Lost Keaton: Sixteen Comedy Shorts (1934-1937)

SYNOPSIS

For Buster Keaton, the era of the talkies was a tumultuous time. After signing with MGM, the quality of his ambitious, eclectic comedies began to decline, leading to a period of personal setbacks. In 1934, he signed a contract with Earle W. Hammons’s Educational Pictures which, despite its name, specialized in comedy short subjects (“The Spice of the Program”). Keaton’s move to Educational was a return to his roots, crafting a stream of two-reel comedies in rapid succession, as he had done in the early 1920s, when he first refined his cinematic craft.

The films Keaton made at Educational (all sixteen of which are collected here) pay homage to his earlier work while exploring the possibilities of “Elmer,” his new comic persona.

• THE GOLD GHOST
  1934 21 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
  
• ALLEZ OOP
  1934 20 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• PALOOKA FROM PADUCAH
  1935 20 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• ONE RUN ELMER
  1935 19 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• HAYSEED ROMANCE
  1935 20 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• TARS AND STRIPES
  1935 20 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• THE E-FLAT MAN
  1935 20 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• THE TIMID YOUNG MAN
  1935 20 Min. Dir: Mack Sennett
• THREE ON A LIMB
  1936 18 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• GRAND SLAM OPERA
  1936 20 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• BLUE BLAZES
  1936 19 Min. Dir: Raymond Kane
• THE CHEMIST
  1936 19 Min. Dir: Al Christie
• MIXED MAGIC
  1936 16 Min. Dir: Raymond Kane
• JAIL BAIT
  1937 19 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• DITTO
  1937 17 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont
• LOVE NEST ON WHEELS
  1937 18 Min. Dir: Charles Lamont

These discs were mastered in HD from 35mm negatives and fine grain masters from Keaton’s personal collection and other archival sources by Raymond Rohauer. Some films exist in less-than-perfect condition, which is not atypical for low-budget “orphan” films such as these.

REVIEWS

This set comes Highly Recommended to Keaton fans and aficionados of early short subjects. - DVD Talk

DVD Features

• Film Notes by David Macleod, author of The Sound of Buster Keaton
• Stills Gallery
• “Why They Call Him Buster,” a montage of pratfalls and stunts

Blu-ray Features

• Film Notes by David Macleod, author of The Sound of Buster Keaton
• Stills Gallery
• “Why They Call Him Buster,” a montage of pratfalls and stunts