The Saphead (1920)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Directors:

Herbert Blaché
Winchell Smith

Writers:

Bronson Howard (play)
Victor Mapes (novel)

Release Date:

18 October 1920 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Nick Van Alstyne owns the Henrietta silver mine and is very rich. His son Bertie is naive and spoiled...

Plot Keywords:

Financial | Sequel | Wall Street | Bankruptcy | Based On Play

Cast

Beulah Booker	...	Agnes Gates
Edward Connelly	...	Musgrave
Edward Jobson	...	Rev. Murray Hilton
Edward Alexander	...	Watson Flint
Odette Taylor	...	Mrs. Cornelia Opdyke
Carol Holloway	...	Rose Turner
Irving Cummings	...	Mark Turner
Jack Livingston	...	Dr. George Wainright
William H. Crane	...	Nicholas Van Alstyne
Buster Keaton	...	Bertie 'The Lamb' Van Alstyne

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T

Company:

Metro Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Buster Keaton was recommended for the role by Douglas Fairbanks, who had created the role on Broadway and turned down the chance to play it again in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bertie's car pulls up to the house after the aborted wedding, the front gate is closed, but when he gets out of the car it is wide open.

Quotes:

Bertie: Do all these seats cost 100,000 dollars?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)

Unexpected Keaton

The problem with this film is that it not a slapstick comedy and was never intended to be one, so if you are going to watch it forget about Buster Keaton, the comedian and look at Buster Keaton, the actor. Keaton is a revelation in this film, his performance is restrained and excellent proving that he was an actor as well as a comedian, a fact that makes his middle years even more sadder, truly a talent wasted by the studio system of the 30's. I'd like to add that Keaton had no problems adjusting to talkies, as commonly assumed, he had a fine speaking voice and could deliver a comic line perfectly, the problem lay with him losing control of his productions and being given poor quality material to work with, he never lost his talent as widely believed. All the performances in this little gem of a movie are first class especially Irving Cummings and William H Crane as well as Keaton's. This is a nice way to spend an hour, but, the final twenty minutes are the best as it is plain to see Keaton's contribution in the scenes in the Stock Exchange as Bertie runs around manically saying "I take it", but, not really knowing why. For many people, their only experience of silent movies is slapstick comedy, so I would say broaden your horizons and start with this one.