User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest. Sign up Log in. Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book.
Books Video icon An illustration of two cells of a film strip. Video Audio icon An illustration of an audio speaker. He is a perfectly fine comedic actor but his silent personality is far more charismatic. He dominates in a silent movie.
In a talkie, he is only a part of the cast. This does have Jimmy Durante but they don't really act as a comedy team. This is fine but pales in comparison with his earlier legendary work. Genius college professor Buster Keaton has the knack for getting himself into situations that would get other people either arrested or committed, but here, even unintentionally, he proves that his old stone face routine could be just as funny with dialog as it was without, even though his critics consider this mediocre at best.
With butler Jimmy Durante assisting him, Keaton believes he has the money to back a supposed Broadway bound show and ends up stealing it unintentionally as he continuously ends up on stage trying to save it which he seems to do without realizing it. The show within the film itself isn't very good, a typical early sound view of what a Broadway musical should look like, and is often static and lifeless.
But when Keaton gets on the stage, all hilarity ensues, and while some of the gags are dated, many of them are equally as funny as some of his classic moments in silent films. One of the funniest bits has Keaton getting schnockered with gold-digging leading lady Thelma Todd, trying to get her out of his apartment before they are caught together by picking her up in ways that just a few years later the Hays code might have objected to.
In his professor guise, he ends up on stage trying to assure the audience that the fiasco they are seeing is going to go on, and in the process, takes over the audience's hearts who really think that his droll manner is a part of the show. Apparently, they must not have looked in their programs to see that his name isn't listed. Edgar Kennedy keeps going around looking for his "thing", and stage manager Sidney Toler pre-Charlie Chan is having a nervous breakdown.
There's a collection agent on site, some wicked fur pulling rivalry between Todd and Ruth Selwyn, and even the presence of future gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as Selwyn's mother. Durante gets a few nice moments too, particularly when he tries to claim one of the great songs of the day as his own.
This may not be a particularly great film, but it is filled with a lot of great moments that will be something that you will remember. Heck, I remember it already! JohnHowardReid 27 June Mind you, it's not all plain sailing for Buster. Right up to the last reel when Buster really cuts loose, it's actually Jimmy Durante who steals all the laughs and the super-sexy Thelma Todd in her best role ever who captures all the limelight.
I could also put my fist in the pie and say that some more songs would have been welcome, but as is, it's certainly a fast-paced 82 minutes, and definitely one for the permanent collection.
Durante's pretty dancer Ruth Selwyn as Pansy Peets. Taken by Ms. Selwyn's feminine charms and Durante's friendship, Mr. Keaton decides to use part of his new fortune to put the group's show on Broadway. Lingerie-flashing Thelma Todd as Eleanor Espere also joins the troupe. But the "Speak Easily" show needs work, and Keaton's funds may be mythical Keaton never made a sound feature to match his silent classics; his performance "timing" stayed primarily silent, and you can see it both here and in film appearances through the s.
Staying with the old style worked for Charlie Chaplin; due to superior choice of material, he was able to transcend the genre. Keaton did not have the same luxury with film projects. Though much-maligned, MGM gave him a relatively good supporting cast and crew. Turn the sound down low and you may see flashes of brilliance. AlsExGal 31 January If you're a Keaton fan your eyeballs will not melt in their sockets if you watch this - it really is not bad.
It would be a rather enjoyable early talkie if it were not for the fact that Buster Keaton's talents are being wasted in this film. Since I know that by this time MGM gave him no creative control and treated him just as a performer, I can only wonder what the film would have been like if someone had listened to his ideas. However, at least there are no moments in which you must look away in embarrassment at what MGM is doing to the man, as there are in Free and Easy.
The good aspects of this film include Buster getting the girl in the end, unlike in Free and Easy a real embarrassment of a film. Also Buster shows a real penchant for dialog and verbal comedy, demonstrating that he was not outside his element in talking pictures. Todd gave the best supporting performance in the cast. What a shame she died so young. Finally there is the ending where Keaton disrupts the show but scores a hit with the audience. It's not the most clever stuff he ever did, but it is funny.
The bad parts of this film include Buster being made to play a straight man to Jimmy Durante, Buster's expressive eyes being hidden behind his pince-nez spectacles, and finally there is the issue of Buster bungling into a happy ending. In his years as an independent filmmaker his character would often start out lost and fumbling around, but he figured things out in the end and came up with resourceful and deliberate solutions.
In the end, I have to wonder why this film really needed Buster Keaton anyways. Lots of comics less talented than Keaton could have been employed to recite the dialog that was written for this script and take a few pratfalls. For one thing, it is a much tamer, more family-friendly picture.
It is also meandering and plot-less. Keaton's character is likable, but there is not much visual comedy until the last 10 minutes, and even then it's nothing to write home about. Thelma Todd adds spice when she appears after half an hour , but her part is all-too-typical. HotToastyRag 10 January Maybe Hollywood thought it was a good idea, because Buster Keaton's speaking voice was hesitant and coarser than was expected, to cast him in a role that might give him the opposite impression.
In Speak Easily, Buster plays a stuffy, highly educated professor who talks in such big words, no one understands him. He even corrects the grammar of the slang "speak easy" into the title phrase. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work. I love Buster, but he can't pull off being a college professor, and when he sounds like a midwestern truck driver, his highfalutin words sound like even he doesn't understand them.
If you want to see Buster Keaton in a talkie, you've got plenty of other options. My favorite is Parlor, Bedroom and Bath, because his timing is good and his character makes total sense with the sound of his voice. Speak Easily is pretty silly and doesn't translate well in the modern age. Also, the second lead is Jimmy Durante, the polar opposite of comedic style from Buster Keaton.
Jimmy never used physical comedy and he liked to laugh at his own jokes, something Buster never did. It feels a little odd to see them join forces. SimonJack 26 January All three transitioned into sound movies in the s.
But, none of them flourished as actors after that. Chaplin was the oldest and was well off, so he semi-retired but kept writing and made just a few more films, but very good ones. Lloyd made barely half a dozen more films over 17 years. Keaton wasn't well off and stayed in films, but played in dozens and dozens of films, ending with bit parts and small scenes in TV series. Except for Chaplin's writing and wealth, which allowed him to produce his own stuff, the great comedy actors of the silent era just fizzled as comedians when sound came on the screen.
Some reviewers attribute it to studios that didn't give them leeway. Others blame writers and plots. While those may be true to some extent, it seems to me that one of the biggest factors was in the nature of the productions. Silent films relied mostly on the antics and visuals of the actors. Sure, the dialog snippets on the screen may have humor. But it wasn't funny if it didn't show it on the screen first. But with sound, those same actors had to have funny dialog as well as the antics.
Without it, the antics lost some of their punch. I think the biggest factor in the demise of the silent comics with sound was lack of very funny dialog to go with the antics. And, that combined with the reduced antics in the plots, because the studios and people now expected more sound.
An example of great success of the mixture of dialog and visuals is the Marx Brothers. They had several smash comedy hits in the s. Their crazy antics would run in three or four scenarios and the rest of each film would be loaded with wacky or hilarious dialog. Where antics ruled in the silent comedies of Keaton, Lloyd and Chaplin, they were relegated to a couple of scenarios or a few scenes in most of their sound films. And, the dialog didn't make up for it or add much.
What most of their pictures needed was a continuation of the crazy antics plus some supporting dialog peppered between comedy takes. This movie of Buster Keaton's is a good example, on both accounts. But the antics are reduced some.
And, the dialog is just mildly funny in places. Keaton's character is fine and his formal attitude is OK. Add a little more of his crazy antics and spice up the dialog with much better witty and funny lines, and this would be a terrific comedy.
As it is, it's fairly good. It's worth a look for anyone who would like to see a great comedy star of the past.
Professor Post : Yes Sign In. Director Edward Sedgwick. Clarence Budington Kelland from the story by. Top credits Director Edward Sedgwick. See more at IMDbPro. Photos Top cast Edit. Jimmy Durante James as James. Hedda Hopper Mrs. Peets as Mrs. William Pawley Griffo as Griffo.
Lawrence Grant Dr. Bolton as Dr. Henry Armetta Tony as Tony. Edward Brophy Reno as Reno. Looking for a film for the evening and found this absolute gem. Jimmy Durante and Buster Keaton star in this fabulous film that takes you behind the scenes of the vaudeville traveling show all the way to Broadway, with a no luck troupe and a previously hermit-like professor, who thinks he has inherited a lot of money.
A great study of the times and customs of early 20th Century courting, clothes, manners and the stage. Quite fruity in parts too. Reviewer: Cute Poison - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - February 14, Subject: Mhm This isn't so bad,actually.
I don't know why more people don't like it. I must've watched it 3 times and I'm downloading it right now. He said signing to MGM was the worst decision he ever made.
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