Topic: Mixed Magic (1936) - Buster Keaton

[metaldams]

      Well, the girl is pretty anyway, but again, very young.  Marlyn Stuart, who was age 16 when this was filmed.  Doing a little research on her, I found a thread at nitrateville with info by our very own FalseAlarms if any of you guys are interested.

https://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=12998

      Don't have too much to say about this one because I hate to be a downer.  My least favorite of Keaton's Educational films.  I have two issues with it.  Like THE ELECTRIC HOUSE the mechanical gags tend to overtake the Keaton character.  However, unlike THE ELECTRIC HOUSE, the mechanical gags are not quite that interesting.  Really a bunch of failed magic tricks like curtains falling, barrels being moved at inopportune tims, and wire tricks gone wrong.  Nothing that interesting in my eyes.  The second issue is that involves Keaton being dumb and I prefer a halfway intelligent Keaton mixed with some dumb moments.  Not here.  This short would have worked great with The Three Stooges.  I can imagine some great Curly and Larry reactions and Moe reprimanding them in this situation.  Keaton is a dryer and more cerebral comedian than The Three Stooges and doesn't do pure dumb as well.

      Look, like most of these Educationals, it's 16 minutes of harmless fun, so ultimately I can sit down and enjoy this for what it is, but with a critical eye, I can see this as a weaker one.  Next short we discuss improves.

[Umbrella Sam]

I like the idea for this short, but, yeah, the execution isn’t very good for the most part. I did enjoy a few moments. I liked the brief bit where he tricked the other man into dealing with the guy looking for money and I also enjoyed the part with him getting stuck on the ropes. But as a whole, a lot of it relies on Keaton just being an idiot. Even before the magic act starts, he can’t focus and just tells Stuart that he’s in love with her when she simply wants to make sure he knows all the tricks. Then the rest of it is just him making the magician more frustrated through his idiocy, and that’s it until the finale. The finale’s OK, and it’s nice to see him make better use of the ropes as well.

Definitely one of the weaker Educationals, but I’ve seen worse.

4 out of 10

[metaldams]

I'm watching Richard Robert's audio commentary for AN OLD SPANISH CUSTOM, found on the INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH KEATON DVD.  It was filmed around the time Keaton was doing the Educationals.

Anyway, that young and pretty leading lady I mention, Marlyn Stuart, in this as well as THE CHEMIST and BLUE BLAZES, ESQ.; was a Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl.  She has all of five credits on imdb, three of them Keaton films.  Yes folks, they were "involved."

Explains the leading lady situation in these Education shorts in at least some films.

[Dr. Mabuse]

"Mixed Magic" has its moments, but the choppy print on my Kino DVD was almost unwatchable. Reportedly, a major effort is underway to restore all the Keaton Educationals in their original 35mm glory.  It's long overdue.

5/10

[metaldams]

"Mixed Magic" has its moments, but the choppy print on my Kino DVD was almost unwatchable. Reportedly, a major effort is underway to restore all the Keaton Educationals in their original 35mm glory.  It's long overdue.

5/10

I think a bunch of the Educational shorts are being restored, even the non Keaton stuff.  Yes, I will pick that up for sure.