A different way of telling a story

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This film is not up to Buster Keaton's standards. The most interesting part of the film is the introduction, in which you see shadows of the stars in picture frames and then the shadows come to life and you see some of the stars of the movie. It's been said that this movie is a re-make of The Lamb (1915), but it isn't. The Lamb, which was Douglas Fairbanks' film debut, was much better. Fairbanks' character wasn't a wimp, like Keaton's character is in The Saphead. The only reason I don't give it a lower score is because of Keaton's presence in the movie, even though there is not much to like about his character. He's a wimp. So if you're looking for an example of his work, just about any of his other silent features or shorts that he stars in would be better than this.

Something like The Saphead isn't what you would expect to be Buster Keaton's feature film debut. The whole thing seems too ordinary, too stagey and melodramatic to be so. This is due to the fact that The Saphead was not a Keaton-helmed project; he was suggested for the role of the rich young man Bertie by Douglas Fairbanks, who had previously played the role on Broadway.Bertie is the first of the spoiled, clueless young man types that Keaton would later return to in The Navigator and Battling Butler. He seeks to impress a sweet young woman named Agnes by coming across as a bad boy, gambling well into the morning hours and having breakfast in the afternoon. His father confronts him about this behavior and has him cut off until he can find a job. Bertie seeks out to do just that, in the meantime winning the hand of his girl-- well, almost. During the ceremony, his sister's slimy husband Mark receives letters from his recently deceased mistress Henrietta, asking him to take care of their illegitimate child. His secret about to be revealed, he presses the letters on Bertie, breaking Agnes' heart and bringing the union to an abrupt end. Fortunately, things manage to pick back up after Bertie unwittingly saves the family stock business.While there are a few Keaton-esque moments every now and then, for the most part The Saphead is just a typical stage to film adaptation of the period. Unlike the films Keaton would later star in and direct, this picture lacks spontaneity and laughs. The action on screen never comes alive until the climax, when Keaton finally gets to jump and be thrown around as he dashes through the trading floor and saves the day. The entire movie isn't a bore, however, and there are a few humorous inter-titles and gags, but it's just doesn't have a story that seems to suit the particular talents of its main star.

The Saphead was Buster Keaton's first feature length film, but is usually ignored as it is not a true comedy. In this film Buster plays Bertie van Alstyne (who was played by Douglas Fairbanks in an earlier version) and the film is a transfer of a Broadway production called the "New Henrietta". By watching the opening sequences you can tell that the film will not be a true comedy and Buster does not appear in the early parts of the film. The Saphead begins with us finding out that a character named Mark Turner has had an affair with a now dying woman, who wishes to break up his marriage. Finally now we get to see Buster in a scene with some subtle comedy. We discover that he is in love in a woman called Agnes, who is coming home that evening by train, Buster does not see her at the station and she travels home alone. Eventually they are to get married when during the ceremony Mark Turner's affair is discovered, but he manages to force it upon Buster who is sent away. This film may sound boring, but the last 20 minutes are funnier than any Keaton film I've seen (most of them). Buster visits the stock exchange only to get confused and...you have to watch it for yourself to find it truly funny. Overall I found it to be a very good film with its mix of melodrama and comedy.

Buster Keaton's first feature -- an awful romantic melodrama -- is straight acting, little comedy. Opening titles say the film, a remake of a pre-WWI Douglas Fairbanks movies version of a popular stage play, made Keaton a star. Hard to imagine considering how he's so different in this than in his shorts.But the two 1921 shorts included on this disk --"The High Sign" and "One Week" -- are worth the rental. Both show the Keaton character we know: eager but initially less than effectual. The gags mix complicated settings (trap doors, house walls falling on the stars (which presage later films) and Keaton's amazing physical dexterity and risk-taking. You'll laugh out loud at the shorts.