Keaton's work at Educational is quite uneven, the early ones from 1934 and 1935 seem like exercises, lots of simple slapstick and falls. It is almost as if he was getting back into shape after 4 years of bad, all talk/little physical comedy work at MGM. He needed this pure slapstick to work his way back into comic shape. His worked steadily improved and I think much of his 1936 Educational work comes pretty close to his amazing early silent shorts and are among the funniest talking shorts ever made (including Laurel and Hardy shorts). It is a pity he was not given a chance at features again after these. He could probably had been a top star again.
In this movie there are seven or eight good gag sequences. The best, I thought, was the hilarious spoof of Fred Astaire's "Top Hat." One should not forget the Keaton's first feature, "Three Ages," was a great satire on Griffith's "Intolerance." Here his clumsy but energetic dancing on all the furniture around the room is a spoof as sharp and funny as anything that was ever on Saturday Night Live.
Some great comedians, like Jack Benny and Bob Hope remained consistently funny for 30 years. However most only had five to ten great years, like Lucille Ball, Chevy Chase and Adam Sandler and then ended up repeating themselves with less and less success. From 1918 to 1928, there was nobody funnier than Keaton. The next 37 years, he was a good comedian, but never matched 1918-1928. Of all those years, 1936 was probably the best year where he came the closest to matching those magic years.
In this movie there are seven or eight good gag sequences. The best, I thought, was the hilarious spoof of Fred Astaire's "Top Hat." One should not forget the Keaton's first feature, "Three Ages," was a great satire on Griffith's "Intolerance." Here his clumsy but energetic dancing on all the furniture around the room is a spoof as sharp and funny as anything that was ever on Saturday Night Live.
Some great comedians, like Jack Benny and Bob Hope remained consistently funny for 30 years. However most only had five to ten great years, like Lucille Ball, Chevy Chase and Adam Sandler and then ended up repeating themselves with less and less success. From 1918 to 1928, there was nobody funnier than Keaton. The next 37 years, he was a good comedian, but never matched 1918-1928. Of all those years, 1936 was probably the best year where he came the closest to matching those magic years.