After reading an newspaper advertisement in the London Times about touring Canada, an elderly Englishman decides to do just that. Following his long walk across the Atlantic Ocean, Keaton travels along the Canadian National Railway tracks on a railway motorcar (speeder), performing a few stunts reminiscent of those in his younger days. Written by Jennifer Harrison
The film that I was really reminded of here turned out to have been Powell and Pressburger's "49th Parallel" -- a slice through almost exactly the same set of coast-to-coast scenery. I had no idea I could recognise Canada subconsciously like that...
"The Railrodder" is an amiable and slightly surreal travelogue, which bears a resemblance at times to a live-action version of the adventures of the Road Runner or other cartoon antics: e.g. a massive freight train vanishes into one end of a tunnel, a small railcar enters the other, and the sound of an almighty smash-up is heard from within... to unexpected result! However, despite this and the featuring of a dialogue-free Buster Keaton in the principal role (one he must surely have relished, given the emphasis on his beloved trains) it isn't really a comedy as such, but more of an off-beat ode to the Canadian landscape. There are at least two laugh-out-loud gags to treasure, though: the very typical Keaton-solution to rain in one's teacup, and the arrival of an equally intrepid voyager from the Pacific coast.
An odd little light-weight piece, on the whole amusing.