Spite Marriage (1929)

(On Cable TV, July 2020) It’s interesting to see Buster Keaton’s Spite Marriage on the heels of its Red-Skelton remake I Doot It. The similarities between the two are friendlier than most—Buster Keaton participated in the remake, and there’s a feeling that he was able to fix some of the structural issues found in Spite Marriage. This first film does feel different — by virtue of having been made in the waning days of the silent era, it minimizes the title cards and lets Keaton’s physical comedy tell the story. (Although, unusually enough, the soundtrack heard today is the one produced for the film, and often has sound effects synchronized for the action… including what’s best described as one of the earliest laugh tracks.) As often happens in Keaton films, the result often feels like two or three comic ideas smashed together: here we have a fan getting a chance to sneak in as an actor in a Broadway play to be close to his favourite actress and botching it completely; a newlywed couple doing their best to avoid consummation, leading to a surprisingly wholesome bedroom routine involving a passed-out partner; and extended hijinks set aboard a yacht. Only the first two acts (roughly the first half of the film) are reused in the remake, with some creative reordering to make for a stronger three-act structure. The original has Keaton at his usual silent self—perhaps not as hilarious as in other movies, but funny enough to warrant attention even for those who don’t really like silent movies. (The relatively short running time, at a bit under 80 minutes, also helps.) Dorothy Sebastian looks better than many other silent-era actresses, and seems game to be Keaton’s foil. Spite Marriage may not be the best introduction to Keaton’s gift for physical comedy, but it’s well worth a look by fans going down his filmography or anyone who (like me) just happened to have seen I Dood It.