Product Description

The greatest box office success of all his independent comedies, "Battling Butler" (1926, 71 min.) is a rarely seen gem that mingles Buster Keaton's deadpan demeanor and awesome physical agility with a particularly dramatic storyline. Keaton stars as Alfred Butler, a fragile young man whose father sends him to the country where he hopes masculinity will blossom. Ironically, he is mistaken for "Battling" Butler, a renowned prizefighter. Alfred continues the ruse until the charade is complicated by the untimely arrival of the true contender (Francis McDonald). Also featured on this DVD are two of Keaton's rarely seen short films. A Yukon metropolis is the snowbound setting of "The Frozen North" (1921, 21 min.), wherein Buster parodies movie legends William S. Hart and Erich von Stroheim. "The Haunted House" (1922, 17 min.) has been meticulously restored to its original glory: an astounding series of sight gags and illusions. Digitally mastered from archival prints, with original musical scores.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #95463 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-10-26
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Silent, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: Japanese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 108 minutes

Customer Reviews

Keaton's Dramatic Breakthrough
"Battling Butler" was the closest Buster Keaton ever came to making a dramatic film. Though regarded by contemporary critics as one of Buster's weaker efforts, this 1926 production broke new ground in its directorial style and depth - paving the way for "The General" and "Steamboat Bill, Jr." A traditional boxing comedy on the surface, "Battling Butler" has a subdued tone that erupts into violent rage with its climactic fight. The film equates pain with redemption and reveals the seriousness of Keaton's comic art. Like many Keaton silent features, "Battling Butler" moves beyond the slapstick realm to reveal a darker portrait of American individualism.

Battling Buster
Battling Butler is not as well respected as some of Keaton's more famous silent films. Leonard Maltin, for example, calls it `one of Buster's weaker silent features.' It is true that it does not reach the heights of comic ingenuity that can be found in The General, but it is far from weak. It may not be as clever as some of Keaton's films but it is just as funny.

Battling Butler has a number of boxing scenes and it is natural to compare them with Chaplin's famous fight in City Lights. Whereas Chaplin is really a choreographed dancer disguised as a boxer, Keaton, though for the most part equally incompetent, shows that boxing has a dark and dangerous side. Keaton's fighting is finally savage and thus the comedy of his boxing scenes has a genuine tension which is lacking in the pure humour of City Lights. There is no danger of Charlie really getting hurt, but while watching Buster the viewer's laughter is mixed with fear for his well being. Keaton's athleticism makes his fighting realistic and gives rise to a genuinely shocking surprise at the end of the film. Both Keaton and Chaplin with their unique styles are wonderful comic boxers, but it is Keaton with his darker vision who most closely approaches the nature of boxing.

Keaton's leading ladies can be rather unmemorable. This is not the case in Battling Butler, for Sally O'Neil was obviously a fine comic actress. Her beauty is of the twenties style, a lost fashion which many fans of silent films admire so much. Moreover her character is someone to care about, an integral part of the story, rather than someone who merely acts as a prop for Buster's gags. Another memorable character is played by Keaton regular Snitz Edwards. Just looking at Edwards makes me laugh. His face contorts into the most marvellous of expressions and it is clear why he was a favourite with Keaton for he acts as a sort of contrast to Buster's stone face.

The quality of the print of Battling Butler is superb. It has almost no damage and the black and white images are sharp, clear and somehow more shining than is usually apparent with silent films. The prints of the short films which are included on this DVD are less good. The Haunted House is partially tinted with night scenes appearing blue. Unfortunately these blue scenes are a little too dark. Nevertheless this is a fine short film with some very funny moments. The Frozen North is described as surviving in only a fragmentary condition. However, it does not look as if a great deal of the film has been lost, as its running time of 17 minutes is not much less than other Keaton shorts and the continuity seems to be, for the most part, intact. The print quality though is quite poor with some of the images appearing bleached and indistinct. It is an enjoyable film with some good moments especially Keaton's impersonation of Stroheim's character from Foolish Wives.

Overall this is a wonderful DVD with a superb feature and two good shorts. It acts as a fine introduction to Keaton for those who are unfamiliar with his work, while for those people building a Buster Keaton collection it is indispensable.

Buster Keaton is cool!
Let's face it, talkies ruined the movies. This volume proves it as much as any other. Battling Butler is brilliant (especially the waterfall scene at the end), The frozen north is hilarious, and The haunted house is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen (especially the bank scenes). Get this movie now!