Buster plays a pampered wealthy aristocrat, who in order to experience a bit of rough and tumble and become "a real man" as his father wishes, goes on a hunting and camping expedition with his assistant. As is often the case in Keaton films he is a fish out of water, and we get numerous funny moments about the foolishness of someone in an unfamiliar environment - from uncertainty about walking through the woods at night, to dining in a suit with three sets of cutlery on a table (with cloth of course) erected by the river. While there he meets a beautiful woman he wishes to marry, but her hard edged father and brother won't approve of such a city slicker who appears unable to look after himself without an assistant, so Buster is forced to assume the identity of a champion boxer with the same name in order to win them over. This leads him to a training camp in the mountains, where the real champion boxer mistakenly believes Buster is flirting with his wife, and a nasty grudge ensues.
The tightly woven plot is one of Keaton's best, full of twists that while improbable, are not outside the realm of possibility enough to turn you away, and we humorously get a story about the power of attraction, and the lengths one will go to in order to win the one they love. As usual with Keaton films, it is often the small details along the way that charm the best. A scene where the two young lovers are so involved in their conversation they don't notice the table and chairs sinking into the soft ground until their faces are only inches apart. It is moments like these that show why Keaton was one of, if not the greatest silent filmmaker, for without dialogue he is expertly able to show the progression of the relationship from far apart strangers to infatuated friends, with a wonderful visual and a laugh to boot. Elsewhere he gets good laughs out of the difficulty climbing in and out of a boxing ring, the dangerous driving of country roads, and the unreliability of newspaper columns - the love advice therein proving of no help. It also happens to feature excellent cinematography, some of the finest cinematography I've seen in a Keaton film.
If there is one let down to this film however, unusually for Keaton, it is the climax. While not without it's charms, it fails to deliver the otherworldly uniqueness of his more regarded films, which is probably the reason it doesn't tend to be raved about as much. Still, just as it doesn't reach his highest of highs, it doesn't fall to any lows either, and is a joy to watch.
The tightly woven plot is one of Keaton's best, full of twists that while improbable, are not outside the realm of possibility enough to turn you away, and we humorously get a story about the power of attraction, and the lengths one will go to in order to win the one they love. As usual with Keaton films, it is often the small details along the way that charm the best. A scene where the two young lovers are so involved in their conversation they don't notice the table and chairs sinking into the soft ground until their faces are only inches apart. It is moments like these that show why Keaton was one of, if not the greatest silent filmmaker, for without dialogue he is expertly able to show the progression of the relationship from far apart strangers to infatuated friends, with a wonderful visual and a laugh to boot. Elsewhere he gets good laughs out of the difficulty climbing in and out of a boxing ring, the dangerous driving of country roads, and the unreliability of newspaper columns - the love advice therein proving of no help. It also happens to feature excellent cinematography, some of the finest cinematography I've seen in a Keaton film.
If there is one let down to this film however, unusually for Keaton, it is the climax. While not without it's charms, it fails to deliver the otherworldly uniqueness of his more regarded films, which is probably the reason it doesn't tend to be raved about as much. Still, just as it doesn't reach his highest of highs, it doesn't fall to any lows either, and is a joy to watch.