"The Saphead" was Buster Keaton's first feature length film. To me it was a disappointment. At the time Keaton was making short comedies in which his considerable talent was displayed.
For this film Keaton was loaned out by Joseph Schenck to Metro Pictures in a role that Douglas Fairbanks had previously played and for which he recommended Keaton for the part. "The Saphead" is more of a drama with comedy sequences far and few between. It should be noted that Keaton did not have control over the production of the picture.
The story centers around millionaire Nicholas Van Alstyne (William H. Crane) and his family. Son-in-law Mark Turner (Irving Cummings), who is married to Van Alstyne's daughter Carol (Carol Holloway), is a crooked stock broker who plans to ruin the old man. Van Alstyne's spoiled, shiftless son Bertie (Keaton) is set up to take the blame for Turner's infidelity. Bertie is called a saphead by his father in recognition of his disappointment in him. Turner manages to gain control of the old man's holdings and.......................
Keaton's best scene comes when he is thrown out of the stock exchange and performs one of his famous pratfalls. He has few opportunities to display his comedic talents in a mostly dramatic role.
This film perhaps foreshadowed Keaton's fate when he moved to MGM in 1928 and lost creative control over his films and quickly lost favor with his fans.
For this film Keaton was loaned out by Joseph Schenck to Metro Pictures in a role that Douglas Fairbanks had previously played and for which he recommended Keaton for the part. "The Saphead" is more of a drama with comedy sequences far and few between. It should be noted that Keaton did not have control over the production of the picture.
The story centers around millionaire Nicholas Van Alstyne (William H. Crane) and his family. Son-in-law Mark Turner (Irving Cummings), who is married to Van Alstyne's daughter Carol (Carol Holloway), is a crooked stock broker who plans to ruin the old man. Van Alstyne's spoiled, shiftless son Bertie (Keaton) is set up to take the blame for Turner's infidelity. Bertie is called a saphead by his father in recognition of his disappointment in him. Turner manages to gain control of the old man's holdings and.......................
Keaton's best scene comes when he is thrown out of the stock exchange and performs one of his famous pratfalls. He has few opportunities to display his comedic talents in a mostly dramatic role.
This film perhaps foreshadowed Keaton's fate when he moved to MGM in 1928 and lost creative control over his films and quickly lost favor with his fans.