Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

After the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), directed by Jonathan Liebesman, it only seemed natural that a sequel would soon follow. This sequel has now materialized as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, directed by Dave Green. As seems to be common with blockbuster franchises, Out of the Shadows has a much larger scope than its predecessor, featuring a larger cast and clocking in at nearly two hours. Though the end result feels sillier in some ways, it does somehow manage to balance these elements into an enjoyable viewing.

One year after the events of the previous film, the evil Shredder (Brian Tee) is being transported, by corrections officer Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) to a higher security prison along with the prisoners Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (Sheamus). The Foot Clan attempt to break Shredder out of the transport vehicle, only for the Turtles to thwart the effort but fail to capture Shredder themselves. After this escape, Shredder collaborates with Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) to enact a larger scale plan than simply taking over New York, also enlisting the aid of Bebop and Rocksteady. Meanwhile, Casey Jones sets out on a quest to redeem himself by tracking and capturing Bebop and Rocksteady, as they had escaped his custody with Shredder. At the same time, April O’Neil (Megan Fox) and the Turtles work to investigate TCRI, where Baxter Stockman works, and bring down Shredder while resolving a family dilemma. While Leonardo (Pete Ploszek) and Donatello (Jeremy Howard) are content with staying within the shadows, Raphael (Alan Ritchson) and Michelangelo (Noel Fisher) long to be accepted by the humans outside of their small circle.

Casey Jones as portrayed by Stephen Amell.

The general story seeks to embrace the inherently silly nature of the Turtles brand while also striking a balance with the more generally serious aspect of the Mirage and IDW comics series. Overall it seems to succeed, taking itself just seriously enough to further develop the Turtles and deal with their struggle to remain silent protectors of the city while remaining lighthearted enough for the many situations and character interactions to be more upbeat and fun. Despite the numerous subplots and new character introductions, the movie also manages to be pretty easy to follow and maintain the viewer’s attention. However, at least a couple of smaller scenes fall apart a little when you think about them and at least one plot thread seems to go unresolved, though perhaps a potential third installment would take these into account.

One area which received improvement is the special effects, which are rather impressive and contain plenty of small details, including a humorous moment where Bebop, as a mutant Warthog, is finishing off a strand of spaghetti; you can see the strand unwind twice around one of his tusks before whipping his eyes and finally ending in his mouth, complete with sauce stains. In addition, there are some small Easter eggs for fans, including a subtle use of a turtle head from the 1987 cartoon. The designs of the Turtles also seem more streamlined this time, with less bulky equipment, and the action is fast paced, featuring more application of ninja moves. There are also some creative setpieces, which are woven pretty naturally into the context of the story.

Also good is the acting, particularly notable with the larger cast size. The four Turtle actors are very good at distinguishing the personalities of each character from each other as well as establish a unique and engaging dynamic between the brothers and their master/father Splinter (voiced by Tony Shalhoub; motion-capture by Peter D. Badalamenti). Gary Anthony Williams and Sheamus also do a great job portraying Bebop and Rocksteady as total bros who are able to stay optimistic despite everything that gets thrown their way. One interesting performance comes from Will Arnett, returning as Vern Fenwick. It would be easy for him to be portrayed in such a way as to get grating, but Arnett manages to play him in a more balanced way, remaining in character while not being obnoxious and making him a good source of the film’s humor.

Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (Sheamus) share a humorous "bro" dynamic.

While not a fantastic movie, Out of the Shadows is an overall better installment than its predecessor. This is achieved by engaging performances, action which never leaves a dull moment and an easy-to-follow story despite the higher amount of new characters and subplots. What also helps is the improved special effects and the increased number of laugh-out-loud moments mined from the mostly smart sense of humor found in the dialogue and character interactions. Though not the best film to come out this year, it’s one which will entertain Turtle fans old and new, as well as those who simply want to have a good time in the theater this summer.

Stubs - Three Men in White

Three Men in White (1944) Starring: Lionel Barrymore, Van Johnson, Marilyn Maxwell, Keye Luke, Ava Gardner, Alma Kruger, "Rags" Ragland, Nell Craig. Directed by Willis Goldbeck. Screenplay by Martin Berkeley, Harry Ruskin. Based on characters created by Max Brand. Producer: Carey Wilson. Run time 85 min. USA. Drama

Medical dramas are a staple of network television. It may come as no surprise that they were also a staple of movie series as well. One of the longest running was the Dr. Kildare series. Based on a series of short stories and serialized novels written by Frederick Schiller Faust under the name Max Brand, there were sixteen films made featuring his characters, Dr. Kildare and Dr. Gillespie.

Even though the series is most closely associated with MGM, the first film based on a Brand story, Internes Can’t Make Money (1937), was made at Paramount. But the film did not prove to be a financial success at the box-office and the studio planned no more films. Enter MGM, which bet on the popularity of the character in print and made a deal with Faust to develop stories for a film series.

In their first film, MGM introduced Lew Ayers as Dr. Kildare and Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie. These two actors would play these roles throughout the Dr. Kildare series and Barrymore would continue as Dr. Gillespie in that series. The original series ended with Lew Ayers being placed in an internment camp as a conscientious objector to World War II. This caused the last film in that series, Dr. Kildare’s Victory (1942), to receive a lot of bad press and cancellations. When Ayers requested a change in status to non-combatant, the boycott against Ayers lessened, but MGM would move on with the Kildare series without him.

Lew Ayres was young Dr. Kildare playing opposite Lionel Barrymore's Dr. Gillespie in a series of films.

My introduction to the series came through TCM’s screening of the MGM series and the first one I saw was Three Men in White (1944), one of the films featuring Dr. Gillespie and the fourth in that series. While Dr. Gillespie was first introduced in Brand’s Young Dr. Kildare, the Gillespie series were not based on Brand's stories.

The production of the film was not without incident. A flu epidemic shut down it down as Van Johnson, Lionel Barrymore and producer Carey Wilson were all laid up by the disease. Production began on November 20, 1943 and finished on January 6, 1944. The final film was first shown to troops overseas before it was released in the U.S. on May 26, 1944.

Three Men in White sort of picks up where the previous films, Dr. Gillespie’s New Assistant (1942) and Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (1943), have left the storyline. Criminal Case seems more action-packed than the other films, with its prison break and shootout, but we have most of the same characters in the same relationships at the start of Three Men in White. Gone is Dr. Dennis Lindsay (Richard Quine), the third assistant temporarily selected in New Assistant.

Having been overworked, Dr. Gillespie had been ordered by the authorities at Blair General Hospital, where he lives and works, to hire an assistant. Unable to make up his mind, he settled on three men, the above mentioned Dr. Lindsay, Dr. Randall “Red” Adams (Van Johnson) and Dr. Lee Wong How (Keye Luke). In Criminal Case, Red has already met and is romantically interested in Ruth Edly (Marilyn Maxwell), though it seems that events are conspiring to keep them apart.

Three Men in White opens with Dr. Gillespie, being wheeled into his office by Conover (George H. Reed), his sometimes helper, after his office adversary, Nurse Byrd (Alma Kruger), has been through his mail. Prominently on top of the stack is an invitation for Dr. Gillespie and his assistant to attend a medical forum.

Conover (George H. Reed) wheels Dr. Gillespie into his office.

But Gillespie already knows that Byrd has been in his office and he surprises her when she thinks she’s avoided him. They compare notes about their stooges, whose are better, etc.  After he’s chased her away, he goes into his office. Thinking he knows what is in the envelope, a wedding invitation, he rips it up and throws it into the trash.

The inherent issue on Gillespie’s to-do-list is and has been choosing between the two interns vying to be his assistant. To try and rectify that situation, Gillespie speaks with his protégés Randall “Red” Adams and Lee Wong How. Both men are eager to impress the doctor and each takes turns bragging about his latest diagnosis. Determined to make a final decision, Gillespie tells them that he will assign each a special case and the one that makes the correct diagnosis and cure will then win the coveted assignment as his assistant.

Dr. Gillespie gives his two assistants, Randall "Red" Adams (Van Johnson) and Lee
 Wong How (Keye Luke), a challenge to see who wins the coveted assignment as his assistant.

Once he discovers the envelope was an invite, he naturally blames his nurse, Parker (Nell Craig), and decides to take Red. Meanwhile, Dr. How draws the assignment of a young girl, Mary Jones (Patricia Barker), who goes into convulsions when she eats candy.

When they get to the conference, they find that they have the wrong date. On the way back to the parking lot, they notice a young woman, Jean Brown (Ava Gardner), staggering out to her car, seemingly drunk. Before the parking lot assistant (George Chandler) can stop her, she gets into her car and runs into a parked one. The beat cop (James Burke) comes over to question her. Red comes to her aid because she has a license plate from his home state and county on her car. While they’re talking to the cop, she faints. Red tells the cop that he’ll take her to the hospital and give her the alcohol test there. Even though the cop thinks there’s hanky-panky afoot, he lets Gillespie convince him to let Red take her away.

Dr. Gillespie talks with Red before he drives Jean Brown to the Hospital.

On the way to the hospital, Jean won’t tell who she is, even going so far as throwing her purse out the window. She does admit to Red that she only pretended to faint to get out of the ticket. But before too long, she actually does pass out in the car.

The next morning, the beat cop shows up to check up on Jean and on Red’s honesty. Red shows the cop the test which shows no alcohol was found in her blood. Even though Red runs interference for her with the policeman, she still refuses to say who she is and, against his concerns, checks herself out of the hospital. When Red updates Gillespie about her, he makes Jean his case.

Ava Gardner as Jean Brown in Three Men in White.

Gillespie gives him the purse the woman threw out of the car and the driver’s license leads Red to her. Jean lives with her father (Addison Richards) and invalid mother (Barbara Brown). He finds out that that the mom suffers from debilitating and incurable spinal arthritis. It is simply too painful for her to walk.

Jean tells Red that the night before, she had gone out to get away from having to care for her mother. At a party, she had taken someone else’s prescription, which made her act drunk. After Jean admits that she and her fiancé had broken up because of her mother’s condition, Red promises to do something to help her.

But back at the hospital, Gillespie tells Red that the mother’s arthritis is indeed incurable, but Red insists on trying to find a way to make Jean’s mother mobile.

Meanwhile, Lee has been treating Mary by putting her on a sugar-free, vitamin enriched diet and confidentially proclaims that he’ll soon have her cured. Which is a good thing, since Gillespie’s self-imposed deadline is the next day.

That evening, Red agrees to drop by Ruth Edley’s apartment. She has been trying everything she can to be alone with Red, but he’s afraid that if she kisses him, he’ll want to marry her and want to settle down. This night, Red enlists How to help him keep things in check. How agrees to call him after he’s been there seven minutes, which Red thinks is just enough time to break it off with Ruth.

Ruth Edly (Marilyn Maxwell) lets Red know that she's interested.

But things never go as planned. Ruth is too alluring for Red to resist and when How never calls, Red is about to succumb to her wiles. That is until ambulance driver Hobart Genet (Rags Ragland) shows up and, with police support, takes Red back to the hospital.

Dr. How is waiting in the ambulance and is surprised that Red is not happy with his plan to rescue him. But Lee has bigger plans, as well. He takes Red to watch a boy play in the street, hopping down the street with one leg on the sidewalk and the other in the street. Red is not sure what Lee is showing him, until Lee explains to him his theory that Mrs. Brown’s arthritis might have caused one of her legs to become shorter than the other, causing her pain.

Back at the hospital, Lee prepares to administer insulin to Mary if his experiment doesn’t work. He has her eat several small pieces of candy and waits for her to react. When nothing adverse happens, Lee waits until the next morning to inform Gillespie that she had been suffering from a mineral deficiency that caused her to crave sugar and have convulsions. Gillespie doesn’t let Lee’s success go to his head, informing the intern that he had aided him in much the same way Lee had Red.

When Gillespie goes to see Red’s update on his case, there is only a note, announcing that he has decided to not only withdraw from the competition but to return to Missouri. Gillespie, along with Conover, goes in search of Red.

He is at the Brown’s apartment, where he convinces Mrs. Brown to try on a pair of specially made shoes, one which has a higher heel than the other. With her orthopedic shoes on, Mrs. Brown can walk without assistance for the first time in many years. Even though everyone is thrilled by him, Red insists he has to leave.

But outside the building, Gillespie confronts him. After Conover, from the fire escape, had spied Mrs. Brown walking, he wants to offer him the job as his assistant. Red turns him down, saying Lee is a more qualified physician.

Back at the hospital, Lee learns that Gillespie has arranged for something Lee wants more than being his assistant, a commission in the Chinese Army. (China was at the time a wartime ally of the U.S.) However, Lee will be assigned to Gillespie for the near future and vows to help bring Red back.

On his way to the train station, Red has arranged for Ruth to meet him in the lobby of a hotel one last time. Incidentally, this is the same hotel where Red and Gillespie had missed attending that conference earlier. Ruth tries, but can’t convince Red to stay. But before he can get to his car, Hobart, the ambulance driver, sent by Lee, shows up and knocks Red out in the parking lot. Red is headed back to the hospital.

Made on a budget of $450,000, Three Men in White made $868,000 at the box-office. Far from stellar, even in its day, it was still good enough to keep the franchise going for at least two more films.

That pretty much describes the film as well. While not great by any stretch, Three Men in White is still very entertaining to watch. There is a lot of talent on the screen, though not always fully utilized.

Lionel Barrymore is probably best known as Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), the perennial Christmas classic. The eldest son of the Barrymore family, which included siblings Ethel and John, Lionel had been in movies since the early silent films working with D.W. Griffith at the Biograph Studios, starting in 1911. He would act in about 60 films for Griffith, including The New York Hat (1912). He would also write and direct, including Life’s Whirlpool (1917) for Metro Pictures, starring sister Ethel.

Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie.

After 1926, Barrymore worked exclusively for MGM, starring in films opposite the likes of John Gilbert, Lon Chaney, Sr., Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, his brother John and sister Ethel. He would also still direct, including The Rogue Song (1930), Laurel & Hardy's first color film, in which they were also not the stars.

Barrymore played many of his later roles in a wheelchair. Suffering from arthritis, which caused him to limp, he would also break his hip twice, once when a drawing table fell on it in 1936 and a year later when he tripped over cables while filming Saratoga (1937). In great pain, there are stories of Barrymore being addicted to heroin and to cocaine. There are even reports that Louis B. Mayer bought the star $400 of cocaine every day for the pain and to allow him to sleep. Nevertheless, the hip fracture never healed quite right and Barrymore was unable to walk. The last film he can be seen walking and standing in, without help, is Captains Courageous (1937). That did not keep him from acting and he would appear in such films as A Guy Named Joe (1943), It’s A Wonderful Life, Duel in the Sun (1946) and Key Largo (1948). His last films would be Lone Star (1952) and Main Street to Broadway (1953); in the latter he played himself. He would die in 1954.

His role as Dr. Gillespie is what holds this film, and no doubt the others in the series, together. Even confined to a wheelchair, Barrymore has more screen presence than his capable co-stars Van Johnson and Keye Luke.

Van Johnson’s big break came in 1943 with the film A Guy Named Joe, in which he starred opposite Spencer Tracy and Lionel Barrymore. He had been in movies since 1940, having already appeared in two of the Dr. Gillespie films, Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942) and Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case (1943), along with Keye Luke, before Three Men In White. He would also appear in one more in the series, with Keye Between Two Women (1945).

Johnson is a fine actor, but I find his fear of kissing a woman a little hard to swallow even for the times. Of course, that’s not his fault, that’s the way the part was written and he plays it mostly for laughs.

Keye Luke is probably best remembered for his seven appearances as Charlie Chan’s #1 Son, Lee Chan, in the series starring Warner Oland as the famous Chinese detective. He would also play Lee Chan in one of the Mr. Moto films, opposite Peter Lorre, Mr. Moto’s Gamble (1938). Interestingly enough, he would also play Dr. Lee Wong How, his role in the Gillespie series in two unrelated films: Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944) and Dark Delusion (1947). He would also appear as Kato in two Green Hornet serials The Green Hornet (1940) and The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1941). He would return to #1 Son in two of Roland Winters' turns as Chan, The Feathered Serpent (1948) and Sky Dragon (1949). By then, he was older than the actor playing the father.

Luke’s Dr. Lee Wong How comes across as also having a robust ego. He knows he’s smart and he likes to show it off. He has a lot of energy, but he is a little off-putting at the same time, but I think that’s more the character than the actor.

A still relatively unknown Ava Gardner also makes an appearance. She had been in the movies since 1941 and had even appeared in the earlier Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) in an uncredited role. Her role as Jean Brown was only her second feature which she received credit, the other being Ghosts on the Loose (1943).

She is strikingly beautiful, though her acting would improve over her career as would her star status. Three Men in White and her role as Jean Brown is not the sort of high-profile film she would be known for throughout her career. She would first draw attention for her role in The Killers (1946) and would eventually be nominated for Best Actress for her role in Mogambo (1953), the remake of Red Dust (1932).

In publicity photo Lionel Barrymore poses with Marilyn Maxwell and Ava Gardner.

Marilyn Maxwell played Red’s love interest, Ruth Edly, a role she had played in the previous film in the series, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case (1943). She is cute, but it doesn’t appear she was able to put together much of a career. Most of her movie roles were either in films you’ve probably never heard of or were roles that were not credited. She doesn’t necessarily shine in this film, but really no one does except for Barrymore.

The closest modern equivalent to the Dr. Gillespie character and the way Barrymore plays him would be House as played on TV by Hugh Laurie. Both men are handicapped, House with his gamy leg and cane and Gillespie wheel-chair bound; both men have a certain disdain for their fellow employees and display very healthy egos, thinking they are the best doctors around; this sentiment is often reinforced by their colleagues and subordinates. And both have trouble making up their minds on who their assistant will be. House spent whole seasons trying to make that decision, Gillespie takes a few movies.

And it is Barrymore’s performance that is the real reason to watch this film. A great actor makes the most of the material and Barrymore shines as the arrogant and irascible Dr. Gillespie. He is the only reason to make an appointment to see this film.

This film is available in the Dr. Gillespie Movie Collection from Warner Archive.

[OLD] Alice Through the Looking Glass

Following the success of Tim Burton’s 2010 take on Alice in Wonderland, a sequel was inevitable, although this time James Bobin takes the directorial reins from Burton. Appropriately, this movie borrows from the title of the second Alice book, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (aka Through the Looking-Glass), and as such is based more so off of that than Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Having read both of the original Lewis Carroll books and found Tim Burton’s take interesting, I was curious to see what would be done with this movie, even knowing from the trailers that the plot would be very different (having played American McGee’s take though, I was more okay with the idea). Walking away from this sequel, I thought it was worth the Time.

After traveling the world for 3 years on her father’s ship, the Wonder, Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) returns home only to find that, due to legal circumstances occurring while she was gone, Hamish (Leo Bill), whom she had refused to marry, essentially has her home hostage in exchange for the ship. Not wishing to give up the boat, Alice exits a conversation with her mother (Lindsay Duncan) to blow off some steam. During this, Absolem (Alan Rickman), now a butterfly, leads Alice into a room where he enters a mirror (also called a looking glass, as in the title). Once Alice enters the mirror to prevent Hamish from finding her, she ends up back in Underland, where she must console the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), who believes his family survived the Jabberwocky attack years prior to the events of the previous movie. Despite her beliefs in impossibility, Alice believes this to be impossible, and is forced out of the Hatter’s house. With no other option, Alice, as suggested by the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) has to seek help from an unlikely person: Time (Sacha Baron Cohen), the personification of the concept of time.

As mentioned above, the film’s plot drastically deviates from the book it is named after, although the 2010 Tim Burton movie and its story would make a straight adaptation a little difficult, since this continuity assumes that the Queen of Hearts (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) and the Red Queen (Through the Looking-Glass) are the same character (they are not, though it is a widespread misconception). Rather, the story involves time travel, which is usually associated with creative bankruptcy, save for series like Back to the Future where time travel is the central focus. Though this may be off-putting for some, the given approach to time travel logic makes some amount of sense (only Alice and Time are able to move freely, otherwise seeing your past self will destroy all of space-time in relation to Underland, though time-travelling at all will put Time itself and himself in jeopardy) and I give the film makers credit for staying consistent with their logic and weaving it in with the previous movie’s events and this movie’s overall message about learning from the past. For the sake of notability, however, I will point out that there is one scene that is more or less directly adapted from the movie’s namesake, and that is the scene where Alice enters the mirror world for the first time.

The acting in this movie is good, with returning actors playing their characters well. Sacha Baron Cohen, playing the original character of Time, displays that his performance in Hugo was not just a fluke; though he is best known for acting silly, it is evident that he is able to put in a dramatic performance when necessary, and this is one such instance. Notably, this is also the final acting role for the late Alan Rickman prior to his unfortunate passing earlier this year. While he reprises his role as the blue caterpillar/butterfly, named Absolem in this series, his character does not have many lines, either due to him not having very many lines in the first place or the filmmakers working with what had already been recorded before his death. In any case, his final performance was still good for what made it in, and the movie is dedicated to his memory.

The visual effects are really well-done, especially in regards to the visualization of time travel, which is presumably where a lot of the budget went. The animated characters interact very seamlessly with the live-action characters, as do any visual effects on the actors themselves. Of note is the character Time, who is seemingly mechanical, and so the effects are done to where you actually believe it. There are also the assistants to Time, the Seconds, which fit well with the well-rendered clock aesthetic of Time’s domain. In general, the lighting is also noticeably a little brighter than in the previous movie, likely due to the fact that it’s not directed by Tim Burton.

For what it is, Alice Through the Looking Glass is actually pretty enjoyable. The story doesn’t really get too complicated, even with the time travel shenanigans, and some events make more sense when you factor in the Tim Burton movie and its flashback sequences. Admittedly, it does edge close to being a Johnny Depp movie, as per usual with a lot of movies he appears in, but that’s likely due to star power and likely won’t be an issue for Johnny Depp fans. I would recommend this movie to fans of Alice in Wonderland that enjoyed the 2010 movie, and in fact I would highly suggest watching that one first for the sake of story, though there are understandably some purists out there, for whom this movie will most likely not appeal. In any case, it’s interesting to see someone try something new with the story, and it’s likely to get a continuation if it does well enough, however I’m not sure what they can call it since there’s only so many books to borrow names from (unless you also maybe count the original manuscript, Alice’s Adventures Under Ground).

Stubs - The Camerman

The Cameraman (1928) Starring: Buster Keaton, Marceline Day, Harold Goodwin. Directed by Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton (uncredited). Story by Clyde Bruckman, Lew Lipton. Titles by Joseph Farnham. Produced by Buster Keaton, Lawrence Weingarten. Run Time: 67 minutes U.S. Black and White, Silent, Comedy.

As we mentioned in our review of Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928), Buster Keaton soon afterwards lost the financial backing of Joseph M. Schenck and signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which was run by Nicholas Schenck, Joseph’s younger brother. He may not have thought he had much choice at the time and it would be a move Keaton would soon regret. When he was making features for Joseph, Keaton had the flexibility to shoot when an idea inspired him. Nicholas’ MGM was less forgiving, wanting product on a schedule.

I’m a little unsure whose idea The Cameraman was. Clyde Bruckman, who gets partial credit for the story, was one of Keaton’s gag men, but Lew Lipton was a studio writer. I’ve heard, in commentary on TCM, that Keaton pitched a lot of ideas to MGM, but all were turned down. Instead, they presented him with this, so perhaps he took a studio idea and re-worked it with his usual troupe of writers. Whatever the results, at least one more time, Keaton was able to come up with a winner.

Even before Steamboat Bill, Jr. was released in theaters (May 12, 1928), Keaton was already shooting The Cameraman (April 12 to June 26, 1928), so there wasn’t a lot of moss growing under his feet. Looking back on the output of the studios it seems like everything came out quickly and often. Making genius, however, was less common.

The film opens with a tribute to the hardworking newsreel cameraman, showing various men in dangerous and daring situations. But there is also another type of cameraman like Buster (Buster Keaton), a sidewalk tintype portrait photographer in New York City. When we first see him, he’s scrambling hard to find business. He is about to take a customer’s photo, when a crowd gathers and news crews, including MGM Newsreel, show up with cameras cranking to document the event. Buster is caught up in the crowd and thrust up against Sally (Marceline Day), a woman in the crowd.

Buster (Buster Keaton) is thrust up against Sally (Marceline Day) when the crowd surges.

She is beautiful and after the crowd has gone he asks is he can take her tintype. She reluctantly agrees and while Keaton gets caught up with posing her, he does manage to take her photo before Harold (Harold Goodwin), one of the MGM cameramen, comes back to get her. She is whisked away before Buster can give her the tintype.

Sally reluctantly poses so Buster can take a tintype of her.

But Buster knows where she works and has a photo of her to go by. Finding the MGM Newsreel office is easy, but tracking her down is not so. After finding out her name from the doorman, Buster follows a cameraman into the MGM office. When he asks the first person he sees if he’s seen Sally, the man thinks he’s daft, because Sally is sitting right by the door. Buster is almost out of the office before he finally sees her. When she offers to pay for the tintype, ten cents, he gives it to her as a gift.

He wants to take her portrait again and even though she doesn’t get off for hours, decides to wait for her. When he notices Harold around, Keaton decides the best way to get close to her is to work at MGM. He asks about working there, but the cameramen scoff at him. Sally, feeling sorry for his treatment, tells Buster he needs to get his own camera first and he rushes out to get one.

Buster wants to make good and goes looking for a fire. 

But new camera equipment is expensive and Buster has to settle for an old used one. More scoffs when he returns to MGM, but when a big fire at a warehouse breaks out, Sally encourages Buster to go film it. Trailing behind the other cameramen, Buster asks the first cop (Henry Gribbon) he runs into about where the fire is. When Buster sees a firetruck hurrying by, he runs and leaps onto the side of the engine, only to discover it’s returning to the station.

Buster jumps on a passing fire engine only to end up back at the station rather than the fire.

Unable to find the fire, Buster, as Sally suggests, tries to film anything and everything. He hits on the idea of filming the New York Yankees, but they’re playing in St. Louis. Left alone down on the field at Yankee stadium, Buster imagines himself playing in a game in one of the funnier sequences in the movie. First he is the pitcher, trying to pick off a runner at third, before trying to get the next batter out. Once that’s done, Buster turns to offense and takes a turn at batting. After a wild pitch that nearly beans him, Buster hits a home run, sliding head first into home plate. While he accepts the cheers of the imaginary crowd he realizes the groundskeeper has been watching him. Buster hurries away to look for other subjects to shoot.

The groundskeeper kicks Buster off the field after one of the funnier sequences in the film.

The first batch of film he brings back to MGM is not usable. As an example, through accidental double exposure, Buster has managed to make it look like a battleship is coming down on the city’s thoroughfares. While some of the effects could not have been done with a camera alone, the idea is that Buster is not up to MGM Newsreel standard and he is kicked out.

Buster's first footage ends up being laughed at.

Feeling sorry for him, Sally intercepts him in the hall and gives him some pointers about shooting film, like never crank backwards. Encouraged by her attention, Buster screws up the courage to ask her to go on a long walk with him the next day, which is Sunday. Sally tells him that she has other plans, but asks for his number in case they fall through.

Sunday and Buster is fully dressed early in the morning, waiting for the phone, which is several floors below, to ring. But first, he needs money and tries to open his bank of dimes. This proves harder than it should. Taking a hammer to the bank and using the wall for backing doesn’t work as the bank is pushed through the thin wall. Using the claw of the hammer, Buster rips into the wall to find the bank. Unable to break it open he throws the bank to the floor and the dimes fly out.

When the phone rings, Buster runs down several flights to the lobby, only to find it’s not for him. Dejected, Buster walks back up the stairs and, without noticing he’s overshot his own floor, ends up on the roof before he knows it. When he hears the phone is for him, he runs all the way back down, overshooting the lobby this time and ending up in the basement. Finally at the phone, Sally tells him she’s available.

While she’s still talking to him, Buster excitedly runs over to her boarding house, passing the cop again who takes notice. Sally is just realizing Buster is no longer on the phone when he shows up in the lobby behind her. After she goes to finish getting ready, Buster waits in the sitting room with the other tenants and the landlady who chaperons the girls. It isn’t long before he causes a commotion.

Sally doesn't realize that Buster is not on the other end of the call.

Finally out on the street, Sally goes one way and Buster the other. He decides to take her to The Plunge, a pool, and they hurry to catch the bus. But once on board, they get separated, Sally takes seat on the bottom floor and Buster gets pushed up to the top of the double decker bus. When he realizes Sally is seated below him, he climbs down and sits on the bumper so he can be next to her. Once again, the cop takes notice, especially when Buster gets bumped off his perch and must run to get back on.

Buster rides next to Sally even though there is no room on the bus.

At the Plunge, the two rent swimsuits and Sally goes into the ladies room to change. Buster ends up sharing a changing cube with a heavyset man (Edward Brophy). Rather than taking turns the two men try to change at the same time, getting into each other’s way and clothes as they do. Squeezed and throttled, Keaton does emerge, though he is wearing a swim suit that is easily three sizes too large.

Keaton ends up at a changing room with a heavyset man (Edward Brophy).

Sally, who is quite fetching in her skintight suit, gets the attention of a gaggle of boys who follow her and Buster into the water. When Sally tries to play catch with Buster, the men, who are much larger, practically drown him as they fight for the ball. Finally, Sally pulls Buster away and they sit together on the rim of a fountain in the center of the pool.

It should come as no surprise that Sally attracts the attention of other men at the Plunge pool.

Watching the divers, Buster decides to show off for Sally and climbs up to the high dive. But when he hits the water, his suit comes off. Buster doesn’t realize he’s naked until he starts to get out. Sally wants to leave and gets out of the pool to change. Buster, though, is stuck. That is until he hits on the idea and steals a large woman’s bloomer bottoms and wears them out of the water.

Buster tries to get out of the pool when he realizes he's lost his swimsuit.

Sally wants to go to the beach, but they aren’t able to squeeze into the taxi going that way. Things are so tight that when Buster opens the door, passengers fall out. After helping push the doors closed again, Buster and Sally are still on the outside looking in. Just then Harold drives up in his convertible coupe and offers Sally a ride home. It looks like rain and Buster helps Harold put up the top, but Harold insists Buster ride in the rumble seat. By the time they get to Sally’s, Buster is soaked. Sally gives Buster a kiss on the cheek and he starts to walk home in the rain.

Buster is soaked by the time he gets Sally  home after their date.

But our friend the cop, having seen Buster do some crazy looking things all day, pulls him aside to check his reflexes to see if he’s crazy. But Buster manages to escape into the rainy night, losing the cop who falls down while chasing him.

The next day, Buster is waiting in the MGM newsreel office bright and early. When a hot tip comes in about trouble in Chinatown, Sally gives the scoop to Buster, who once again rushes out to cover the story. He is in such a rush that he runs into an organ grinder and the two collapse on top of the man’s monkey. Thinking it’s dead, a passing policeman makes Buster pay the hurdy gurdy man for the animal and then forces him to take it away. But the monkey is not dead, only stunned and insists on staying with Buster from then on.

The Tong Wars are just getting underway and Buster takes great effort and risk to shoot the events. More than once, a leader of one of the rival tongs sends someone to kill Buster, to stop the filming, but each assassin is thwarted. Despite escaping gunfire, Buster finds himself stuck in a room with one of the Tong leaders and some of his loyal followers. They are moving menacingly towards him when the police arrive and save Buster. But one of the cops is the one who has been observing Buster and he tries to get Buster thrown into a paddy wagon headed to Bellevue hospital. But once again, Buster escapes and makes his way back to the newsreel office.

Buster dutifully keeps hand cranking his camera while bullets fly during the Tong Wars.

Excited, Buster tells Sally what he’s been through. When Edward J. Blake (Sidney Bracey), the newsreel company’s boss, overhears, he wants to see the footage. But when Buster opens the camera the film is missing from the reel and all that remains is a torn piece. Buster apparently forgot to load the film, even though he’s sure he had. When Blake wants to know who gave Buster the tip, Sally is the only likely candidate. But rather than see her get fired, Buster offers to leave and never return to MGM.

Buster though doesn’t give up filming and sets out to record a regatta/boat race. When he loads the film, he realized that he has the Tong footage and suspects that the mischievous monkey had switched reels on him.

Meanwhile, for whatever reason, Sally and Harold are involved in the regatta and go speeding by in one of the boats. When Harold tries to take a sharp turn the two are ejected from the boat. Harold makes it back to shore, but Sally is trapped by the boat, which continues to speed around her in a tight circle. Buster jumps into another boat, which he steers into the unmanned boat’s way. Buster than swims back to shore with Sally and lays her down on his coat. Not sure what to do, Buster hurries to a nearby drug store to get supplies to revive her.

Buster carries an unconscious Sally out of the water after the boat accident.

Harold, meanwhile makes it to shore and sees Sally. He walks over to her and cradles her just as she wakes up. She is impressed by Harold’s bravery for saving her and the two walk off together. Buster arrives just in time to see them leave.

Broken-hearted, Buster sends his Tong war footage to MGM offering it free of charge. Edward decides to screen it for a laugh with Sally and Harold sitting in. But not only is the Tong footage some of the best camera work the boss has ever seen, but there is also footage from the boat race and rescue, which the monkey apparently shot. Sally now knows the truth about Harold and Edward sends her out to find Buster.

Edward J. Blake (Sidney Bracey), the boss at the newsreel office, is impressed by Buster's footage. So is Sally.

Back to being a tintype photographer, Sally finds Buster on the street. She tells him that the boss wants him back and that there is going to be a great reception for him. At that moment, the streets once again fill with cheering fans and ticker tape. Buster thinks the fuss is for him, but we see that it is really for Charles Lindbergh.

Buster thinks the crowd and adulation is for him, instead it's for Charles Lindbergh.

Two historical notes: Tintypes are photographs taken on a sheet of iron that is coated with lacquer or enamel. These have been around since the 1860’s and were falling out of favor by the time this film was made. The other is that most movie studios, like TV broadcast networks today, had news divisions, which presented newsreels as part of their program of films. MGM News was actually produced by William Randolph Hearst’s company. In 1930, they were renamed News of the Day.

While the film received good reviews, MGM took away most of Buster’s creative control over his films. This is not to say that the films he made at MGM were not financially successful, only that they were no longer really Keaton films. His independence and creativity were stifled by the studio in favor of the bottom line.

The Cameraman was followed by Spite Marriage (1929), Keaton’s last silent film. He would successfully transition to the talkies with Free and Easy (1930). In those early sound days, the studio would have the actors do three takes of each scene, one in English, one in Spanish and the third in French or German. The actors would have to learn to speak the foreign languages phonetically. Keaton would later complain that not only did MGM make him do bad films, he had to do them three times.

The studio would eventually pair him with Jimmy Durante for a series of films: The Passionate Plumber (1932) Speak Easily (1932), and What! No Beer? (1933). By the time the last film was released, things had gotten so bad between MGM and Keaton, that they fired him despite the film being a success.

Edward Sedgwick directed all of Keaton’s MGM films. Like many of Keaton’s independent films, the actor would have a hand in the direction, whether credited or not. Despite the fact that MGM thrust Sedgwick onto Keaton, the two were actually good friends, bonding over a mutual love of baseball. The two would at one time share an office at MGM. Keaton would even suggest Sedgwick as a director for the Red Skelton starrer, A Southern Yankee (1948).

Buster sits next to director Edward Sedgwick on the set of The Cameraman.

Marceline Day would start her film career as one of Mack Sennett’s Bathing Beauties appearing in Picking Peaches (1924). She would make comedies with Harry Langdon and Westerns with Hoot Gibson, Art Acord and Jack Hoxie, before appearing in more dramatic roles opposite the likes of Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Ramon Navarro and Lon Chaney. In 1927, she was named one of the 13 WAMPAS Baby Stars, a group of “future” starts which included Joan Crawford, Mary Astor, Janet Gaynor and Dolores Del Rio. Despite her successes, Day retired from the movie business by 1933. Perhaps her best known role, outside of The Cameraman, was in London After Midnight (1927) opposite Chaney directed by Tod Browning.

Like London After Midnight, The Cameraman was, for a time, considered lost. However, a complete print was discovered in Paris in 1968 and a higher quality print, though with missing scenes, was found in 1991. The two prints were combined for the film we have today.

And it would have been a shame if The Cameraman had been lost to the world. While the film doesn’t have the same death-defying acts as say Steamboat Bill Jr., there are still some very challenging stunts, such as Keaton leaping onto the fender of a moving bus or riding a collapsing platform as it falls two stories to the ground. I hate to say it, but Keaton is funny just running and he does a lot of that in this film.

Like some other of his films, the big premise is often there as a backdrop for other sight gag sequences. Take the imaginary game at Yankee Stadium; being a cameraman only tangentially sets that up. But it’s watching what Keaton does with the place and situation that makes it memorable. This is a genius at work. While the sequence is probably well planned in advance, it comes across as one long improvisation; like a silent and subdued version of what Robin Williams used to do so well.

Another example is the sequence at The Plunge. This has more to do with setting Keaton off in an indoor aquatic environment and seeing what he and his writers can make of it, than anything else. You can almost imagine the thinking process. Start off with him changing clothes in the same small room as a larger man and have him end up wearing a suit that is too large for him. The look is funny, but it’s what happens to him in and out of it that makes the routine a classic.

Shooting the changing room scene with Edward Brophy.

And the film isn’t in a hurry for its jokes to pay off. The too big suit coming off is accomplished, but only after setting up the still tenuous relationship between Sally and Buster. You get a real sense from Sally that while she’s flattered by the attention of the other men in the pool, she’d still rather be alone with Buster. She’s a girl who wants to have fun, but still keep her morals in check. Having recently seen her in the stills that make up London After Midnight, it is good to remember that she was a fine actress in her day. And she is the right type of actress Buster needs for the romantic angle that is a part of most of his films to date; pretty, smart and playful.

While the film is funny, there is also pathos. Buster is in love with Sally and very shy at the same time. You don’t need words to know what he’s going through. Like Charlie Chaplin, Buster was able to be more than just the comedian in his best films. The Cameraman’s Buster is a three-dimensional character with love, hope and ambition. Keaton doesn’t get any real credit as an actor, few comedians do, but he is able to do more than just make you laugh; he makes you care about his character.

In an example of the pathos, Buster is heart-broken when he
returns after saving her life and  finds Sally is gone.

There is so much to like about The Cameraman. I’ve seen it three times, including once at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles, the subsequent DVD release and once on TCM. This is definitely a comedy that stands up to multiple viewings. Rather than knowing what’s coming next, you anticipate how Keaton will do his next bit. And he never disappoints.

If you’re a Keaton fan like I am, then you should definitely see The Cameraman. If you’re not a Keaton fan than this film should make you one.

Be sure to check out other silent film reviews at our Silent Cinema Review Hub.