The Cameraman (1928)

Hopelessly in love with a woman working at MGM Studios, a clumsy man attempts to become a motion picture cameraman to be close to the object of his desire.

Director:

Edward Sedgwick

Writers:

Clyde Bruckman (story), Lew Lipton (story),

Stars:

Buster Keaton, Marceline Day, Harold Goodwin

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Keaton	...	Buster
Marceline Day	...	Sally
Harold Goodwin	...	Stagg
Sidney Bracey	...	Éditor (as Sidney Bracy)
Harry Gribbon	...	Cop

Storyline

After becoming infatuated with a pretty office worker for MGM Newsreels, Buster trades in his tintype operation for a movie camera and sets out to impress the girl (and MGM) with his work.

---

Plot Keywords:

animal attack | monkey in sailor suit | rainstorm | beach | stabbing | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Family | Drama

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Kameramann

Filming Locations:

Balboa, Newport Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min 69 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Rudi Blesch's biography of Buster Keaton, he came on the set the first day of shooting and, unaware of his reduced status as actor-only, began to "feel" for comedy bits and request props and characters, as he had with his own company. Director Edward Sedgwick took him aside and told Buster that he was undermining his directorial authority. Buster genuinely apologized and faded into the background. Sedgewick couldn't get the set-ups he wanted, couldn't get the actors to understand his direction, and eventually gave up and asked Buster to take over. As quietly as he had left, Buster regained control of the scene. Buster began to call Sedgewick "Junior" and they became fast friends.

---

Goofs

During the Yankee Stadium sequence, an elevated train goes by in the background in one shot, but disappears before leaving the frame in the next shot.

---

Quotes

Sally Richards: [advice to the aspiring cameraman] You must always grind forward... never backward.

---

Connections

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

User Reviews

Keaton's last "true" silent.

THE CAMERAMAN is Keaton's last true silent (SPITE MARRIAGE was without dialogue, but was a "sound" film). Feared lost until a print was discovered in Paris in 1968 and finally made available on video in 1991 when an incomplete master positive was found and merged with the inferior 1968 print, this is very close to Keaton's original "conception" process when creating a feature film. He meets the unattainable girl and then tries to win her. She is uncertain but eventually chooses Buster.

A delightful new piano score accompanies the MGM/UA VHS of this work- sadly now out of print. There are five main characters. There are a number of memorable gags:

1. Breaking the MGM newsreel office door glass times three; 2. Solo on the empty ball field; 3. Running down multi flights of stairs to basement and up to roof; 4. The ride on the tire hub of the E37st bus; 5. Sharing the pool dressing room; 6. Diving and loosing his bathing togs; 7. Riding in the jump seat in the rain; 8. The collapse of the platform during the Tong War.

A delight in the last half of the film is the adorable monkey who interacts so well with Buster and in the course of the plot, saves the day by cranking Buster's camera.

It's a delightful film and full of invention. Very worth seeing.

The master positive used as the basis for the VHS release was missing the entire first reel, plus eleven "bits" ranging from whole sequences (the ball field, for instance) to simple three second reaction shots. When the stock suddenly changes from crystal sharp and clear to washed out and grainy, it makes the single strongest statement for film preservation and makes it "silently."

Don't miss this one!