An inaccurate retelling of the life of silent filmmaker and comedian Buster Keaton.
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Title: The Buster Keaton Story (1957)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Donald O'Connor | ... | Buster Keaton | |
| Ann Blyth | ... | Gloria Brent | |
| Rhonda Fleming | ... | Peggy Courtney | |
| Peter Lorre | ... | Kurt Bergner | |
| Larry Keating | ... | Larry Winters | |
| Jackie Coogan | ... | Elmer Case | |
| Richard Anderson | ... | Tom McAffee | |
| Dave Willock | ... | Joe Keaton | |
| Claire Carleton | ... | Myra Keaton | |
 |
Larry White | ... | Buster - Age 7 |
| Dan Seymour | ... | Indian Chief | |
| Michael Ross | ... | Assistant Chief | |
| Nan Martin | ... | Edna - Larry's Secretary | |
|
|
Robert Christopher | ... | Nick |
|
|
Richard Aherne | ... | Franklin |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Buster Keaton leaves his family vaudeville act for the movies. He starts out as a bit player but quickly becomes famous as he acts in and directs his own films. Casting director Gloria Brent is in love with him, but he favors a starlet. When she rejects him, he starts drinking, a problem which only worsens when sound destroys silent cinema and his career. Will Gloria's love and his desire to make people laugh win out? Written by cupcakes
Plot Keywords:
character name as title | buster keaton character | four word title | vaudeville comedian | silent movie actor |Taglines:
It's a blues - BUSTER!Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Despite what the film portrays, neither Keaton nor his family ever performed in a circus, his father died when Keaton was an adult and his father did not die while performing. One day, the real Buster Keaton visited the set while they were filming a circus scene and Keaton told all of this to a surprised Donald O'Connor. See more »Goofs
Keaton's wife, a stylish studio employee, continues to wear WWI-era fashions well into the late Twenties-early Thirties. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
May 1957 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Buster Keaton Story See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$1,400,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
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The Buster Keaton Story (1957)
** (out of 4)
Strange, inaccurate but slightly entertaining bio flick takes a look at the rise of Buster Keaton (Donald O'Connor) and his fall from grace due to the talkies (?!?!?) and alcoholism. The producers might have well called this THE JOE SMITH STORY because those familiar with Keaton are going to see very few similarities between his life and the events shown in this film. I understand that no bio film is going to be accurate because things need to be made up or left out for entertainment purposes. With that said, there's simply so much missing here and so many things looked over that I really wonder what the entire point of this film was. I'm sure Paramount wanted to get in on the bio-craze that was sweeping Hollywood during this period but this film does very little justice to Keaton. If you didn't know who Keaton was you'd never get the idea that he was a genius from this picture. In fact, the majority of the running time is devoted to Keaton's personal life, which includes having his heart broken by a Hollywood vamp but eventually being rescued by the woman (Ann Blyth) who has always loved him. We get a couple re-enactments from Keaton's professional career but they don't contain a single laugh including a pretty weak one from COLLEGE. O'Connor does what he can with the role and I think he gives a good performance but it's just not Buster Keaton he's doing. Blyth is also good in her role and we even get Peter Lorre playing a director in a small bit. No one should come to this film expecting a documentary on Keaton, that's very clear. However, I thought the film was slightly amusing simply because of how many liberties it takes with the truth. You're pretty much constantly glued to what's going on because you want to see what they're going to do next.