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Buster Butts In
For the first 20 minutes of "Our Hospitality," you might be forgiven if you think you've stumbled into one of those old time weepy films by the likes of D.W. Griffith. Two families, driven by mutual hatred, kill each other to protect their honor. Their names, the McKays and the Canfields, are an obvious reference to the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud. To shelter him from the feud, young Willie McKay is sent away to live with his aunt, but upon his father's death, he travels west to claim his birthright. Made in 1923, "Our Hospitality" marked Keaton's first feature film as a director, working with Jack Blystone. Keaton used the occasion to go hog wild on the production, depicting early 19th century life in such detail that one of the props used in the film, a Dandy horse, was later placed in the Smithsonian because it so accurately recreated an object that no longer existed. Keaton's love of the railroad also shines through in "Our Hospitality," as Willie McKay makes his way home on an early form of the passenger train that resembles something like a steam-engine pulled stagecoach. Keaton plays the young McKay, who unwittingly falls in love with a Canfield daughter (played by his then-wife Natalie Talmadge) on his way home. The young lady invites him over, but when her family finds out who he is, all they can think to do is blast him with one of their single-shot pistols. But of course it's not polite to do so while he is a guest in their home. Hilarity ensues as the Canfields try various ways to get Keaton to step outside so they can put a bullet in him. Eventually, the chase is on, and the film climaxes with a dramatic rescue from the banks of a river – or does it? A documentary on the making of "Our Hospitality" included on the disc reveals which shots were filmed on a set and which were done on location, and the many, many ingenious camera tricks that were devised to pull off feats like Keaton dangling from a rock ledge or a plunge over a waterfall. Learning how Keaton and his team filmed "Our Hospitality" only makes you appreciate his genius even more. The DVD includes a comical short film, "The Iron Mule," featuring the same train that was used in "Our Hospitality." Also included are the aforementioned documentary on the making of the film, photo galleries, and a shorter, alternate cut of the film, simply titled "Hospitality." It's not known exactly why the alternate cut was produced, but it survives in a beat-up 16mm print that's reproduced here on disc. "Our Hospitality" does not have the headlong rush of genius on display that characterizes "Sherlock Jr." or "The General," Keaton's masterpieces. It creaks along for a little while and lingers a little too long on the train gags during the first 20-30 minutes. But it ends in a dashing whirlwind of dangerous stuntwork that's all the more impressive in this day and age of computer-aided filmmaking. 3/21/11
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