The Navigator (1924 film)
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| The Navigator | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Buster Keaton Donald Crisp |
| Produced by | Buster Keaton |
| Written by | Clyde Bruckman Jean C. Havez Joseph A. Mitchell Buster Keaton |
| Starring | Buster Keaton Frederick Vroom Kathryn McGuire |
| Music by | Robert Israel (1995 score) |
| Cinematography | Byron Houck Elgin Lessley |
| Distributed by | Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer |
| Release date(s) | October 13, 1924 |
| Running time | 59 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
The Navigator is a 1924 comedy directed by and starring Buster Keaton. The film was written by Clyde Bruckman and co-directed by Donald Crisp.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Rollo Treadway (Buster Keaton) and the girl who scorned his proposal of marriage, Betsy O'Brien (Kathryn McGuire), are stranded on an otherwise deserted passenger ship set adrift on the Pacific Ocean.
[edit] Background
The Navigator contains some of the most elaborate and well-known stunts by Keaton.
The actual vessel used was the S.S. Buford, a passenger liner that had also served as a World War I troopship and was infamous as the "Red Ark" for carrying 249 Communists deported during the First Red Scare. Scheduled to be scrapped, Keaton bought it as a very large prop.[2]
[edit] Cast
- Buster Keaton as Rollo Treadway
- Frederick Vroom as John O'Brien
- Kathryn McGuire as Betsy O'Brien
- Clarence Burton as Spy
- H.N. Clugston as Spy
- Donald Crisp as Face on picture at porthole
- Noble Johnson as Cannibal chief
[edit] Critical reception
When the film was released, Variety said, "Buster Keaton's comedy is spotty. That is to say it's both commonplace and novel, with the latter sufficient to make the picture a laugh getter..." Variety also noted the novelty of Keaton's deep-sea diving costume and settings and praised "an abundance of funny business" in some of the film's underwater scenes.[3]
More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote that the film "proved to be Keaton's biggest commercial success. Its theme of civilized man versus the machine (seen as making life difficult for modern man because we have become so dependent on it and it's not always reliable), was never used more effectively in cinema."[4]
American Film Institute recognition
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs #81
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Navigator at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ The Navigator at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Variety. Film review extract, 1924. Last accessed: July 16, 2009.
- ^ Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, October 10, 2006. Last accessed: June 5, 2008.
[edit] External links
- The Navigator at the Internet Movie Database
- The Navigator at Allmovie
- The Navigator at SilentEra
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