JohnHowardReid
Although robbed of its delightful songs by Douglas Furber (lyrics) and Philip Brabham (music), "Battling Butler" more than makes up for this unavoidable lapse by casting one of our favorite character players, Snitz Edwards, in a major role. He is wonderful; and it's to Keaton's credit, both as a fellow comic and as the director, that he allows Snitz to steal many of his scenes. In fact, Keaton and Edwards make a great comedy team. Except for one or two sequences, they don't play against each other, they play with each othera feat that is more difficult to bring off successfully.Following the construction of the stage musical, the film splits neatly into two halves. Tom Wilson's harassed trainer, who expertly pits himself against the seemingly hopeless Keaton, supplies much of the comedy in the second half until the star unexpectedly turns the tables in a grand climax especially written for the film. In the play, the McDonald character simply drops out and doesn't return at all. It could be said that the stage musical actually ends on rather a limp note plot-wise, but this problem has now been neatly licked.Doubtless due to the fact that comic fight scenes have been done to death by just about every comedian you could name in sound films, "Battling Butler" is not wholly prized among Keaton addicts, but I regard it as one of his best outings.
caspian1978
A nice little comedy about a wealthy young man with nothing to do. He finds himself taking a trip into the mountain country to put some adventure into his life. It is here where he meets a young Mountain girl played by actress Sally O'Neil. Soon, Keaton and O'Neil fall in love and want to marry. The problem is O'Neil's father and brother are giant of men and won't allow her to marry such a small man. It is Keaton's butler / servant who gets the idea to lie to her parents by telling them that Keaton is a professional boxer (who happens to have the same name as Keaton's character (Butler). One lie leads to another as Keaton as to pretend he is a boxer. A nice story with some moments of comedy, Battling Butler is a Keaton comedy with very little stunt work from Buster Keaton. Besides the moments spent in the ring, Keaton hardly does any stunts. Most of the comedy comes from Keaton's silent comedy as oppose to his physical (stunt) comedy.
Snow Leopard
While it's a cut below Keaton's best features, "Battling Butler" has some good comic material and an amusing, if lightweight, story. There are some good performances from the supporting cast, a wide enough assortment of gags, and the story-line also gives Buster a chance to demonstrate a few of his many acrobatic talents.The first few minutes contain lots of good visual gags as we are introduced to Keaton's hapless character. Then, when his identity gets tangled up with that of a prize-fighter, "Battling Butler", from there on in Buster finds himself in some increasingly complicated and tricky situations. As his character's physical ineptness is emphasized, Keaton's own agility and versatility are displayed in various antics. (The same is true to some degree of his character in "College".) Most of the specific stunts, though, are relatively routine compared to those in his best work.In lesser hands, the fragile premise would run out of steam quickly, but here things keep moving along steadily, and there are some very good moments. It doesn't ever really hit high gear, though, and it's missing the kind of top-notch climactic sequence that distinguishes Keaton's best films. Thus it will probably be of interest primarily to those who are already fans of Keaton, but most such fans should find it worth a look. While there's nothing spectacular, there is more than enough good material to make it worthwhile as light entertainment.
Sleepy-17
Keaton shows off his physical mimicry as a wealthy fop who must train as a prize fighter, but the climactic payoff doesn't deliver so great a punch: Keaton misses the Big Bout and fights the winner in the locker room! Good stuff, but a lesser effort.
AD
