September 20, 2016
Cameraman, The –
US, 1928
Buster Keaton’s 1928 film The Cameraman begins by paying homage to cameramen who run toward danger.
Keaton’s character, Buster, is not one of those cameramen. In fact, he’s only
likely to get close to something perilous if it approaches him. That is, of
course, until a young lady comes into his life and convinces him that things
need to change. For Buster Keaton, such a situation was nothing new, yet there
is a sweetness to The Cameraman that
makes it feel fresh and vibrant, and it is now one of my favorite of Keaton’s
films.
In the film, Buster walks around with a camera on a tripod
asking people if they want to take a tintype, a photograph made on a thin tin
plate. In the film’s opening scene, an attempt to take a man’s photo is
interrupted by a mob of onlookers and professional photographers, all rushing
to get a glimpse of what looks like a politician. In the crowd, Buster finds
himself touching shoulders with a young woman whom he literally can’t take his
eyes off. Eventually, he takes her picture, and after she is whisked away by a
co-worker, he decides to search for her and give her the snapshot. This begins
a rather charming courtship and a mad-dash push for a job as a “real”
cameraman. Both of these story lines are hilarious and involving.
One of the truly wonderful things about the film is that it
devotes a great deal of time to establishing a rapport between Buster and his
muse, Sally, played by Marceline Day. Sally is moved by Buster’s decency and
positivity and eventually the two of them go on a date together. It starts out as
a walk, turns into a jaunt at a swimming pool, and ends with a tender kiss on
the cheek. You can literally watch them developing a mutual interest, and by
the end of this part of the film, I was genuinely rooting for them.
Like many other slapstick films from the Silent Era, Keaton’s
films were often structured around a series of physical gags, and during such
comic moments, the plot would essentially grind to a halt. Here, such moments
are present, but in a much truncated form, something I have been critical of in
later Laurel and Hardy films. Here, however, it is the right approach. A scene
in which Buster and another man are both trying to change into bathing suits in
a very tight changing room is short but complete, and at just the right moment,
the film cuts to outside the changing rooms, where we see Buster standing in a
bathing suit that is clearly not his. A scene in which he tries to break a coin
box is similarly short. We see a few attempts to open it, each that end in
destruction to his surroundings, and then just as the audience is settling in a
for a much longer slapstick bit, Buster throws the box and it shatters. Done,
and hilariously accomplished.
The heart of the film is of course Keaton, and here he is at
his optimistic and good-hearted best. Buster thinks that there’s nothing he can’t
do, provided that he receives the opportunity to prove himself, and Keaton
embodies these sentiments. I have seen most if not all of Keaton’s silent
films, and I think it’s safe to say that silent comedy was his forte. Few actors
– and not just those from the silent period - could do what Keaton did with just
his face alone. He had the unique ability of being able to completely convey
the reception of a message and its emotional impact on him. His eyes could express
both love and sadness, and soon his entire body would join in the expression of
his feelings. As a result, his characters earned not only the audience’s
empathy but also their backing. Matching him in his endeavors is Day. Her role
is tricky, requiring her to reflect both Sally’s support of Buster and her
growing awareness of his shortcomings. There are moments in the film when Sally
looks at him with such confidence in her eyes that we fully understand why that
brief glance would fill Buster with such drive to persevere. Keaton and Day
indeed made a great comedy team, and it is a shame that The Cameraman was their only film together.
The Cameraman is engaging,
well-paced, and very often side-splittingly hilarious. It is a film that is well-worth
seeking out. (on DVD and part of TCM Archive’s Buster Keaton Collection)
4 stars
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