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Steamboat Bill Jr.
Co-directed by Keaton, this delightful comic romp follows a hapless steamboat operator who just can't seem to please his steely, rough-edged pop. As always, Keaton's antics and sight gags are a hoot, such as when he tries, feebly, to bust his dad out of jail for socking McGuire, the ferryboat proprietor who's edging into his business. His expressive facial gestures here rival Chaplin's for sheer sad-clown poignancy. The film's set piece, which involves a raging tornado and an uprooted tree, culminates in one of the comedian's most daring stunts--all of which he performed himself. Steamboat Bill Jr. is a gas, powered by a master of physical comedy.

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Truly Funny Silent Comedy
Steamboat Bill (Ernest Torrence) is in competition with another local riverboat man (Tom McGuire). Aside from his problems at home, his son (Buster Keaton) is coming home from college. Bill Jr. is a bit of a klutz and besides causing trouble that way, he's in love with the rival boatman's daughter (Marion Byron). Because of his son, Bill lands in jail in the midst of a wild storm. <
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>Steamboat Bill, Jr. features some of the most well known stunts of Keaton's career including the scene where the house falls down on him and he's in the window looking around. The storm scene is one of the best parts of the film. It features many impressive stunts and lots of action as well as comedy. However, Keaton does not only excell in outrageous scenes. The bit in the jailhouse is subtley hilarious.

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Two rare restorations and a Keaton classic
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>These three samples of Buster Keaton' work span most of his silent solo career (1921-28) and show the infinite diversity of mood and theme he was able to create. The short films are particularly interesting in being rarely seen and only recently preserved and reconstructed; one of them, Daydreams, is still fragmented but with enough of the film rescued to be worthwhile. Both of the shorts show significant signs of decomposition and many scenes have very poor quality. Of course, none of that matters to Keaton fans, who will be happy to see his movies in any state but lost. <
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>Convict 13, the earliest of the 3 films in this set, was the third short since his departure from his mentor Fatty Arbuckle. It reveals some remnants of the Arbuckle-Keystone influences, including wild scenes of mob chaos , as when Buster wields a heavy leg shackle to subdue a prison riot. But the formula of the film is pure Keaton, as his character undergoes a series of mishaps, first as a golfer, then as a prisoner, before displaying superhuman skill at singlehandedly thwarting a prison riot and winning the girl. <
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>Daydreams, one of his last shorts from late 1922, has a formula that is rich enough in comic possibilities that one could almost imagine it as a feature film. In fact, it suggests the formula of "The Three Ages", insofar as the story is told in disjointed fragments with different settings. It also has the characteristic hints of darkness, as Keaton's character resolves to prove himself a worthy suitor by becoming a success at a chosen occupation; if he fails, he promises to "shoot himself", whereupon the father of the girl (played by Joe Keaton) gleefully offers to supply the gun. Of course Buster fails at everything he tries, but fortunately for him, he also fails at shooting himself by missing! The film has the famous shot of Buster being trapped on a moving paddlewheel of a boat, a scene which is as iconic to Keaton's character as the Clock in Safety Last is to Harold Lloyd's. <
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>The feature, Steamboat Bill Junior, fits into essentially the same formula as Convict 13: again, an underdog with virtually no respect shown to him by man or nature eventually performs an almost superhuman act to redeem himself to the world and win the girl. The setting here is a river town, Buster is the weak, clueless son of a tough steamboat captain who tries and eventually succeeds in helping his father defeat the rival corporate entity. First however he must undergo significant abuse as he tries to adjust from spoiled big city life to the rugged life on the river. The climax of the film is a cataclysmic storm that floods everything, and Buster saves his girl, his father and his girl's father from drowning. Buster's acrobatics are as always amazing to watch; this time, he maneuvers around a large steamship with the dexterity of a monkey but also with the grace and beauty of a ballet dancer. <
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>Steamboat Bill Jr. is not as successful and universally satisfying to watch as The General or Sherlock Jr., but there are enough wonderful moments to make it worthwhile. Of all the KINO volumes in this collection, this may not be the best, but its quality makes it worth owning.