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The Boat

  • 19211921
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 23m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
The Boat (1921)
ShortComedyFamily
Buster and his family go on a voyage on his homemade boat that proves to be one disaster after another.Buster and his family go on a voyage on his homemade boat that proves to be one disaster after another.Buster and his family go on a voyage on his homemade boat that proves to be one disaster after another.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Edward F. Cline
    • Buster Keaton
  • Writers
    • Buster Keaton
    • Edward F. Cline
  • Stars
    • Buster Keaton
    • Edward F. Cline(uncredited)
    • Sybil Seely(uncredited)
  • Directors
    • Edward F. Cline
    • Buster Keaton
  • Writers
    • Buster Keaton
    • Edward F. Cline
  • Stars
    • Buster Keaton
    • Edward F. Cline(uncredited)
    • Sybil Seely(uncredited)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 20User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro

    • Photos28

    Buster Keaton in The Boat (1921)
    Buster Keaton in The Boat (1921)
    The Boat (1921)
    Sybil Seely in The Boat (1921)
    Buster Keaton in The Boat (1921)
    Buster Keaton in The Boat (1921)
    The Boat (1921)
    Buster Keaton and Sybil Seely in The Boat (1921)
    Buster Keaton in The Boat (1921)
    Buster Keaton and Sybil Seely in The Boat (1921)
    Buster Keaton in The Boat (1921)
    Buster Keaton and Sybil Seely in The Boat (1921)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Buster Keaton
    Buster Keaton
    • The Boat Builder
    • (as 'Buster' Keaton)
    Edward F. Cline
    Edward F. Cline
    • SOS Receiver
    • (uncredited)
    Sybil Seely
    Sybil Seely
    • The Boat Builder's Wife
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Edward F. Cline
      • Buster Keaton
    • Writers
      • Buster Keaton
      • Edward F. Cline
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When James Mason bought Buster Keaton's old house in 1952, he found this film and several other lost Keaton shorts in the cellar. As the rolls were nitrate, disintegration had taken its toll. Mason made sure that this and the other classics were saved and restored at a film lab.
    • Goofs
      The radio mast that Keaton erects on the boat is missing in the shots of the boat model.
    • Quotes

      SOS Receiver: Who is it?

      The Boat Builder: Damfino.

      SOS Receiver: Neither do I!

    • Connections
      Edited into The Golden Age of Buster Keaton (1979)

    User reviews20

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Tribulations
    This is not a bad short film...it's just not a cinematic one. Not everything we see here can exclusively be expressed in the film medium.

    On the other hand, there are some first rate sight gags. Buster is placed in this is as a 'builder', who destroys things far more often than he creates them. Hole in the side of the boat? Nail a pancake over it. Pancake falls off and springs a leak? Drill a hole in the floor for 'drainage'. Your boat capsizes over and over? Nail your shoes to the boards. Who sent the distress signal? "Dam f i no!"

    The rotating boat gag is extremely influential; the 'zero gravity' scenes in "2001" can claim lineage from this. But the gags only work as isolated events; nothing really ties this all together, and therein lies the movie's weakness.
    helpful•3
    4
    • jldmp1
    • Nov 8, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 20, 1921 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • None
    • Also known as
      • La barca
    • Filming locations
      • Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California, USA
    • Production company
      • First National Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      23 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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