The Cameraman

Buster Keaton plays a kind hearted but bumbling cameraman trying his best to win over a clerk at MGM studios. Despite his best efforts, hilarious mishaps keep getting in the way. Among the funnier skits, A San Francisco Tong war, getting stuck in a dressing room with another man, and his constant antics with a local police officer. The film tugs your heart strings as you wish nothing but the best for this poor man. Strongly recommended if you like a light hearted and family friendly films everybody can enjoy. Fans of Charlie Chaplin and the Three Stooges will find Buster Keaton's work to be a breath of fresh air and even though it's a silent film, no sound is needed to appreciate everything this film has to offer.

Moviecut—The Cameraman

source: The Cameraman

What is amazing in the history of the cinema is those works of art that get produced under less-than-ideal circumstances. CITIZEN KANE could fit into this category, so could GREED, even CASABLANCA. But perhaps one of the most significant is Buster Keaton's masterwork, THE CAMERAMAN. Due to the inflated rental costs and poor distribution that Keaton's previous three films had through United Artists, Buster Keaton Productions was forced to close down, and Keaton lost all creative control and took a job as performer only at MGM, Hollywood's largest studio. Reluctant to take direction and perform material written by others, he fought the studio tooth and nail to get the film made his way. His first film there also became, interestingly enough, perhaps his most all-round most satisfying motion picture of his career. In watching THE CAMERAMAN, I was struck particularly by the brilliance and sheer number of gags. In addition, Keaton was supported by a very talented cast, not least of all former Mack Sennett clown Harry Gribbon. The film is filled with memorable set-pieces (the entire scene at the pool, especially in the bathhouse, is my favorite). This film is highly recommended to fans of film comedy, and the lost art of gag structure and payoff.

The Cameraman is a great film, a great comedy, and is one of Keaton's best films. The fact that this film has never made a top 100 list is shameful. It is a pure joy to watch Keaton playing baseball with himself, or filming a tong war with his camera. Every subtle movement Keaton makes is a masterpiece, and that goes for his earlier solo films as well.

I find The Cameraman, in its best moments, funnier than Buster Keaton's earlier, non-studio production, The General. As a soldier in the Civil War, Keaton lacks an element of credibility. While that doesn't tarnish the cinematic cleverness of The General, the contemporaneous and urban setting of The Cameraman seems to suit more appropriately his particular talent. This feels more like a naive romantic comedy of today rather than a satire on the melodrama of the past. In a gag-driven comedy, we remember set pieces and the brief moments of magical hilarity. Originality is incredibly important, because other aspects gathered from the pleasure of viewing are often disregarded. For instance, this film has little to say about the human condition and it doesn't have a lot of panache in the art and camera departments. So it needs to pull of a few major original gags, which it does: anarchy punctuates the odd scene in the rain with the police officer who wants to test his reflexes to see if he's "goofy"; and, Buster undressing with another man in the changing room at the swimming pool is brutally funny. His subsequent performance on the diving board and loss of bathers leads to some insightful moments of Buster, the actor: he couldn't be "The Great Stone Face" without that pair of clear expressive eyes. With little more than his brows and forehead for assistance, he reveals suspicion (at the girl swimming underwater around his naked body) and then resembles Jaws as he hunts down a prey to retrieve another pair of swimming tights. It is so easily enjoyable to get inside Buster's head and I think it's because of those eyes. Kuleshov might want to say he doesn't express anything and we, the audience, interpret his feelings based on the choices of the director's linear staging and editing techniques. But, it is so tempting to say we know and understand Buster Keaton's characters. He makes all these human errors and always follows his passions undeterred. We love him as a cinematic figure. If Buster Keaton were replaced in his films by, say, big, tough, dominant, Sterling Hayden, I doubt if the Kuleshov effect could generate anywhere near as much empathy than what we have for the little guy. There is a nasty streak running through this film. The supporting cast (except the ultimate saviour: the organ grinding monkey) are all pitted against our little hero. Made in 1928, the dawn of the Great Depression seems to of had an effect on the production. There are few niceties. Apart from the aforementioned exchange of elbows and dark looks to the face in the scene in the dressing room, we see hordes of people crammed inside and scrambling onto public transport, a hero short on change, and an authoritarian newspaper editor ready to sack the heroine on loyal principals. Perhaps the film was a kind of response to the panic that must have been setting into the minds of certain members of the public. The message, loosely delivered, is that people should stop watching the parades of the famous, forget baseball heroics, and learn to appreciate the smaller, more specific elements of lifestyle within their society. Since, it is ideal love and having a passion for individual ethical rewards that will see us through tough times. Not panic or arbitrary worship of figureheads, or intolerance for one's neighbours. And laughter, mixed with a little bit of Preston Sturges' much hated "deep dish" themes (that he nevertheless dealt with by virtue of his hatred and is mentioned here because he combined just about every element of silent-era comedy into his films of the early-40s), went miles to give people a thoughtful escape into better times on the silver screen. Even if here it may have been more of a warning, a prelude to the darker days that were to come.

Greetings, My children. It is I, your heavenly Father. The Lord God Almighty (thunder). Please, don't get up. It's just, I was surfing the IMDB and came across the top 250 list and noticed something very strange. Two things, actually. The absence of the movies Rocky (1976) and this film, The Cameraman (1928). I would like to ask a question to all those who consider themselves "experts" of the cinema genre. If you had only one day left to live and in that day you had to watch a film, what would it be? Choose carefully for I have the power to slide that aforementioned date accordingly. With such sober-mindedness, no doubt many "top" lists (especially the AFI top 100, but I have a special day of wrath reserved for them) would look much different. I can assure you, given that criteria, The Cameraman would be on every list. It measures up in every artistic category from writing to cinematography, but more than anything, it has heart, the major ingredient missing from the over budgeted, over hyped, over rated crap coming out of the political correct creatively stifling juggernaut that is Hollyweird. I love the tender moment when Buster is accidentally pushed up against the girl he loves in a large crowd. Such wonderful pathos. This is a great film. And best of all, just like Me, it touches all people, in all walks of life, at any time in history, with any amount of knowledge. Of course, that's just IMHO, but keep in mind: I AM NEVER WRONG! (animals on earth bow down, more thunder) Thanks for your time. Be good.

Its sight gags may not be as funny, complex and clever as in Buster's independent films (The General, Sherlock Jr, Steamboat Bill Jr and others), but The Cameraman has probably the best romance of all his films, and is certainly one of the best directed. It has some wonderful sequences in it: the giant crane shot up and down the side of a gigantic stairway setpiece, contains probably the most impressive piece of direction. Buster's face was at its handsomest here, just before his excesses of the 30's. The version i saw had a fittingly gorgeous romantic score, which didn't hurt. Overall, The Cameraman is one of Buster's most charming, enjoyable films. And now one of my favourites. If you've never seen a silent movie, i'd recommend this as a great place to start. Its such a welcoming, likeable movie. Visual humour does get much funnier than this - but the main source of joy in Keaton movies is Buster's irrepressibly likeable little character, here at his most likeable.

This is a fine comedy, nearly as good as some of the earlier masterpieces that Keaton had made on his own. It starts off rather slowly, but gets better and better as it moves along, leading up to a great finish that is fully worthy of Keaton's genius. The setup, with Buster as a cameraman who desperately yearns to break into the newsreel business, lends itself well to visual gags and also provides Buster with the kind of hard-luck character which he always portrayed so convincingly and humorously. The early parts do move slowly at times, aside from a few good gags - but Keaton apparently once said that there was some good material in the original film that has not survived because the negatives deteriorated (this seems likely, because there are some noticeable blemishes even in what is left in the prints on the current video version). Even so, it picks up steam and gets steadily funnier as the situation and Keaton's character are developed. And it all leads up to a typically great Keaton finale, a wonderful blend of humor, excitement, drama, and fun visuals. It's fully as satisfying as the finishes in his best films, and any Keaton fan should find it thoroughly enjoyable.

Buster Keaton and his leading lady Marceline Day shine in this deliciously romantic comedy from 1928, about a tintype cameraman who longs to become a successful newsreel photographer for MGM. Most of the female leads in Keaton's films were basically props, with not much substance, but Marceline's performance as Sally is outstanding. She had lots of chemistry going with Buster here, because her character was not shallow towards the little cameraman, who has obviously fallen head over heels in love with her. She treats him with respect and encourages his ambitions. This sweet and touching classic silent movie deserves a first class restoration by Kino, with a further restoration of the original piano score that is so lovely ... not a new score, please! I don't know who composed the original music for this film; it is not listed in the IMD credits anywhere, but whoever the composer was, they should be recognized and honored. Best scenes in The Cameraman are the public pool scenes, where Buster tangles with a mafia type in his dressing room, then loses his bathing trunks while swimming; the Tong War scenes with Josephine the monkey (so adorable!); and the regatta scenes, where Luke (Buster) saves Sally, only to have her affection stolen from him by an unworthy competitor. The current print available on the MGM video VHS release of The Cameraman available on Amazon.com is absolutely awful: over-exposed, with multi-thousands of defects. Do not buy it; instead wait till the much better print is shown again on Turner Classic Movies. This is the print to obtain to fully enjoy the movie, and this is the print that should be widely available for sale, so the public can rediscover this gem. Buster Keaton was simply the funniest performer who ever appeared in the movies, bar none. All his films deserve the best restorations possible.