Three Ages (1923)

The misadventures of Buster in three separate historical periods.

Directors:

Edward F. Cline (as Eddie Cline), Buster Keaton

Writers:

Clyde Bruckman (story and titles), Joseph A. Mitchell (story and titles) (as Joseph Mitchell)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

monster | cavewoman | stone age | wedding | wanted man | 

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Taglines:

A Metro Picture in 6 Parts

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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, Jean C. Havez, Joseph A. Mitchell and Clyde Bruckman.

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Goofs

As Buster is driving to Margaret's house, his porkpie hat is battered. But when he arrives, it's fresh and undamaged, and looks brand-new.

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Connections

Spoofs Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916)

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.