Spite Marriage (1929)

An unimpressive but well intending man is given the chance to marry a popular actress, of whom he has been a hopeless fan. But what he doesn't realize is that he is being used to make the actress' old flame jealous.

Directors:

Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton (uncredited)

Writers:

Lew Lipton (story), Ernest Pagano (adaptation) (as Ernest S. Pagano)

Stars:

Buster Keaton, Dorothy Sebastian, Edward Earle

Cast

Cast overview:
Buster Keaton	...	Elmer Gantry
Dorothy Sebastian	...	Trilby Drew
Edward Earle	...	Lionel Benmore
Leila Hyams	...	Ethyl Norcrosse
William Bechtel	...	Frederick Nussbaum
Jack Byron	...	Scarzi (as John Byron)

Storyline

Elmer is a dry cleaner. He is madly in love with stage star Trilby Drew; for each of her 35 performances, he dons someone else's tuxedo and races to the theatre. When Trilby's co-star boyfriend gets engaged to a socialite, she marries Elmer to get even, assuming Elmer is a millionaire (since his clothes are so snazzy.) But she's clearly still in love with her scoundrelous co-star, and her manager makes her leave Elmer, trying to pay him off so the papers don't hear about her marriage to a "cheap pants presser." Can Elmer win her love? Maybe a sea voyage will help.

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | pants presser | yacht | actor | theater | 

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Taglines:

The Scream of the Screen-Buster in a Matrimonial Maelstrom- Buster's Adventure in Married Bliss. (Print Ad- Auckland Star,((Auckland, NZ)) 7 September 1929)

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 April 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die unvollkommene Ehe

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Silent (musical score and sound effects)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Buster Keaton wanted this film to be a full talkie, but MGM released it with only a musical score and sound effects.

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Goofs

In the dressing-room scene while attempting to trim the hair for his false beard, Elmer accidentally severs the left-hand shoulder strap of his vest and has no time to repair it. When we see him hurriedly changing back into his smart clothes after the performance, both straps are still whole.

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Quotes

Trilby's Manager: Don't you realize? If the papers find out you married a cheap little pants dresser, your career is ruined!

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Connections

Featured in So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM (2004)

User Reviews

Keaton's athleticism would be enough

Though not of the quality of "The General," an almost perfect movie, "Spite Marriage" is worth watching both for the fun and for the historical value of its being Keaton's last silent.

Co-star Dorothy Sebastian deserves a medal both for her performance and for putting up with being knocked about so.

So many of Keaton's leading ladies get treated very physically, surely part of the auditions was a test of their good-natured sportsmanship -- and probably their physical conditioning, too.

Dorothy Sebastian's character is not very sympathetic at first, but she learns, and when she has to assist in her own rescue, she is adorable, cute as the proverbial button.

Keaton, though, is the real reason to watch, this or almost everything else he is in.

He ranks among the top of the certifiable geniuses of motion picture making, with an unfailing sense of timing, with uncanny physical control, and with an understanding of what was (and is) funny that the studio bosses of his latter career should have paid attention to.

Even with the worst material, with which he was saddled in so many of his talkies, Keaton and his abilities and talents still stand out, are still memorable.

Buster Keaton will deserve our awe forever.