Back on track - this time in Canada.

Last weekend I decided to slap on a 16mm print of Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965), a documentary just under an hour-long produced by The National Film Board of Canada and directed by John Spotton. It shows Keaton working on what, according to IMDB, was his last film: The Railrodder (1965) – a short film that was released a year before other features Keaton had worked on (which makes sense in light of how a studio feature film requires a lot more post-production and marketing muscle than, say, a short Canadian documentary). Keaton passed away shortly thereafter, from lung cancer, on February 1, 1966.

Headed for trouble.

Glancing at only a couple reviews, which seemed to focus on aspects of ill health and a fall from grace, I couldn’t help but feel that watching Buster Keaton Rides Again might make for melancholic viewing. But I’m happy to report that my experience of this film was quite the opposite. True, Keaton is seen at the end of his years with a tell-tale cough, and he also seems accustomed to a modest and earnest lifestyle. But herein lies the key to what made this such a heart-warming document; unlike some VH1 special that chronicles the rise-and-fall of some mega-star, happily lolling around in the slop of the decline like some pig in mud, Buster Keaton Rides Again instead shows us a humble giant, still reveling in his creative impulses and aging gracefully without a big chip on his shoulder. He’s accessible, witty, charming, gracious and, obviously, full of great stories.

Enjoying some down-time.

Talking with his wife about the baseball game on TV.

Buster as a baby.

Bigger - and more throwable.

In this screen shot you get a sense he's getting a little tired of being thrown around.

Highlights of the film include include plenty of unscripted moments, such as a scene where Buster is serenaded by bagpipes courtesy of the Rivers District Boys Pipe Band, tender moments between Keaton and his wife Eleanor, Buster breaking out a tune on a ukulele, and many more. In one scene he gets a birthday cake, during which narration takes an opportunity to delve into his past, starting with his childhood. As pictures of him as a toddler are shown the narrator informs us that “when he was a baby his parents were operating a traveling medicine show in partnership with an artful young man named Harry Houdini. They pedaled snake oil to rustic America. The Keaton baby was called Joseph Junior until Houdini saw him take a nasty tumble - from then on, he was ‘Buster’.” Then as a child-actor in vaudeville came “an Irish knockabout act, the roughest of its kind. It consists largely of Buster being punched, trampled, and thrown at the scenery. His father’s right arm is twice as strong as his left from throwing Buster around. His mother is billed as the only lady Saxophone player in America. Although Buster loves the work, the law sometimes threatens. Then it is explained that Buster is really a midget. At five he does his own makeup. At seven he is clouted for onstage mistakes. At nine he is charge of travel arrangements. At eleven he is creating gags.” And so it goes, discussing how the act grew until 1916 when, Buster being to big to throw around, decided to break into the movie business.

A DVD of Buster Keaton Rides Again (shot in B&W) was packaged alongside The Railrodder (shot in color) and released in 2001, so copies can readily be found on either amazon.com or at the NFBC website. I highly recommend it to any fans of the silent age.