William Canfield (Ernest Torrence) runs a steamboat on the Mississippi, but it's growing old and past it, at least to the mind of entrepreneur Joseph King (Tom McGuire), who today unveils a brand new steamboat with which he plans to clean up on the passenger trade that Canfield has formerly been doing so well in. The captain is understandably none too pleased about this, but is distracted by a telegram from his son William Jr (Buster Keaton), who he has not seen since he was a baby. Why, he must be even taller than his sturdy father now, and well equipped to assist in the family business...
Er, won't he? Steamboat Bill Jr was generally considered as, if not one of Buster Keaton's masterpieces then containing his last great sequence anyway, which tends to bring about the opinion that everything leading up to the action-packed climax was rather muted. It was true to say that most of the first hour was aiming to be charming rather than absolutely sidesplitting - the literal calm before the storm, you might say - but not to say that it left the audience twiddling their thumbs waiting for the good bit to hurry up and arrive, for there was plenty to amuse as Junior tries to live up to his father's image of what he should be.
This was the final film Keaton made for his own studio, as he hit financial problems and was forced to sign up with MGM to carry on his career, which hit a slippery slope of creativity as he was not allowed free rein to manufacture his trademark, wild physical stunts. Although he was still a star for much of the following decade, his health suffered as he descended into alcoholism, unable to make his films the way he wanted, only truly making a comeback in the sixties, where he was starting to gain the immense respect his work was due; sadly he died shortly after, but his fans could take solace that he knew he had been recognised as a genius of screen comedy and stuntwork.
Which made Steamboat Bill Jr all the more precious, even if before the cyclone hits the town in the final act Keaton fell back on rather conventional plotting, with a Romeo and Juliet set-up for his romantic interest, King's daughter Kitty (the appealing Marion Byron). They knew each other from before, but never made moves towards a relationship even though they were aware they should have, so there's a rather sweet not-quite love affair that plays out until Junior can prove his feelings for her in the predictable manner of rescuing her from the terrible weather at the end of the film. Before that, he has to reconcile that his meek, intellectual ways are not what his father had in mind for his offspring.
Thus there are sequences where he tried to toughen up Junior, who first appears at the railway station sporting a beret and ridiculous little moustache, which father sees to it is swiftly shaved off at the local barber's. The rivalry between Canfield and King reaches a head when the latter tries to get the former's vessel taken off the river as unsafe, which plays out with the vengeful Canfield being thrown in prison and Junior trying to spring him. But what you'll undoubtedly recall is the gale force winds causing havoc, with the town being broken apart as Junior tries to survive, an extended sequence which is incredibly inventive and features perhaps Keaton's most celebrated stunt, the extremely dangerous side of the house falling over him as he stands in the street unawares. It's a remarkable shot, but there is so much innovation in that last quarter hour that few would complain about the meandering necessary to get there, and the star's plucky, indomitable persona was perfect for his filmmaking fearlessness.
[Steamboat Bill, Jr has been released by Eureka in a box set trilogy with Sherlock Jr and The General, three of the greatest silent comedies ever created. They are all restored to impressive clarity, and have a wealth of featurettes, introductions, a commentary and a booklet as extras. The perfect introduction to an enduring genius.]
