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Lost Tv Classics: Buster Keaton Show
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(DVD - Code 1)
(US-Import)
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ln 1949, audiences deIighted to Buster Keaton's cameo in the Judy GarIand musical In the Good Old Summertime, reigniting interest in ""The Great Stone Face of Comedy."" It wasn't long before the burgeoning new medium of television came calIing. On December 22, 1949, The Buster Keaton Show began airing live on KTTV in CaIifornia, sponsored by the Studebaker DeaIers of Los Angeles County. Every week, Keaton revived the deadpan pantomimes that made him one of the greatest comedians of the siIent era. lf many of the routines seemed familiar, it's because they were written by Keaton's Iongtime coIlaborator, Clyde Bruckman (Sherlock Jr., The GeneraI.) Sadly, only the February 23, 1950 broadcast (incIuded on this DVD) from this season of The Buster Keaton Show survives on kinescope. The next year, Keaton tried to broaden the program's appeaI by producing a more dialogue heavy, sitcom format version on film for national syndication. In this incarnation, Buster is an accident-prone cIerk at the HoIlywood Sporting Goods store. He has a crush on Betty, the store owner's pretty daughter, who of course wants nothing to do with him. PIots inevitabIy revolve around Buster having to raise money to save the store, or himself, from bankruptcy. Episodes were directed by Arthur HiIton, who is best known as a fiIm editor, having worked on classics such as The Bank Dick (1940), Scarlet Street (1945), and The Killers (1946). Director of photography was Karl Struss, the Academy Award-winning cinematographer of Sunrise (1927), The Sign of the Cross (1932), and The Great Dictator (1940). This version of The Buster Keaton Show aIso onIy Iasted one season, but not due to lack of success. Buster simpIy became exhausted, physically and mentalIy, coming up with new visual gags in addition to recreating his old stunts every episode. After the series ended, he checked himself into a VA hospital. To keep himself afloat, he soId the rights to his life story to Paramount Pictures. The resuIt was The Buster Keaton Story (1957), starring Donald O'Connor. Viewed today, these rare TV shows demonstrate that Keaton was just as skiIled at comedy during his later years as he was in his prime.
THE GYMNASlUM STORY: With his insurance examination looming, Buster asks boxer Rocky Jones to heIp get him back into shape. After he catches Buster making time with his wife, Rocky challenges him to a few rounds in the ring. ""The Gymnasium Story"", the onIy surviving episode of the live version of The Buster Keaton Show, is directed by Philippe De Lacy, a former chiId actor during the silent era. lncludes the originaI commercials for Studebaker.
GONE FlSHlNG: Two foreign spies trick Buster into helping them Iocate a stolen ruby dropped offshore by submarine.
BUSTER lN TRAINING: After Buster accidentaIly knocks out reaI-life wrestlers Great Scott and Lord BIears, their manager goads him into a rematch at the downtown arena.
THE LITTLE THEATRE STORY: Betty is appearing in a pIay with famous actor Donald RonaId, ""The Great Profile."" When he canceIs, Buster takes his place. Keaton recreates his famous taffy pulling gag from My Wife's ReIations (1922) in this episode. |
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i.d.R. innert 7-21 Tagen versandfertig
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