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THE CAMERAMAN (1928)
A Metro Goldwyn-Mayer Release
Produced
by Lawrence Weingarten. Directed by Edward M. Sedgwick.
Script by Richard Schayer. Story by Clyde Bruckman and
Lew Lipton. Titles by Joseph Farnham. Photography by
Elgin Lessley and Reggie Lanning. Edited by Hugh Wynn and
Basil Wrangell. Technical Direction by Fred Gabourie.
Costumes by David Cox. 69 min. |
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| When Keaton eventually branched out onto his own, he quickly mastered the rudiments of what makes people laugh. One only has to screen a handful of his silents to see the effort that was propelled into each of these gems. Releasing his movies independently through United Artists, Keaton was riding the crest of the wave, and even surpassed Chaplin for a time in the 1920's. Many of these productions (i.e. "The General" and Steamboat Bill Jr.") were plagued with huge budgets, making it extremely hard for United Artists to recoup their enormous costs. |
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It was at this time that producer Joseph Schenck suggested Keaton's parting company with United Artists and forming an alliance with Metro Goldwyn-Mayer, a studio which would finance his upcoming pictures.Keaton agreed, but would later profess that the move was "the biggest mistake of my life". Unfortunately, poor Buster was to find out that MGM was a factory which would not stand for his constant rewriting and on the set improvisation. Experimenting with comedy was a taboo at this new studio, for time was money. Subsequently Keaton found, to his diamay, that others who knew nothing about his unique brand of humor, were slated to write and direct. This infuriated Keaton, and he began drinking heavily. As a result, in four short years, Buster Keaton was a broken man! During his stint at MGM, however, one film does stand out as a classic, and can definitely be compared to his best independently made films. THE CAMERAMAN, directed by comedy veteran Edward Sedgwick and written by some of Buster's old writer/friends from United Artists like his former collaborator Clyde Bruckman, shows what Keaton was capable of achieving before MGM executives intervened. |
| It's brisk pace and hilarious
comedic moments wrapped with pathos were so expertly
interwoven that years later, when MGM would add a new
comedian to their roster, it was mandatory that the new
hopeful should screen THE CAMERAMAN. As a matter of fact,
the original negative material was used so frequently
through the years that it became damaged from usage and
has, as a result, lost two key scenes! Nevertheless, as
it is, THE CAMERAMAN remains a wonderful example of
comedy filmmaking par excellence. Keaton's doltish Luke
Shannon and the lovely Marceline Day as Sally Richards
make an engaging (albeit unlikely) couple. However, Day's
sincere fondness for Keaton makes the film work. After screening Keaton's early masterpieces, it's extremely hard to fathom that in the 1940's, he was again hired by MGM as a gag writer for Red Skelton, Abbott and Costello, and the Marx Brothers. As an all around comic talent, none of these men could hold a candle next to the sheer genius of Buster Keaton. |
