"The Railrodder" is one of Buster Keaton's last films and, oddly, it's a travelogue of sorts made for the National Film Board of Canada. I've been a member of a Buster Keaton Facebook group for some time and heard several folks saying how good it was...though when I saw it decades ago I was unimpressed. So, I decided to see it again. After all, my initial reaction might have been too harsh.
The film is essentially a silent, though there is music and sound...just no one speaking. It begins with Buster in London...reading about how lovely Canada is. So, he jumps into the Thames and moments later he walks ashore in Canada. From there, he hops aboard a Canadian National Railway maintenance car (sort of like a gocart version of a train) and drives the rails across the nation.
For the most part, this is a mildly enjoyable but decidedly unfunny film. While a few bits are nice, the film bears no similarity to Keaton's brilliant shorts of the 1920s...none. As I said above, it's more a travelogue showing various bits of Canada as Keaton goes from coast to coast...but the jokes just aren't very funny nor are there very many. It is a chance to see a great comic...just not doing his best work. And, as you can tell, my earlier feelings about the picture were pretty much unchanged.
The film is essentially a silent, though there is music and sound...just no one speaking. It begins with Buster in London...reading about how lovely Canada is. So, he jumps into the Thames and moments later he walks ashore in Canada. From there, he hops aboard a Canadian National Railway maintenance car (sort of like a gocart version of a train) and drives the rails across the nation.
For the most part, this is a mildly enjoyable but decidedly unfunny film. While a few bits are nice, the film bears no similarity to Keaton's brilliant shorts of the 1920s...none. As I said above, it's more a travelogue showing various bits of Canada as Keaton goes from coast to coast...but the jokes just aren't very funny nor are there very many. It is a chance to see a great comic...just not doing his best work. And, as you can tell, my earlier feelings about the picture were pretty much unchanged.