Comments on: Buster Keaton Rides Again

By: Stephen

Stephen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:34:28 +0000

If you grew up in Canada in the ’70s, you were familiar with the Railrodder, as it often showed up on CBC-TV as between show filler, or as something to show if a ball game was rain delayed, and I think I even saw a 16mm print of it in school. I always thought the beach that Buster washes up on at the start of the film looked a bit familiar, but it wasn’t until I saw Buster Keaton Rides Again that I realized it was Lawrencetown Beach, mere minutes from my childhood home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It thrills me to no end knowing that the beach where I spent a great deal of time as a kid (and still visit from time to time) was marked by the presence of my favourite film artist, and I’ve plundered the microfilm of local papers for the story of his visit to Halifax (even found a photo of him taken in a hotel not far from where I live now). I’ve even talked to people who worked on the film (who have nothing but fond memories of Keaton) who recall being attacked by seagulls looking for a handout while trying to capture those early scenes.

It doesn’t hurt that the Railrodder is a delightful film, either.

By: Richard Sutor

Richard Sutor — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:48:24 +0000

Hi, Medusa. Thanks for bringing this film to eveyone’s attention. Another great Keaton biographical and career overview was done on the PBS series “American Master many years ago. The program runs almost 3 hours and was called “A Hard Act to Follow” For some reason only VHS prints were available in the US while DVD versions were available in England. At the end of this program there is a fantastic montage of close up images of Keaton’s face starting with Buster as a child and ending with Buster the elder statesman of comdey. Each dissolves into the other so you watch him age. I’m sure no one ever anticipate all these images being used in this manner when they were originally photographed but the person creating the montage has aligned the photos so that Buster’s most expressive eyes are the point of reference for each dissolve. Narrator for the this film is Dudley Moore. There are numerous examples of Keaton films and many behind the scenes extras including material from the Railroder.

It may take some effort to find a copy but it’s well worth the hunt.

By: keelsetter

keelsetter — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:23:19 +0000

Hi, Medusa – According to the National Film Board of Canada website, Buster Keaton Rides Again screens next on TV in just four days on July 28th at 7am. Time to warm up the VCR or Tivo!

By: Medusa

Medusa — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:10:36 +0000

Keaton is gorgeous. Here on Canadian TV as an interstitial I’ve seen an interview with Keaton that may be from this documentary. It’s fascinating and you are right, he is so appealing. Thanks for the whole story on this wonderful piece of his genius.