The Boat (1921 film)
| The Boat | |
|---|---|
| File:BUSTER KEATON THE BOAT LOBBY CARD HAIL HAIL THE GANG'S ALL HERE.jpg The Boat Lobby Card | |
| Directed by | Buster Keaton Edward F. Cline |
| Written by | Buster Keaton Edward F. Cline |
| Produced by | Joseph M. Schenck |
| Starring | Buster Keaton Sybil Seely |
| Cinematography | Elgin Lessley |
| Distributed by | First National Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 25 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent with English intertitles |
The Boat is a 1921 American short comedy film written by, directed and starring Buster Keaton.[1] The International Buster Keaton Society takes its name, The Damfinos, from this film.[2]
Plot
Buster is married with two children (both of whom wear the porkpie hat made famous by Keaton). He has built a large boat he has christened Damfino inside his home. When he finishes and decides to take the boat out to sea, he discovers it is too large to fit through the door. Buster enlarges the opening a bit, but when he tows the boat out, it proves to be a bit bigger than he estimated, and the house collapses, utterly.
Buster loses his car during the attempt to launch the boat. The boat passes with impunity under the exceedingly low bridges of the Venice (California) canals thanks to Buster's boat design. While out on the Pacific, Buster and his family are caught in a terrible storm. The boat is barely seaworthy to begin with, and it does not help that Buster nails a picture up inside the boat, causing an improbable leak, or when he further drills through the bottom of the boat to let the water out (resulting in a spectacular gusher of a leak). He radios a Morse Code call for help, but when the navy or coast guard operator asks who it is, he answers, "d-a-m-f-i-n-o" (in Morse Code). The man interprets it as "damn if I know" and dismisses the call as a prank. Taking to a (ridiculously small) dinghy (that is in fact a bathtub), Buster and his family wash up on a deserted beach in dark of night. "Where are we?" asks his wife (via an intertitle), to which Buster replies, "Damn if I know" (mouthing the words to the camera, no intertitle is used).
Cast
- Buster Keaton as The Boat Builder
- Edward F. Cline as SOS Receiver (uncredited)
- Sybil Seely as His Wife (uncredited)
See also
References
- ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: The Boat". Silent Era. Retrieved February 26, 2008.
- ^ "The History of The Damfinos". busterkeaton.com. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
External links
- The Boat at IMDb
- The short film The Boat is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- International Buster Keaton Society review
- 1921 films
- 1920s comedy films
- 1920s short films
- American films
- American comedy films
- American silent short films
- American black-and-white films
- Seafaring films
- First National Pictures films
- Films directed by Buster Keaton
- Films directed by Edward F. Cline
- Films produced by Joseph M. Schenck
- Screenplays by Buster Keaton