tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post4180889321829641058..comments2023-04-10T04:14:06.852-07:00Comments on the scribe files: The Buster That Could've Been: Ten stone-faced alternate realitiesThe Scribe Fileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107548080136525630noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-74964618073782531322021-03-17T13:07:51.469-07:002021-03-17T13:07:51.469-07:00Need to edit: He's telling Potterton how to di...Need to edit: He's telling Potterton how to direct scenes in BUSTER KEATON RIDES AGAIN, the documentary made while filming THE RAILRODDER. But you already know that. :)moesmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06935509523687490219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-67007474993255414222021-03-17T13:04:54.555-07:002021-03-17T13:04:54.555-07:00I've thought of these things as well. I think...I've thought of these things as well. I think of him wasting his time and talent on schlock like the beach movies, when he never had to do that. I know, he liked a quick easy paycheck, but I'm thinking of legacy, dammit!<br /><br />He could have been a character actor. He does a very nice turn as a bus driver in SAN DIEGO, I LOVE YOU (1944). He's more versatile than the "silent old grouch in the porkpie hat" even though that's the persona he likes to play and always returns to. <br /><br />He could have had a longer run in series television if he had had writers and producers to turn out a quality program like I Love Lucy. He exhausted himself trying to come up with material for a weekly show, raiding his old films for routines. It burned him out quickly and he vowed never to do his own series again. He should not have taken on all of that himself. Forget being Fred Mertz, Buster could have had a classic golden age show himself, like Lucy or The Honeymooners.<br /><br />He did several theater productions over the years, months-long traveling tours. He could have ditched Hollywood completely and done musical comedy theater forever. I'm glad he didn't, because we most likely wouldn't be able to see any of it preserved for posterity.<br /><br />I've got his Playhouse 90 appearance in NO TIME AT ALL lined up to view on YouTube, but, oddly, THE INNOCENT SLEEP is not there.<br /><br />Finally, as much as he loved (needed, I would argue) to perform on camera, that was only one side of him. I'll tell you what Buster really should have done, because this was the other, unfulfilled side of him. He should have been A DIRECTOR. Watch him in THE RAILRODDER, telling Gerry Potterton how to improve his film, and being right about it, too. Or his experience with Becket and FILM, with Becket and his crew having zero film experience and there was one of cinema's seminal gods right there. But they never consulted him, so he stayed quiet and did what he was told. I know he missed directing.moesmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06935509523687490219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-26043662274734362822017-05-30T16:39:08.765-07:002017-05-30T16:39:08.765-07:00Hey Richard, just saw this now! (Sorry!) I'd n...Hey Richard, just saw this now! (Sorry!) I'd never heard of THE INNOCENT SLEEP, that sounds like an absolute must-see! And I didn't mention NO TIME AT ALL since I recall his role being pretty small (part of an all-star cast). You're right, he's very good in THE DONNA REED SHOW, with a lovely close-up while the cast sings "Silent Night".<br /><br />As for reuniting with Roscoe -- well, we can only imagine how wonderful that might have been. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06854786264143988235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-27063369041371957822017-05-15T13:32:44.226-07:002017-05-15T13:32:44.226-07:00Chris,
There's one more alternate Keaton rea...Chris, <br /><br />There's one more alternate Keaton reality I once postulated on, I always though if Roscoe Arbuckle had lived to fulfill his newly signed Warner Brothers contract for features n 1933, he would have hired the newly fired from MGM Buster to co-star with him in features, and both careers would have been revived. <br /><br />As far as dramatic roles, Buster did several more that most people forget, the best one being the 1958 PLAYHOUSE 90 episode THE INNOCENT SLEEP, in which Buster plays a deaf-mute who may or may not have murdered his parents. It's an amazing silent part for Keaton, directed by Franklin J. Shaffner. Buster did another serious role in another PLAYHOUSE 90 episode, NO TIME AT ALL in 1958, where he plays an airline executive. That same year, he also played an essentially straight role on THE DONNA REED SHOW's Christmas episode as a janitor at a hospital who plays Santa Claus.<br /><br />RICHARD M ROBERTS lmshahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110259316863562973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-3559466035826925302017-05-06T11:55:32.938-07:002017-05-06T11:55:32.938-07:00Those are definitely three of Buster's absolut...Those are definitely three of Buster's absolute best moments from the '30s. Despite the visual metaphor of Buster being yanked around by a puppeteer's strings, the song & dance in FREE & EASY is terrific. On a much smaller note, so is his little number with Elsie Ames in GENERAL NUISANCE.The Scribe Fileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13107548080136525630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-16205022908880657532017-05-06T11:54:01.069-07:002017-05-06T11:54:01.069-07:00LOL, well Bob, let's talk! A Buster version of...LOL, well Bob, let's talk! A Buster version of "Modern Times" would be fascinating -- and of course totally different from Chaplin's take. And "The Graduate" is almost a Keatonian elevation of a Harold Lloyd film!The Scribe Fileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13107548080136525630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-86282850442043516232017-05-06T07:40:06.008-07:002017-05-06T07:40:06.008-07:00What an intriguing article - thank youWhat an intriguing article - thank youSilent Echoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03301369744593765382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-54743248786528799792017-05-05T20:38:39.757-07:002017-05-05T20:38:39.757-07:00good timing - I have been thinking that "Mode...good timing - I have been thinking that "Modern Times" and "The Graduate" could both have been Keaton films -- but was looking for a good writer who might make the case -- Now I know who I'm going to ask! Great Story!BBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00023089644072385767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-33255483668505951922017-05-05T17:37:31.590-07:002017-05-05T17:37:31.590-07:00These alternate realities sound pretty cool, and I...These alternate realities sound pretty cool, and I also like Babette's suggestion! <br />Your article was excellent. Very entertaining.<br />Keep it up!<br /><br /> pennylanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11156320109287520586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4769896756359417688.post-79000399329581383122017-05-05T15:30:57.037-07:002017-05-05T15:30:57.037-07:00That's great! I like to think Buster would hav...That's great! I like to think Buster would have been outstanding doing Fred Astaire-type comedy musicals. Buster was a wonderful dancer (and not too bad a singer), and one can only imagine what kind of comedy musicals he could have come up with in the 30s, as they can be a great basis for physical comedy with very little dialogue. We've seen him do great things in Doughboys or Grand Slam Opera, and even Free and Easy. That's one I like to think about at times. :) Babettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01669382568938614612noreply@blogger.com