source: Forward March

Moviecut—Forward March

Doughboys

This film seems like no one was sure of what to do now that they had to include sound. Keaton shares a number of scenes with Cliff Richards, an odd talent who most reminds me of Charlie McCarthy. Much of the dialog is spoken by the drill Sergent as he screams at Keaton. Keaton's gags are reduced to the sort that would have been throw-aways in his silent films. Many of the pratfalls are forced as you can see Keaton set himself up for another mishap. The entire cast seems unrehearsed. Some of the film is so oddly edited that I wonder if the print we have now was chopped up after the initial release. Compare this film with "Spite Marriage" from a year before and you'll wonder too how the same crew could have made both films. Not recommendable.

Buster's talkie years get a bad rap but this one is solid. It's fascinating to watch Buster's take on WWI, especially now that I know he actually was a WWI veteran and saw combat. There's some genuine movie magic here. If you're a Buster fan, it's worth a watch.