump of classic screen comedy.

[metaldams]

If your screen still of the YouTube video is the same as mine, the leg scissor scene I mention is captured above.  Check out how straight Keaton keeps his body while doing that....incredible.

[Umbrella Sam]

The main appeal to this is seeing just how physically adept Buster’s family was as he was himself. Myra is very impressive during the wrestling scene and Louise does a fall at one point in the same exact way Keaton would have done. The wrestling scene is pretty fun and I especially think it’s sweet how Elmer ends up beating his opponent out of rage for him hurting his brother.

Unfortunately, the first half of this one is rather slow, and, yeah, I know that’s kind of the point but I just don’t think it leads to much comedic possibility beyond that explosion scene. I give them credit for trying something different, and none of the characters are unbearable as Buster’s Elmer character could be at times. Unfortunately, I just don’t think it works very well, which is a shame because this is a rare opportunity to see what the Keaton family’s stage act might have been like. As I mentioned, the wrestling scene is pretty good, so I’d recommend watching that at least, even if the first half was a disappointment.

6 out of 10

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Agreed, the best part of this one is seeing almost the whole Keaton family in action.  And the action is O K, my only gripe being that the sound quality is rather pathetic.  I don't remember it being this primitive in the Educationals we've seen so far.  Nice to see the legendary wrestler/stuntman Bull Montana showing a nice flair for deadpan comedy.  If this had had the lively sound of Punch Drunks or Grips, Grunts, and Groans, I would rank it up there with those two, especially the in-ring finale.  But the dead sound loses points.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Oh, yes, and another star turn ( ? ! ) by Al Thomson.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Incidentally, I notice that the " Maw - Paw " dialogue in this one has almost exactly the same rhythms and even vocabulary of The Fatal Glass of Beer.  Was there a big hillbilly soundie that they are all burlesquing?  Some prestige production, Tobacco Road or some such?  ( Obviously, I have no idea when Tobacco road was filmed, but these two are so close I'm thinking there might be a common source. )

[metaldams]

Incidentally, I notice that the " Maw - Paw " dialogue in this one has almost exactly the same rhythms and even vocabulary of The Fatal Glass of Beer.  Was there a big hillbilly soundie that they are all burlesquing?  Some prestige production, Tobacco Road or some such?  ( Obviously, I have no idea when Tobacco road was filmed, but these two are so close I'm thinking there might be a common source. )

I just watched THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER the other day in addition to an audio commentary about the short.  TFGOB is more Yukon than Appalachian, but the idea of small town, slow talking simple folks is similar to this Keaton short.  According to the audio commentary, TFGOB was indeed a burlesque on small town folks leave home melodramas at the time...lost to several modern viewers.  As far as hillbilly burlesque though, I'm not too sure, though I wouldn't be surprised.  Considering just about every ethnicity and accent was stereotyped in those days, I wouldn't be surprised if this was common. 

For the record, huge Fields and TFGOB fan.  God bless acronyms.

[Paul Pain]

It's a must see if you're a Buster fan, but otherwise this short is severely lacking.  It was really confusing for me until I realized that Buster's character was named Jim.  Thereafter, it was much easier.  It was fun to see Buster with his Ma, Pa, and Sis, but it's boring to see his family only allowed to portray a bunch of hillbilly dopes.  Only because it's Buster's family do I forgive the lack of Buster in this one.

There are some good gags here and there, but overall it's mostly tiresome.  It was hard to get through in one sitting for sure.

I think everyone instantly recognized Al Thompson.

6/10

[metaldams]

It's a must see if you're a Buster fan, but otherwise this short is severely lacking.  It was really confusing for me until I realized that Buster's character was named Jim.  Thereafter, it was much easier.  It was fun to see Buster with his Ma, Pa, and Sis, but it's boring to see his family only allowed to portray a bunch of hillbilly dopes.  Only because it's Buster's family do I forgive the lack of Buster in this one.

There are some good gags here and there, but overall it's mostly tiresome.  It was hard to get through in one sitting for sure.

I think everyone instantly recognized Al Thompson.

6/10

Glad to see you back Paul.  Hope all’s well.

[Dr. Mabuse]

Yes, it's great to see the Keaton family captured on film. Unfortunately, "Palooka From Paducah" is one of the lesser Educationals, with the laughs few and far between. Pleasant but forgettable — especially when compared to the Stooges' high-energy "Grips, Grunts and Groans." Nice ending, though.

6/10