The National Film Board of Canada's films about Buster Keaton's railroad ride from the eastern part of Canada to the western border. Two films were made, The Railrodder, a short film which attempted to recreate the feel of a silent film and a documentary about the making of The Railrodder, Buster Keaton Rides Again.
The Railrodder has Keaton racing along a railroad track in a maintenance vehicle called a "speeder." The film has some nice scenery and Keaton the great stone face. For a 70 year old man, Keaton is remarkably nimble and does an amazing number of his own gags. The film is moderately entertaining.
Probably more interesting is the documentary Buster Keaton Rides Again. Here you get a glimpse of Keaton the filmmaker as he takes on the actual director of The Railrodder, Gerald Potterton. You actually have to feel a little sorry for Potterton as he tries to get Keaton to perform the gags he has devised and generally failing in his attempts to motivate Keaton. However the reality is that the stunts and gags Keaton thinks up are probably the funniest in the film.
Keaton is considered one of the three great comedy geniuses of silent film along with Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. But of the three Keaton was probably the one who understood how to use the camera with a sophisticated visual style that completely eluded Chaplin his entire career.
24 minutes The Railrodder.
55 minutes Buster Keaton Rides Again.
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