OUR HOSPITALITY (1923)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Comedy

Director: John Blystone / Buster Keaton

Cast: Buster Keaton / Natalie Talmadge / Joe Roberts

Plot

 Sent to New York as a baby to escape a bloody family feud, a young man returns to his family home in the South years later only to find himself a guest in the home of the very family who killed his father.

What I Liked

Buster Keaton makes fun of the hypocritical nature of personal and familial pride and honor in the aptly named “Our Hospitality,” showing that while honor can demand certain politeness it also can lead to senseless violence.  The title comes from a line uttered by Joe Roberts’ character (“He’ll never forget our hospitality!”) when he learns that his daughter will be bringing a suitor to supper.  When he and his sons subsequently learn that this suitor (Keaton) is in fact the last living member of a rival family, that famous Southern hospitality becomes a constant obstacle in the way of murder.  The irony then becomes that the suitor will of course never forget the family’s constant attempts to shoot him dead.

The emptiness of all the manners and pleasantries is of course the source of most of the humor in the film.  The two families involved are named the Canfields and McKays, a play on the infamous Hatfields and McCoys who carried out a bloody multi-generational vendetta in the nineteenth century.  The absurdity of both the violence and the gentility reach a climax when the Canfields try to force Keaton outside of their home so that decorum will no longer prevent them from shooting him dead.  Keaton resorts to every conceivable ploy and trick to delay this fate, resulting in some wonderfully awkward moments.

As you might be able to tell from my comments above, the funniest moments of the film really come from the satire involved and not the great stunts and slapstick for which Keaton is also famous.  There are, however, plenty of physical gags and sight gags to be had.  It’s just that the social satire is really what makes “Our Hospitality” stand out from other silent comedies.

What I Disliked

While there are some truly creative and funny moments here, in general I found this film relatively dull and, for most of its length, unfunny.  Most of the silliness and goofiness on screen just has not aged well and no longer translate to laughs for a modern viewer.  It could be said that this is a fault of the viewer and not the film, and such an assumption would be correct, as it is always best to view a film within the constraints of its time and place.  However, the best movies have a universality that can transcend both time and place.  The truth is that, with a few exceptional scenes, the majority “Our Hospitality” – particularly the first half hour – fails as entertainment for today’s jaded eyes.

Most Memorable Scene

About a quarter of the film’s length concerns the southbound travels of Keaton’s character as a passenger aboard what might be the most unusual train in film history.  About the most rickety form of mass transit you can imagine, the train and its charm are impossible to describe in words.  To be honest, the physical gags that ensue on this train ride just don’t hold up any longer.  Even without many laughs, the sheer creativity, production values, and art of the effects, the stunts, and the camera work are unforgettable.

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5