Directed by Buster Keaton

Position on the list (at time of viewing): 584

Thank God for Buster Keaton. I often felt when watching all of the many stodgy films of the 20s that knowing one of his movies was coming up soon was what got me through. His amazingness is a truth pretty much universally acknowledged, but I feel like even that is underselling him. His astonishing physicality, his fundamental understanding of the medium of film, and above all his boundless creativity for setting up and executing amazing conceptual setpieces is endlessly wonderful. This is his first movie on the list, and will begin a trend of me being completely incapable of objectivity. I love Buster Keaton, and have a hard time giving him anything short of four stars. Our Hospitality isn’t his best, but it’s an unquestionable masterpiece.

For my money this is the superior film to The Kid, which is its nearest point of reference in terms of the history of film. They were both breakout hits for their creators (despite a healthy career beforehand). They’re both considered early silent film masterpieces that fundamentally modified the development of movies as an art form. They’re both riotously funny. Although there are many who would disagree that Our Hospitality is better (including this list, technically), I have good reasons for feeling that way. Even if The Kid is more historically significant as the first comic feature, I feel like Keaton’s movie is more coherent, more consistent, and just plain funnier.

The plot of Our Hospitality mostly deals with a satirical version of the Hatfields and the McCoys (the Canfields and the McKays), into whose feud Keaton’s Willie McKay falls. Willie has been raised away from his feuding relatives and knows nothing of their generations-old war, so when he returns home as an adult, he has no idea what kind of trouble he’s in for when he falls for Virginia Canfield (Natalie Talmadge). And that summary marks the first great change that Keaton made to comedy film. This movie actually has a plot. A coherent plot with a natural arc, that it maintains for its entire length. Keaton does still use traditional vaudevillian jokes, but he integrates them into what more closely resembles a traditional film story, making this the first narrative comic film. The Kid is really just a series of bits strung together, and the ending throws even its tentative plot out the window. My great letdown with that film’s ending was largely healed by the satisfying conclusion of this one.

Not only does this movie have a story, but it’s actually a surprisingly good one. Keaton treated his movie like an actual movie, with real production values and actual location shooting, in general attempting to raise the prestige of the comic film. This decision’s effects are still being felt in film today. Keaton is adorable throughout the movie. The deadpan presentation and delivery that he had already mastered in so many shorts works wonders here. Willie is immediately out of his depth, having been raised away from the feud, and the potential violence ramps up very quickly. In addition to his excellent delivery, he was always the early film funnyman most willing to place himself in horrifying mortal peril for the sake of a gag, and this reckless disregard for his own safety is already on full display here. The waterfall scene is absolutely insane, even if you can metaphorically see the wires from a modern perspective. All of the contemporary action comedies we see coming out of Hollywood (I’m thinking of the Bad Boys films or the 21 Jump Street series in particular), come straight from Keaton’s idea that you could combine thrills and stunts with comic relief.

More than anything else, though, this movie is hilarious in a way that hasn’t really diminished at all with time. Keaton’s fish-out-of-water unpreparedness for the violence of his family, the physical gags, even the romance is funny. The final joke of the film is an absolute riot, and if you don’t guffaw helplessly at it, you don’t actually have a sense of humor–it’s a very easy litmus test. I have almost nothing bad to say about this film. It is so much fun to watch, and it only falls short of a perfect 4 stars because I’d like to save that for an *even better* Keaton film that’s still to come. If I’m attempting to be objective, some of the stunts don’t look quite as impressive as later Keaton insanity, and the chase scene goes on a little too long, but those are incredibly minor nitpicks. This film is a classic from first to last, and anyone who likes comedy should be able to find something to love here. Don’t let its silent nature put you off, this one is wonderful.

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