Rent The Navigator (1924)

‘I think a long walk will do me good.’ - The Navigator review by LJ

Overall lacks the grander stunts I have come to expect from Buster Keaton silent films. Unfortunately feels a bit racist.

Lost at Sea - The Navigator review by griggs

My Keaton streak had to end somewhere. The Navigator is the one where the craft shows but the fun doesn’t — there are gags, yes, and a hat bit near the start that earns its laugh. The trouble is the middle, which is mostly just fine. Scattered, mildly amusing, forgettable.

You can see exactly what Keaton’s doing throughout. It just doesn’t land the way it should.

The feeling afterwards is mild deflation rather than frustration — like ordering your usual and it arriving lukewarm. You can see the wheels turning; you just never feel the pull. Worth repeating? Probably not.

Silent Comedy. - The Navigator review by Steve

Typically energetic early Buster Keaton feature, with the silent comedian this time squeezing the gags out of an adventure at sea. He plays his usual inscrutable stoneface, but now as a clueless, entitled millionaire with little experience of real life.

When his naive marriage proposal to a wealthy neighbour (Kathryn McGuire) is spiked, Buster- for complicated reasons- finds himself alone with the same woman on an ocean going steam ship, which becomes a playground for Keaton’s trademark gymnastics.

Eventually as the couple adapt to their environment, their absurd gadgetry seems to anticipate Wallace and Gromit! There are also some underwater routines. The jokes are not always of superior quality, but there are plenty of laughs and Buster is engaging. It gathers momentum for the blockbuster climax…

Though this encounter with a tropical island of savage cannibals will offend modern sensibilities. Still, McGuire has comical input beyond standard for the love interest in a silent farce. It’s a bit uneven but still fun, overflowing with the great man’s acrobatics and cartoonish daydreams.