The Buster Keaton Story

The Buster Keaton Story (1957)

** (out of 4)

Strange, inaccurate but slightly entertaining bio flick takes a look at the rise of Buster Keaton (Donald O'Connor) and his fall from grace due to the talkies (?!?!?) and alcoholism. The producers might have well called this THE JOE SMITH STORY because those familiar with Keaton are going to see very few similarities between his life and the events shown in this film. I understand that no bio film is going to be accurate because things need to be made up or left out for entertainment purposes. With that said, there's simply so much missing here and so many things looked over that I really wonder what the entire point of this film was. I'm sure Paramount wanted to get in on the bio-craze that was sweeping Hollywood during this period but this film does very little justice to Keaton. If you didn't know who Keaton was you'd never get the idea that he was a genius from this picture. In fact, the majority of the running time is devoted to Keaton's personal life, which includes having his heart broken by a Hollywood vamp but eventually being rescued by the woman (Ann Blyth) who has always loved him. We get a couple re-enactments from Keaton's professional career but they don't contain a single laugh including a pretty weak one from COLLEGE. O'Connor does what he can with the role and I think he gives a good performance but it's just not Buster Keaton he's doing. Blyth is also good in her role and we even get Peter Lorre playing a director in a small bit. No one should come to this film expecting a documentary on Keaton, that's very clear. However, I thought the film was slightly amusing simply because of how many liberties it takes with the truth. You're pretty much constantly glued to what's going on because you want to see what they're going to do next.

Donald O'Connor plays Buster Keaton in this flick. It follows him mostly from his arriving in Hollywood, becoming a star, hitting doldrums in his career as well as alcohol problems...especially alcohol problems.

"The Buster Keaton Story" is a bio-pic which represents the worst sort of thing that Hollywood could do. Why? Well, despite Keaton being a real person, so much of the film is completely wrong and the writers didn't even consult with Buster to make sure they got his life story right...presumably because they just didn't care. Too often bio-pics do this...and I wonder why...especially because Keaton DID have an interesting life and while he did have troubles with alcohol, it was way overblown for the movie. My advice is to read up on the man...you'll likely enjoy learning about him...much more than you'd learn in the film.

While you might not immediately think Donald O'Connor would be the perfect choice to play Buster Keaton, after you watch The Buster Keaton Story, you'll change your mind. Buster was a trained stuntman and Donald was a trained dancer; they each have incredible control over their bodies. After all, if someone's going to portray Buster, it would be sacrilegious for him to use a stunt double, wouldn't it?

There are so many wonderful elements to this movie. If you know and love silent film legend Buster Keaton's stunt sequences, you'll get to relive his glory by watching Donald O'Connor recreate some of his most famous film scenes. Not only is this a treat because this movie was made at a time before audiences could rent or own their favorite films-they hadn't been able to watch these snippets in thirty years-but it's touching to see someone who was in diapers during Buster's heyday give such a tribute to his talent and legacy. Also, if you know anything about Buster Keaton's real life, you'll recognize that this Hollywood recreation is very sugarcoated. If you love Buster, you'll like seeing things turn out better for him, and that he could live out a do-over on the screen. And if you need one more reason to love this movie, here it is: Buster in real life didn't adjust well to talking pictures, and as his career ended, his bank account dwindled. By selling the rights to his life story for this film, Buster was able to live comfortably for the rest of his life. Isn't that heartwarming?

If you want to learn the facts about Marion Davies, you don't watch "Citizen Kane." If you want to learn the facts of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, you don't watch "Some Like it Hot." Similarly, don't watch "the Buster Keaton Story," if you want to learn the facts of Keaton's amazing life. This is what Keaton and some other people thought would be entertaining for a 1957 audience to know about Buster Keaton. It emphasizes three points 1. Keaton was a vaudeville child performer and became a big star in Hollywood Silent films in the 20s, 2. When sound came in some mean people in Hollywood forced him to talk in ways he didn't like and this caused his films to bomb and he became an alcoholic, and 3. Later Keaton with the help of a good woman who loved him, found appreciation again when he returned to live audiences.

The bad part is that there are no other real historical characters besides Keaton and his parents (for four minutes) in the film. Not only names but also characters have been changed and generalized into types , probably to avoid lawsuits. Even the clothes are not of the historical period.

The good part is that it is still an interesting story with very good acting, especially by. Donald O'Connor, Ann Blyth, Rhonda Fleming, Peter Lorre and Larry Keating.

The best part is that we know that Buster Keaton as the technical advisor on the film recreated about 15 of his great bits and gags from his early films. One of the funniest was a brief recreation of a great scene with Thelma Todd from the movie "Speak Easily," where he tries to put a drunk woman on a bed.

Take the movie for what it is: a fictional biography by and about Buster Keaton, and you will enjoy it. Take it for what it is not: a true biography of Keaton, and you will be disappointed.

Donald O'Connor does an amazing job recreating Buster Keaton's style and routines in this otherwise dreadful script, credited to Sidney Sheldon and Robert Smith. Buster was arguably a finer comedian than Chaplin, but fell into alcoholism for a number of reasons. This script has so little to do with his life it should never have been titled as it was. Read a real biography, and watch some of Buster's many wonderful movies, including his last, "The Railrodder". I remember watching "Waterworld (1995)", and thinking how poorly it compared to "Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)", not least on value for the money expended on making it. And don't watch another movie until you have seen "The General (1927)". His movies are his biography, not this rotten script.