Durante and Keaton’s piece with the fish is hilarious-no cursing, nudity, stupidity, merely intelligent, well written comedy. It all actually made me laugh and this is the first time I’ve watched this clip. God bless you two legends. I really needed to laugh today
Buster had a great voice...It was the crappy scripts and characters that they had him play. Then they put him with Durante, whose style was totally opposite of his. At this point, Buster was aware of the hopelessness of his situation. MGM firing him at the time they did was a blessing in disguise. Yes, he went through lean times and was an alcoholic, but he also got well, met and married the love of his life, and experienced a career renaissance. In the end, Buster and his talents won out.
Buster's heyday was in his brilliant silent films from the 20's... he hated doing these Durante films. Love Buster so much...he was way too good to be in these as a second banana to Durante. It's like imagining Chaplin being someone's sidekick. 😞
He did hate doing these films, and the sad punchline is that these films did better at the box office than Buster's earlier, and better, movies. It's a sad state on how far down Buster was in his alcoholism and how much Louie B. Mayer hated him that he was even fired since What, No Beer! was a box office hit. And it's even worse to think that What, No Beer! made more money initially than The General. Which Keaton movie lives on.
This is the first time I've ever heard Keaton talk!! He kicked just as much ass in talkies as he did in the silent era! Great voice! It's such a shame the his career was going downhill at this point, I would have loved to see him prosper as much in talkies as he did in the silent films.
One thing clear. Buster was not cheating on Natalie behind her back. After they had 2 children her mother stepped in and told Natalie to stop sleeping with Buster. So Natalie had Buster move to another bedroom and from that day on she never had relations with him again. He told her and mother-dear he was not going to stop having relations with women and never tried to hide his "affairs". AND up to that time he NEVER once cheated. What wifey and mother-dear did was cruel and unfair. ELEANOR 4EVA
You have no idea how to gauge the cinema. Keaton, Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd were the three kings of the silent comedies. Keaton-Durante was a horrible idea by MGM because they didn't know what to do with Keaton's character, and once they took creative control away from him he was doomed. You can try convincing yourself all you want, but Keaton-Durante was a horrible idea and it led to Keaton's demise. If you actually want to enjoy a Keaton go see Sherlock Jr.
Looking at the comments--has no one watched this in many years? With all due respect, I have no interest in Jimmy Durante. Buster Keaton was and remains brilliant, hilarious, gifted, and beautiful. From all accounts, even through hard times, he was a very nice person, and certainly a joy to watch on so many levels.
"I'm wet" means the person was in favor of repealing prohibition (of alcohol), The "dries" were dry, they didn't drink and had voted in prohibition. Prohibition was repealed in 1933. Strange, but prohibiting alcohol led to the most lawless period in the country's history, the '20's with bootleggers, gangsters, etc. Stopping one "bad" thing, drinking, led to umpteen other bad things!
Have to agree whole heartily with Ubermom. This is not Buster at his best, his personnel problems were starting to encircle him, his two best friends had recently died, his wife was taking the children and everything he had, and to round things off MGM didnt let him have the creative freedom he needed, he was just another paid comedian to them. And sadly in this movie it shows. Watch The General, Steamboat Bill Jnr or Sherlock Jnr to see his genius.
While Keaton was obviously under-utilised in these sorts of films, I can't begrudge them, it was just another showing of his versatility. He could convert his doe eyed bumbler from the silent era into funny banter and I think that works well against the smart ass rogue Durante plays here. There's also something humanising about hearing one of the silent era stars talking. Fun fact: Durante allegedly always squatted so he'd be looking up at his co-stars when giving them sass, even for cases like Keaton who were slightly shorter than him.
@Zylstra555 me too! i've never heard his voice since the general! in fact, i always wanted to hear someone's voice like Garu, Charlie Chaplin, or someone with great silent films and shows.
Yes, though "The General" is great, they didn't think it had enough laughs! Off to MGM and downward. RIP Durante was a success much longer. He ran a speakeasy in NYC when someone spotted him and asked him to come to Hollywood. His two partners said, "This is your chance, we're not going to hold you back." What did he answer? "Okay, but you are going to be my manager, and you are going to be my personal assistant, and we'll split the money three ways." And he did. Imagine - honor & loyalty!
Unfortunately for Buster, MGM controlled his films. Yes, he WAS nothing more than a "hired hand" when it came to planning, casting and executing his features for the studio. He was under contract, and had to do EXACTLY what they expected of him...which wasn't much. After this, he never starred in another American feature- he was forced to make "two-reelers" for Educational after Metro fired him.
Buster Keaton, Thelma Todd and Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily (1932) He began appearing in motion pictures, initially in a series pairing him with silent film legend Buster Keaton. The three popular comedies Speak Easily (1932), The Passionate Plumber (1932), and What! No Beer? (1933) were financial hits and were a career springboard for Durante. However, Keaton's vociferous dissatisfaction with constraints the studio had placed upon him, exacerbated by his alcoholism, led MGM to end the series.
In spite of the fact that this film broke box office records when it opened, Louis Mayer fired Keaton for being unreliable and drunken, and within a year Keaton was relegated to making shorts for poverty row Educational Pictures. He didn't really recover until the beginning of TV 15 years later. How odd - the fact that pictures started talking killed Keaton's career. The fact that in-home entertainment became sound with pictures (TV) versus just sound (radio) is what revived it.
This may have been Durante's heyday, but it was the bottom for Buster. Go watch "The General" or "The Cameraman" and then compare it to what MGM had him doing. What MGM did to Buster when they made talkies is like what Oscar Meyer does to meat when they make bologna.
Keaton wasn't happy making films with Durante, since he was relegated to the position of straight man. His career ended when sound came in and his studio went out of business.
This is kinda foriegn to me🤔🤔 i am from 1978 I only knew of Duarte by the cartoon charcters who Imitated him like Bugs Bunny Tom and Jerry and other MGM cartoons and 3 stooges got some yucks of him never saw his acting work with him perosally i knew he famous for his Cha Cha cha qoutes and his bug nose Scnhozolla he calls it LOL!😂😆 I respect the Grandfathers of Comedy him and Marx brothers 3 Stooges for sure 👍
Keaton's situation with MGM was very much his own fault, his drinking had increased to a point where he was not trusted enough to finance his own films, and Mayer put him on strict conditions, which he kept to at first with Durante. He desperately wanted to produce again, but MGM would not budge and his alcoholic consumption got worse. His style was also considered out of date as well, and he had honed it to such a degree he could not change it. Buster Keaton remains though, an all time great.
It wasn't just the drink. He was such a notorious womanizer he had women attempting to kill him and black mail him. He was juggling so many affairs that it caught up with him. And the studio got dragged into it as well. It's own autobiography he admits that when he got engaged Eleanor he was involved with another woman at the same time.
@calvinnme2 It wasn't the talking that killed his career. Of course, I don't think it helped, despite him having a very articulate and well toned voice, which is great for acting. He was having an affair behind his wife's back and she took all of his fortune and his kids away and left and he became an alcoholic, hence why he was booted from MGM even though this movie was a success. Poor guy.
I never imagined that Buster would have such a nice voice!! He's always been my favorite actor from the silent era. ^_^
Durante and Keaton’s piece with the fish is hilarious-no cursing, nudity, stupidity, merely intelligent, well written comedy. It all actually made me laugh and this is the first time I’ve watched this clip. God bless you two legends. I really needed to laugh today
if it is possible to love a man you've never met, i am totally in love with buster keaton. even when he was at his worst.
He has a voice!
I've never heard him speak before. It is so very different!
Buster had a great voice...It was the crappy scripts and characters that they had him play. Then they put him with Durante, whose style was totally opposite of his. At this point, Buster was aware of the hopelessness of his situation. MGM firing him at the time they did was a blessing in disguise. Yes, he went through lean times and was an alcoholic, but he also got well, met and married the love of his life, and experienced a career renaissance. In the end, Buster and his talents won out.
Wow, I know what you mean. There is something just sweet and suductive about Keaton. His air, his suave! He is just brilliant. Love this man.
If you read his autobiography you wouldn't think this at all. He was very crude. He was not at all like his persona.
I love his voice! I can't believe he didn't do well!
We will always love Jimmy, but he never shuts up in this flick and it gets old.
Buster's heyday was in his brilliant silent films from the 20's... he hated doing these Durante films. Love Buster so much...he was way too good to be in these as a second banana to Durante. It's like imagining Chaplin being someone's sidekick. 😞
He did hate doing these films, and the sad punchline is that these films did better at the box office than Buster's earlier, and better, movies. It's a sad state on how far down Buster was in his alcoholism and how much Louie B. Mayer hated him that he was even fired since What, No Beer! was a box office hit.
And it's even worse to think that What, No Beer! made more money initially than The General. Which Keaton movie lives on.
This is the first time I've ever heard Keaton talk!! He kicked just as much ass in talkies as he did in the silent era! Great voice! It's such a shame the his career was going downhill at this point, I would have loved to see him prosper as much in talkies as he did in the silent films.
It's so odd hearing Buster's voice!!
One thing clear. Buster was not cheating on Natalie behind her back. After they had 2 children her mother stepped in and told Natalie to stop sleeping with Buster. So Natalie had Buster move to another bedroom and from that day on she never had relations with him again. He told her and mother-dear he was not going to stop having relations with women and never tried to hide his "affairs". AND up to that time he NEVER once cheated. What wifey and mother-dear did was cruel and unfair. ELEANOR 4EVA
If you read his autobiography you would have a different opinion of him.
This movie was probably the “Dude, Where’s My Car?” of its day.
You have no idea how to gauge the cinema. Keaton, Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd were the three kings of the silent comedies. Keaton-Durante was a horrible idea by MGM because they didn't know what to do with Keaton's character, and once they took creative control away from him he was doomed. You can try convincing yourself all you want, but Keaton-Durante was a horrible idea and it led to Keaton's demise. If you actually want to enjoy a Keaton go see Sherlock Jr.
Looking at the comments--has no one watched this in many years? With all due respect, I have no interest in Jimmy Durante. Buster Keaton was and remains brilliant, hilarious, gifted, and beautiful. From all accounts, even through hard times, he was a very nice person, and certainly a joy to watch on so many levels.
merci pour cet extrait.
Wonderful piece. Thanks so much for sharing this bit of Americana. I absolutely love Durante!
All the people saying they've never heard Buster's voice can't be true fans. He's done plenty of talking work including the Twilight Zone.
What a crime this is not on DVD!
"I'm wet" means the person was in favor of repealing prohibition (of alcohol), The "dries" were dry, they didn't drink and had voted in prohibition. Prohibition was repealed in 1933. Strange, but prohibiting alcohol led to the most lawless period in the country's history, the '20's with bootleggers, gangsters, etc. Stopping one "bad" thing, drinking, led to umpteen other bad things!
omgoodness. i love buster keaton. finding this is fantastic..thanks
Have to agree whole heartily with Ubermom. This is not Buster at his best, his personnel problems were starting to encircle him, his two best friends had recently died, his wife was taking the children and everything he had, and to round things off MGM didnt let him have the creative freedom he needed, he was just another paid comedian to them. And sadly in this movie it shows. Watch The General, Steamboat Bill Jnr or Sherlock Jnr to see his genius.
You can also hear and watch Buster Keaton in the 1964 comedy "The Thrill of it All" (which is now on DVD). I have a copy.
This is brilliant, and far from irrelevancy 🤠ha-cha-cha chaa😛
Buster Keaton didn't like working with Durante. Durante was all about talking and Keaton was a master of the visual humor
While Keaton was obviously under-utilised in these sorts of films, I can't begrudge them, it was just another showing of his versatility. He could convert his doe eyed bumbler from the silent era into funny banter and I think that works well against the smart ass rogue Durante plays here. There's also something humanising about hearing one of the silent era stars talking.
Fun fact: Durante allegedly always squatted so he'd be looking up at his co-stars when giving them sass, even for cases like Keaton who were slightly shorter than him.
@Zylstra555 me too! i've never heard his voice since the general! in fact, i always wanted to hear someone's voice like Garu, Charlie Chaplin, or someone with great silent films and shows.
"my sister married one of them"
hahaahahha
i've never heard buster talk
Yes, though "The General" is great, they didn't think it had enough laughs! Off to MGM and downward. RIP
Durante was a success much longer. He ran a speakeasy in NYC when someone spotted him and asked him to come to Hollywood. His two partners said, "This is your chance, we're not going to hold you back." What did he answer? "Okay, but you are going to be my manager, and you are going to be my personal assistant, and we'll split the money three ways." And he did. Imagine - honor & loyalty!
@maraskywalker This is absolutely true. Buster's time at MGM was a downward spiral.
Unfortunately for Buster, MGM controlled his films. Yes, he WAS nothing more than a "hired hand" when it came to planning, casting and executing his features for the studio. He was under contract, and had to do EXACTLY what they expected of him...which wasn't much. After this, he never starred in another American feature- he was forced to make "two-reelers" for Educational after Metro fired him.
BUSTER
they both also have cameos in "It's a mad, mad, mad, mad, world." Hilarious movie, although buster should have gotten a way bigger cameo than jimmy.
Buster Keaton, Thelma Todd and Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily (1932)
He began appearing in motion pictures, initially in a series pairing him
with silent film legend Buster Keaton. The three popular comedies
Speak Easily (1932), The Passionate Plumber (1932), and What! No
Beer? (1933) were financial hits and were a career springboard for
Durante. However, Keaton's vociferous dissatisfaction with
constraints the studio had placed upon him, exacerbated by his
alcoholism, led MGM to end the series.
Read his bio and he'll explain exactly how he felt about MGM.
I think if more ladies read his autobiography they wouldn't have such a crush on him. He was a notorious womanizer and very crude.
Durante parlait parlait parlait disait buster keaton .
Jim Durante speaks exactly like
Herry Monster from Sesame Street
@ubermom "The General" is an AWESOME movie
62,848 views??? WHOA...
In spite of the fact that this film broke box office records when it opened, Louis Mayer fired Keaton for being unreliable and drunken, and within a year Keaton was relegated to making shorts for poverty row Educational Pictures. He didn't really recover until the beginning of TV 15 years later. How odd - the fact that pictures started talking killed Keaton's career. The fact that in-home entertainment became sound with pictures (TV) versus just sound (radio) is what revived it.
absolutely amasing
That nose though
I wanted to post a silent comment so read it to yourself.
most historians dont realize they were a team for awhile? wtf? ahh yes they do, and this was not keatons heyday....1917-1929 was..
Ha cha cha cha cha
This may have been Durante's heyday, but it was the bottom for Buster. Go watch "The General" or "The Cameraman" and then compare it to what MGM had him doing. What MGM did to Buster when they made talkies is like what Oscar Meyer does to meat when they make bologna.
Agreed.
Jerry Nelson based Herry Monster on Sesame Street off Jimmy Durante. ironically he has a long nose like Herry Monster
@ubermom
Oh my gosh, I could not have said it better! So true, so true.
Keaton wasn't happy making films with Durante, since he was relegated to the position of straight man. His career ended when sound came in and his studio went out of business.
ha cha cha cha cha
This is kinda foriegn to me🤔🤔 i am from 1978 I only knew of Duarte by the cartoon charcters who Imitated him like Bugs Bunny Tom and Jerry and other MGM cartoons and 3 stooges got some yucks of him never saw his acting work with him perosally i knew he famous for his Cha Cha cha qoutes and his bug nose Scnhozolla he calls it LOL!😂😆 I respect the Grandfathers of Comedy him and Marx brothers 3 Stooges for sure 👍
7.53
Keaton's situation with MGM was very much his own fault, his drinking had increased to a point where he was not trusted enough to finance his own films, and Mayer put him on strict conditions, which he kept to at first with Durante. He desperately wanted to produce again, but MGM would not budge and his alcoholic consumption got worse. His style was also considered out of date as well, and he had honed it to such a degree he could not change it. Buster Keaton remains though, an all time great.
It wasn't just the drink. He was such a notorious womanizer he had women attempting to kill him and black mail him. He was juggling so many affairs that it caught up with him. And the studio got dragged into it as well. It's own autobiography he admits that when he got engaged Eleanor he was involved with another woman at the same time.
@calvinnme2
It wasn't the talking that killed his career. Of course, I don't think it helped, despite him having a very articulate and well toned voice, which is great for acting. He was having an affair behind his wife's back and she took all of his fortune and his kids away and left and he became an alcoholic, hence why he was booted from MGM even though this movie was a success. Poor guy.
I wouldnt call buster’s last film before getting fired by mgm during his collapse into alcoholism his heyday
rude >:"0