Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Yazmin Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 11 October 1920 by Metro Pictures Corp. U.S. release: 18 October 1920. New York opening at the Capitol: 13 February 1921. 7 reels. 77 minutes. NOTES: Final movie of 19-year-old Beulah Booker (who presumably retired in favor of marriage). A revival of the stage play, "The New Henrietta", opened on Broadway on 22 December 1913. It starred Douglas Fairbanks as Bertie, William H. Crane, Amelia Bingham and Patricia Collinge. In 1915, Fairbanks starred in a considerably modified movie version, The Lamb, for D.W. Griffith. COMMENT: Always a pleasure just to look at, this most beautifully photographed comedy is not your typical Keaton vehicle-and all the better for that innovation. True, he does have some wonderful routines with a roulette table and a corrupt cop, a bungled wedding, and two glorious slapstick highjinks on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But his is basically a character role, and his occasional facial expressions are priceless. The support players form an especially fine ensemble. Every role is judiciously cast. Crane, Booker and Cummings are especially adept. The direction is highly polished, the photography superb, the settings most attractive. AVAILABLE on DVD through Kino. Quality rating: 10 out of ten.

calvinnme The Saphead" does not showcase Keaton the filmmaker, but rather Keaton the actor. The script is from a play, the directors are individuals Keaton never worked with before or hence, and the studio was Metro, predecessor of MGM. Keaton plays Bertie the Lamb, mild-mannered and spoiled son of Nick Van Alstyne, "the Wolf of Wall Street". In spite of the fact that Keaton had no creative input to the film and isn't actually its centerpiece, there is much to like about this film and much that is so Keatonesque. Keaton plays an old-fashioned romantic and someone that is thrust into the role of the fall guy by the actual bad guy - a theme he repeats in his own features. He also has down pat the part of being the well-dressed dapper man of the 1920's, which he repeats with more comic effect in "The Battling Butler", where he did have creative control.

Chrissie This isn't a Keaton film, or even a Keaton vehicle. Nevertheless, Buster Keaton is the only thing that makes this sappy little melodramatic comedy memorable. The slowly-paced early part of the film even offers a rare treat for the Keaton fan -- Buster smiles, just faintly, twice. (It's a nice departure from the mugging grins and laughs he did in the Arbuckle shorts.) And at the very end comes a real treat. Buster cuts loose on the floor of the Stock Exchange, tackling brokers left and right. In one priceless shot, he takes a flying dive between a man's legs and brings him down in a move that will have you reaching for the remote to watch again in slow motion.Overall, it's a pleasant enough film, and short enough to be worth watching for the moments Buster provides.

MartinHafer This is Buster Keaton's first feature-length film. And, oddly, it is not the type project you'd expect this very physical comedian to attempt. It seems that Douglas Fairbanks had done a play on stage and the studios wanted to film it. However, Fairbanks had other commitments and recommended Keaton play his part. Such a role was right up Fairbanks' alley. Despite his reputation today as strictly a swashbuckler, he made some nice comedies in his time, though none of them bore any semblance to Keaton's more acrobatic comedies. And so unfortunately, Keaton looks rather out of place in this film. This isn't to say he's bad, but compared to what you'd expect, his character is amazingly subdued and dull.The story is about a rich family where the father thinks his son, Keaton, is an idiot. Heck, he refers to him as a "saphead", so it's obvious that this severe man isn't father of the year material. As for Keaton, he's a pretty dim bulb and again and again he's a disappointment to his old man. However, late in the film the family's fortune is squandered by the father's beloved son-in-law and only later (and rather by accident), Keaton saves the day.While I was far from thrilled by this low-key comedy (with few laughs), I must say that the print from Kino is excellent--especially given its age. Plus, in addition to seeing this film, they also have packaged two shorts, THE HIGH SIGN and ONE WEEK, on the same DVD.