Our Hospitality (1923)

A man returns to his Appalachian homestead. On the trip, he falls for a young woman. The only problem is her family has vowed to kill every member of his family.

Directors:

John G. Blystone, Buster Keaton

Writers:

Jean C. Havez (story), Clyde Bruckman (story),

Stars:

Joe Roberts, Joe Keaton, Natalie Talmadge

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joe Roberts	...	Joseph Canfield
Ralph Bushman	...	Canfield's Son
Craig Ward	...	Canfield's Son
Monte Collins	...	The Parson
Joe Keaton	...	The Engineer
Kitty Bradbury	...	Aunt Mary
Natalie Talmadge	...	The Girl - Canfield's Daughter
Buster Keaton Jr.	...	Willie McKay - 1 Year Old
Buster Keaton	...	Willie McKay - 21 Years Old

Storyline

This is a costume-period piece set in 1830s Kentucky. The Canfields and the McKays are feuding clans (essentially the real life Hatfields and McCoys renamed). In New York Willie boards a train (an exact recreation of the original "Stephenson Rocket"); on board he meets Virginia Canfield (the actress is Buster's real life wife). The dramatic waterfall rescue near the end is performed by Buster himself.

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Plot Keywords:

train | feud | waterfall | 1830s | kentucky | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 November 1923 (USA)

Also Known As:

Accidenti che ospitalità!

Filming Locations:

Truckee River, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Joseph M. Schenck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min 73 min (1995 alternate) 87 min (copy with French titles at Brussels Musée du Cinéma)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The earliest comedy included among the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', edited by Steven Jay Schneider.

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Goofs

When the donkey refuses to move from the rail tracks, the engineer and others curve the tracks around him. The long shot that shows the train moving past the donkey, however, shows the tracks back in a straight line.

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Connections

Featured in Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987)

User Reviews

Beautiful effort from the King

This fine film represents one of the earlier attempts at "dramedy", long before the term was invented. The story has a highly realistic feel to it, yet the funny stuff is never far away.

The film does start a bit slowly as they set up the story, but things pick up quickly once the funny (but true, from an old photo) shot of 1810 Times Square hits the screen.

The little train which takes Buster to Kentucky is a hoot, and THAT is based on the real 1830's deal, too. Movable, bumpy, flimsy tracks and a couple nutty characters and situations are highlights.

My favorite bit in the whole film, though, is when poor Buster realizes the fabulous mansion he thought he was inheriting turned out to be a broken-down shack, ending his dreams in spectacularly explosive fashion.

The story was strong and believable, and the climactic (and very dangerous) scenes at the river and waterfall were amazing. As a matter of fact, these scenes are so impressive, it's easy to forget that they are funny; this is the only reason for me to not give the movie a 10.

Side note to those who have said the poor soundtrack detracted from the film: If you EVER have the opportunity to see this or other silent movies in their proper environment (A glorious movie palace with live musical accompaniment by theatre organ or an orchestra), DO it! The "half-live, half-canned" aspect is very important to the enjoyment of silents. It also keeps any film you've seen many times (as is often the case with "The General" or "Phantom") fresh. Even the same organist doesn't play the same film the same way every time, and a different organist can accompany the film in such a different way that it can almost fool you into thinking you're seeing a new movie.

I'm one of those lucky enough to have done so and there's nothing quite like it.