Topic: Grand Slam Opera (1936) - Buster Keaton

[metaldams]

      I have nothing bad to say about this one.  Well, OK....Phyllis Crane is in this one again, but if you blink, you'll miss her.  Seriously, the girl had talent, but oh well, such is life.  Wasted Phyllis Crane aside, this is probably the best talking film Keaton ever made and if not quite as amazing as his silents, can at the very least go toe to toe into the deep rounds, maybe losing by a decision.  Excellent short, I hope you guys and gals enjoy this as much as I do. 

      Keaton had a hand in writing this one with Charles Lamont and it shows.  There's actually some wit to this thing.  The very idea of Keaton performing a juggling act on radio is a wonderfully absurd idea and there's a great line later in the short about a whiskey bottle I won't give away, but it's possibly the best verbal joke Keaton ever did.  Look for it.

      There's dancing in this one too to show Keaton's physical abilities in a way we haven't seen probably since PARLOR, BEDROOM AND BATH.  Is this due to him sobering up?  I don't know, but the results are wonderful.  Now I'm not a dancing and pre rock 'n' roll musical guy in general but I understand the dancing is a parody of Fred Astaire.  The dancing Keaton does on the furniture and even on the ledge above the fireplace is quite a sight to behold, as is his attempts at juggling bowling balls on a pool stick with his chin.  The later dance stuff at the radio station is cool too, dancing to all different musical and cultural styles in a comic way.

      The beginning musical number is fun.  One of the harmonizing cowboys is legit good singer and original member of (clears throat) The Rolling Stones (Google it) in Bud Jamison.  Buster is no Rob Halford in the singing department, but he doesn't need to be, his voice is pleasant, warm, and carries a comic persona just fine.  He pulled off something similar in FREE AND EASY, one of the few highlights of that turkey.

      The girl this week is Diana Lewis and she carries herself quite well with the quick dialogue.  If her IMDB page is to be believed, she was born in 1919, making her only 16 or 17 when this was filmed.  Keaton's "dinner and a show" line, which he's used in a few other films, is great and just the way he acts oblivious to rejection from both the girl and the radio station shows a comic character in his own little world.  We also get a well timed broom fight with Harold Goodwin similar to what Keaton would do in stage with his pops....really this short is good.  Damn good.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

IMHO, by far the best Educational yet.  And from all I've read and heard, this is the high point of the Educationals.  Maybe, accent on maybe.  There may be one better, I'm given to understand.  Maybe.  This is the only one I've seen before now, and it's obvious that the big bit here is the recreation of Buster beating up his father Joe ( here played by the bandleader ) to the tune of The Anvil Chorus.  You can imagine the original in Vaudeville, with the six-foot Joe Keaton and his three-foot son wailing on each other.  Not being an expert, I only know this is true from having read about a bit where the Keatons, pere et fils, did some kind of violence set to the Anvil Chorus.  In other words, I recognized the music before I recognized the bit.  I hope I'm right.
     And yes, Buster is marvelously athletic and vaudevillian ( the two terms are often synonymous ) in this one, testifying to his sobriety.  No drunk, even on hiatus, could do this stuff.  It's almost like he was showing off his sobriety, letting anyone watching know.  Sadly, it didn't do him much good professionally.
     One complete travesty is Elmer's rented room, which doubles as a rehearsal space. Any space rented to a smallest-timer such as Elmer in New York City would barely hold a bed, never mind rehearsal space AND A FIREPLACE?  This is obviously a joke, but I'm not sure who would get it.
     A lost joke ( as you know, I try to explain these passe jokes as best I can to you young whippersnappers ) occurs during Buster's backstage dance to the string band's International Medley.  He dances a folk dance to each national dance ( and BTW his Russian knee-dance, which is incredibly difficult, is 
 spectacularly well done, even  throwing in a tiny touch of parody ) BUT... when they come to the middle-eastern sounding strain, you'll notice that Buster
 
turns his back to the camera and hesitantly does not much at all.  That's because back in that era, it was commonly known that the words to that four minor bars were " Oh, they wore no clothes in those old Egyptian shows..."  Buster's teasing at that point.  Now that you know the words, try it and you can sing along with it, and the bit makes sense.
     Aside from all this, I got nothing.

[metaldams]

IMHO, by far the best Educational yet.  And from all I've read and heard, this is the high point of the Educationals.  Maybe, accent on maybe.  There may be one better, I'm given to understand.  Maybe.  This is the only one I've seen before now, and it's obvious that the big bit here is the recreation of Buster beating up his father Joe ( here played by the bandleader ) to the tune of The Anvil Chorus.  You can imagine the original in Vaudeville, with the six-foot Joe Keaton and his three-foot son wailing on each other.  Not being an expert, I only know this is true from having read about a bit where the Keatons, pere et fils, did some kind of violence set to the Anvil Chorus.  In other words, I recognized the music before I recognized the bit.  I hope I'm right.
     And yes, Buster is marvelously athletic and vaudevillian ( the two terms are often synonymous ) in this one, testifying to his sobriety.  No drunk, even on hiatus, could do this stuff.  It's almost like he was showing off his sobriety, letting anyone watching know.  Sadly, it didn't do him much good professionally.
     One complete travesty is Elmer's rented room, which doubles as a rehearsal space. Any space rented to a smallest-timer such as Elmer in New York City would barely hold a bed, never mind rehearsal space AND A FIREPLACE?  This is obviously a joke, but I'm not sure who would get it.
     A lost joke ( as you know, I try to explain these passe jokes as best I can to you young whippersnappers ) occurs during Buster's backstage dance to the string band's International Medley.  He dances a folk dance to each national dance ( and BTW his Russian knee-dance, which is incredibly difficult, is 
 spectacularly well done, even  throwing in a tiny touch of parody ) BUT... when they come to the middle-eastern sounding strain, you'll notice that Buster
 
turns his back to the camera and hesitantly does not much at all.  That's because back in that era, it was commonly known that the words to that four minor bars were " Oh, they wore no clothes in those old Egyptian shows..."  Buster's teasing at that point.  Now that you know the words, try it and you can sing along with it, and the bit makes sense.
     Aside from all this, I got nothing.

Thanks for the insight on the dance scene at the radio station.  I figured enough there were different ethnic musical styles making him change his dancing, but I must admit I didn't get why he turned his back.  Perhaps Buster could have, instead of turning his back to the camera, actually gotten naked but to be Hays Code compliant, have a hand cover enough of the lense like they did with Sybil Seely (my vote for best looking Keaton leading lady along with Marceline Day), in the bathtub in ONE WEEK.

[Umbrella Sam]

Well, I must say I’m impressed. Not only is GRAND SLAM OPERA a huge improvement over the most recent Educational shorts, but I’d go as far as saying that it’s the best sound film Keaton ever was the star of.

It’s strange, because the idea of having him take part in a radio broadcast doesn’t seem like a necessarily good idea, since radio shows generally relied on heavy dialogue or sound effects, but Keaton actually manages to fix this issue by trying a visual act for the radio and even emphasizing how bizarre it is to the person running the show. One thing I love about this bit is how the conductor of the orchestra sees Keaton perform his juggling act successfully, yet still has to ask him whether or not he was successful.

The rest of it mainly consists of visual routines, but this is a rare film where Keaton actually manages to take advantage of sound while maintaining his usual style of comedy. An excellent example is the scene of him dancing to various song styles. While it was possible to attempt this in the silent era, it would have required a lot of cutting back and forth in order for the audience to understand what kind of song was being played. Here, all they have to do is change the music style in the background, while the camera stays on Keaton and we get to see him quickly adjust.

If anything proves that Keaton was sober by this point, it’s this film. His timing is fantastic, which is saying a lot since not only does he have to do a ton of physical gags, but he has to do them in time to the music. He even throws in a pretty impressive Fred Astaire parody. The finale, meanwhile, comes across as very cartoony, which I like. This is a rare time where a rushed ending actually works, because you can tell that it’s meant to be played for laughs.

I haven’t been that fond of the supporting cast in these Educational films, but this one actually has a pretty good one. Diana Lewis, Harold Goodwin, John Ince, all of them do well in the roles written for them. Heck, even Bud Jamison briefly appears. Even the song sequences are pleasant. Honestly, I really don’t have any problems with this short.

GRAND SLAM OPERA really exceeded my expectations and I have no doubt that Keaton’s involvement in the writing was a contributing factor to how great it was. He seemed to have had some involvement with the writing in the past, but this is the only one in which he actually receives a screen credit. If anyone wants to see Keaton working successfully with sound, this is the film to check out.

10 out of 10

[Paul Pain]

Is there anything bad to say about this one?  NO!

This is the first Educational short I have seen (and I have watched a couple others besides Buster's) where the supporting cast was actually decent.  When I am done watching the Buster's (or before), we may get to review a few of those little capsules of nightmare.

GRAND SLAM OPERA is a fantastic effort.  The best things have been said already by others who weren't me, but there are certain highlights.  The entire scene in the apartment is wild and wacky, especially him dancing on top of the fireplace mantle.  In addition, the timing of the "Anvil Chorus" routine with Harold Goodwin was fantastic.  I, like Big Chief, recognized the tune immediately.  Strangely, Buster's Russian dance was set to "Hungarian Dance No. 5" by the German composer living in Austria, Johannes Brahms.

I must give especial note to John Ince, who wonderfully played a sadistic, sardonic, and acidic radio announcer.

10/10

[Dr. Mabuse]

"Grand Slam Opera" showcases Buster Keaton's unique style of cinematic vaudeville while transcending its low production values. Buster is nothing short of astonishing as he sings, dances and runs like an Olympic sprinter.  In terms of comic invention, this 20-minute tour de force puts the MGM talkies to shame. Keaton's finest Educational two-reeler received enthusiastic reviews and should have led to better opportunities. The greatness was still there.

10/10