Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"The Boat" is a black-and-white short movie from almost 95 years ago. The star here is Buster Keaton and he also wrote and directed it, together with his longtime collaborator Edward F. Cline. And the cast also has familiar names. Apart from Cline, who also acts in this one, the female lead is played by Sibyl Seely, who appeared in many other Keaton movies.Well.. the action is very clear. Stoneface is on a boat this time and, of course, there is no other possible ending than Keaton shipwrecked and stranded on an island. If you know how basically everything that he touches in his films turns into chaos, you can only imagine what this would look like on a boat. One major difference to his other works is that there is no real antagonist in here, so Keaton is even more at the center of it all than usual. At 26 minutes, it's one of Keaton's longer short movies. He was only in his mid-20s when he made this and yet together with Chaplin and Lloyd the biggest star of his era. I like him, but I have to say I was not really entertained that well here. Most of the slapstick wasn't particularly funny. That's why I cannot recommend it.
jldmp1
This is not a bad short film...it's just not a cinematic one. Not everything we see here can exclusively be expressed in the film medium.On the other hand, there are some first rate sight gags. Buster is placed in this is as a 'builder', who destroys things far more often than he creates them. Hole in the side of the boat? Nail a pancake over it. Pancake falls off and springs a leak? Drill a hole in the floor for 'drainage'. Your boat capsizes over and over? Nail your shoes to the boards. Who sent the distress signal? "Dam f i no!" The rotating boat gag is extremely influential; the 'zero gravity' scenes in "2001" can claim lineage from this. But the gags only work as isolated events; nothing really ties this all together, and therein lies the movie's weakness.
MartinHafer
This is a very good Buster Keaton silent comedy short from 1921. However, unlike most of his other films where he is either co-starring with another guy (such as Fatty Arbuckle) or going solo, in this case everything he does, he does with the family in tow.Buster and his wife are building a boat in the garage. Unfortunately, it's much larger than the opening and so Buster is forced to cut the garage door opening larger. You discover it still isn't large enough as the boat rips the entire side of the house off and destroys most of the home. Now THAT'S a sight gag! Once out of the house, dopey Buster doesn't fare much better. He manages to lose his car off the end of the dock, and later once they've been at sea a while, the boat sinks but our family somehow survives.The movie excels because it has a real plot--it's not just slapstick. Also, the stunts, when they are done, are BIG and very impressive!
caspian1978
This was a short that had no long term goals. If not from dumb luck, this movie could have been lost forever. This was found among a series of other shorts that Keaton had kept at home. In many ways, this is a rip off of Chaplin. Nothing seems to go right for this little "Tramp" as he is pushed around and put into one situation after another. Not as funny as many other Keaton classics, it is worth keeping on tape for future generations to enjoy. In many ways, this and The Love Nest are often found with Keaton's classic the Navigator. Both have to do with Keaton on the Ocean. This alone keep them together in a category. If you like Keaton, you'll enjoy this one. If not, you'll agree that this is a dime a dozen for Keaton.
AD
