Three Ages (1923)

The misadventures of Buster in three separate historical periods.

Directors:

Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton

Writers:

Clyde Bruckman (story), Joseph A. Mitchell (story),

Stars:

Buster Keaton, Margaret Leahy, Wallace Beery

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Keaton	...	The Boy
Margaret Leahy	...	The Girl
Wallace Beery	...	The Villain
Joe Roberts	...	The Girl's Father
Lillian Lawrence	...	The Girl's Mother
Kewpie Morgan	...	The Emperor / Cave Man / Roman Thug (as Horace Morgan)

Storyline

In his first independently produced feature film Buster tells of love and romance through three historical ages: the Stone Age, the Roman Age, and the Modern Age.

---

Plot Keywords:

stone age | dog sled | lion | snow | police | 

---

Taglines:

A Metro Picture in 6 Parts

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

24 September 1923 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die drei Zeitalter

Filming Locations:

Hill Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buster Keaton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Towards the end of the movie, the names Havez, Mitchell and Bruckman appear on the football roster; they were names of Keaton's co-writers.

---

Goofs

In the modern section, the newspaper announcement of the wedding varies. The first time it is seen it has five lines of text, but the next time it only has four.

---

Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.2 (2011)

User Reviews

Underappreciated Keaton Comedy

Loosely intended as a satire of D.W. Griffith's Intolerance, The Three Ages was Buster Keaton's first attempt at a full length comedy feature. The only similarities to Intolerance are the opening "book" scene and the fact that similar stories through the ages are edited together into a complete film. Keaton's reasoning for appropriating this style was that if it didn't succeed as a feature film, it could be reduced to three two-reelers. Fortunately, The Three Ages succeeds brilliantly as a comedy and contains some of the funniest routines I've seen in any of Keaton's film. There is nothing unique or daring about the story lines. They are simple boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl plots, but the period satires are riotous and set the standard for future works by Mel Brooks and all films of this genre. However, I don't believe that anyone has ever topped this comedy. No one can play the lovable goof like Keaton and the stunts in this film are some of his best. In addition, Wallace Beery's appearance as Keaton's rival adds to this film's appeal. Anyone who thinks that comedy from the 1920's cannot be appreciated by modern audiences needs to see this movie.