"The Saphead" Review

 

by Daniel White

Unable to endure the painfully unfunny The Passionate Plumber, I turned it off and went in search of the comic genius of Buster Keaton elsewhere. It certainly wasn't on display in that dreadful 1931 talkie.

The Saphead (1920) was Keaton's first full-length film, handed to him by Douglas Fairbanks. The athletic, jaunty Fairbanks had already played the male lead, once on the stage and in a 1915 flick. Unable (unwilling?) to reprise it a third time, he recommended his pal, Keaton. Though he wouldn't make another feature-length film for three years, its success established him as Hollywood's newest leading man and laugh getter. Buster is Bertie Van Alstyne, scion to a wealthy Wall Street financier. Convinced that the modern woman is only interested in players and ne'er do wells, he attempts to earn himself the reputation of a "sport." Unsuccessful, the hopelessly decent Bertie only manages to arouse his father's fury, who mistakes his son's bad boy behavior for the real thing.

I suppose if one wanted to witness Keaton in peak form, they would opt to view one of his later self-directed masterpieces like The General. However, I was eager to take a look at his early work and I wasn't disappointed. Unlike in The Passionate Plumber, where he appears uncomfortable and unsure of himself, here Keaton is on point. He may not be executing jaw-dropping pratfalls of eye popping proportions but his stoic, determined everyman is clearly evident. Initially, Bertie seems listless and free of gumption, but as the movie progresses, he develops a head of steam.

Accused by his nefarious brother-in-law of fathering a child out of wedlock, Bertie achieves the street cred he craved but loses his father's respect. In fact, although there is a love interest (Beula Booker), in the end, the story chooses to focus on Bertie and his pop (William H. Crane). By rescuing the elder Van Alstyne from financial ruin and proven to be a young man of virtue, Bertie is reunited with his dad.

Did any of this mirror Keaton's relationship with his own father? (Though he didn't direct, Keaton did have a hand in the screenplay). Helmed by Herbert Blache and released through Metro Pictures, The Saphead is a minor gem, valuable for showing the emerging greatness of Buster Keaton. The Saphead is currently available on YouTube.