The Love Nest (1923)

In an attempt to forget his lost sweetheart, Buster takes a long trip at sea where he boards a whaling ship with a strict captain.

Director:

Buster Keaton

Writers:

Buster Keaton, Jeffrey Vance (titles)

Stars:

Buster Keaton, Joe Roberts, Virginia Fox

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Keaton	...	Buster Keaton
Joe Roberts	...	Captain of the Whaler
Virginia Fox	...	The Girl

Storyline

Buster bids goodbye to Virginia and all women, sailing away in his "Cupid." Later, without food or water, he is taken on board "The Love Nest" which has a very mean captain. A crewman who spills coffee on the captain's hand is thrown overboard. So is anyone else who bothers the captain.

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Plot Keywords:

captain | whaling ship | boat | written and directed by cast member | actor shares first name with character

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1923 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Liebesnest

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buster Keaton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

20 min 23 min (reconstructed)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Buster Keaton's final silent short film.

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Quotes

Himself: (to the pirates) Men, I am now your captain. I will raise your pay and get you an insurance policy!

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Connections

Featured in Den gamle biograf: Episode #1.9 (2011)

User Reviews

Nested

Now here's a Keaton short I can confidently recommend.

In contrast to "The Boat", Buster is not at the mercy of physics here. This time he causes the chaos, and he's aware of it. He spends the duration wriggling his way out of trouble, instead of more deeply into it.

The absurd tone of the whole thing is set by the goofs in what is a sort of anti-"Dear John" letter ("PS If you do not receive this letter, write me").

But what makes this special is the revelation that this is one big slapstick dream. And...all of that is wrapped within another envelope of absurdity, exposed to us in brilliant visual shorthand -- add them up and you have something quite uniquely cinematic.