L'invasore

Of all the items culled for the "Industrial Strength Keaton" DVD collection, this was not only the worst looking one because of a bad print but, quality-wise, there's hardly any comedy even with The Great Stone Face's presence, and the music numbers just show how padded this feature called An Old Spanish Custom (at least here in the U.S.) is. It's not that there aren't any good gags here-like when Buster sings "In An Old Spanish Town" while some fruit drops on his head-it's just they come at arbitrary points and you have to wade through a lot of plot-related dialogue that is just performed monotonously to get to them. Also, Buster doesn't have too much motivation for his character so I don't find myself feeling for him here. Still, anything featuring the legendary comic is at least worth a look at least once so there you are...

Sound is sometimes mostly just a flavor, as Buster Keaton proves by making another splendid film defined chiefly by his reliable penchant for sight gags and physical comedy. Clearly neither Keaton nor the filmmaker were quite done with silent sensibilities, for dialogue could generally be substituted here with intertitles without missing anything. It should be said that 'The invader,' also known as 'An old Spanish custom,' perhaps lags at times, with less robust or consistent humor than the star at his best; simply put, not every bit lands. There's a reason the man's career tapered off after the advent of talkies. (Well, okay, multiple reasons.) Yet even if the result falls short of the utmost heights we assume of the actor, still I think overall this is rather enjoyable, and a fine diversion for a mere hour.

Yes, it's distinctly uneven, and light in content even by the standards of the era. For such faults, one can hardly miss the fact that the plot development, climax, and ending feel abrupt and even forced. The stunts that the star is known for are also less noteworthy here. But even for all that still the picture earns plenty of laughs, and the plot is suitably smart. Between Keaton's comedic timing and aloof, nervous disposition in-character, Adrian Brunel's practiced direction, and the writing, all the necessary ingredients are present for a duly entertaining farce. All those behind the scenes put in good work in terms of costumes, sets, and the like. For a Keaton vehicle to not totally land still means it's no worse off than being "average" by the standards of other contemporary fare, and indeed, there are a lot worse movies from the 1930s that one could spend time with.

This is hardly essential in the same way as 'Go west,' 'The general,' or any of Keaton's many other silent classics. This may not be especially memorable in the grand scheme of things, at least not by comparison. But the feature only wants to have fun, and despite any weaknesses, I believe it handily achieves that goal. Sure, there are other films that should claim priority for any viewer, but if you're looking for something light and frivolous, 'The invader' neatly fits the bill. Don't go out of your way for it, but this is quite nice for a quick view.

Very poor effort from Buster Keaton, who looks like he'd rather be anywhere else. The premise does offer some comic possibilities (Buster used as a patsy by a pair of lovers in a plan to get rid of the woman's husband), but there is more music than comedy (barely any comedy, really), and the production values / sound / image are atrocious. The only redeeming element is that Lupita Tovar (who lived to be 106!) is pretty hot, especially in some shots with wet hair and her bare back exposed. *1/2 out of 4.

The only reason why I'm giving this practically forgotten low-budget film 6 out of 10 stars is that it is historically very interesting and important for Keaton completists. It's a fairly artful example of BK and his drunk mid-30s worst work BUT he also clearly managed to get a lot of input into gags, and the basic premise - a version of Spite Marriage (wrong guy gets married to girl to make bad guy jealous) - reminds us of previous and better fleshed-out MGM era films.

Note that Keaton re-made (or had it remade) this film as a short at Columbia years later, a 16-minute distillation that services the admittedly thin plot better. Seeing the same gags in different context is often illustrative of how they were thought up. Here producer Sam Spiegel tries to cash in on Keaton's fame, and actually hired German DP Eugen Schüfftan, who had worked with Pabst, Wilder, Carne, and other very expressionistic directors earlier in his career. This low-budget film actually tries to look much better than it can ever hope to.

I recommend seeing this film on the recent Laughsmith's INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH KEATON DVD, which has a knowing commentary telling us the behind-the-scenes stories of the film.

The Invader is practically a silent movie, and most of the dialogue could have been taken care of with a few well-placed title cards like in the olden days. For the first twenty minutes of the movie, the leading man doesn't even talk. Finally, when Buster Keaton opens his mouth, he stammers over the word "Senorita" when trying to speak Spanish to Lupita Tovar. It turns out she speaks English, so he doesn't have to worry for the rest of the movie. He does try to woo Lupita by singing, but his rival throws things at him until he stops, pouts, and stalks off the screen with his guitar under his arm.

Let's face it, there's no reason you'd rent this movie unless you're a die-hard Buster Keaton fan and want to watch all his movies. If you've accidentally stumbled upon this movie and haven't seen much or any of him, don't bother with this one. It's not very good, and even if you love Buster-which I absolutely do-you're better off watching something better.