In an affectionate tribute to the silent films that made his name in the 1920s, Buster Keaton returns to the familiar character in slap shoes, baggy trousers and flat hat for this short travelogue set in Canada. The idea is simple: he gets on a tiny motorised railway buggy and travels from coast to coast, settling into his mobile home-from-home while causing or narrowly averting chaos along the way.
Under the direction of Gerald Potterton, the gags are more like a nostalgic nod in the right direction rather than laugh-out-loud funny; nevertheless, Keaton fans will find much to appreciate in the details: his familiar shambling walk, or the way Buster slips off his seat as a train rushes past him, or the way he stands on top of the buggy to scan the horizon just as he did on the locomotive in The General.
Ironically, the best sight gag is not in The Railrodder itself but in the documentary about the making of the film, when, with exquisite timing, Buster appears to stop and start a freight train by pulling it with one hand.
The Railrodder and the documentary are both currently available as extras on the MK2 restored 2-DVD edition of The General.
Under the direction of Gerald Potterton, the gags are more like a nostalgic nod in the right direction rather than laugh-out-loud funny; nevertheless, Keaton fans will find much to appreciate in the details: his familiar shambling walk, or the way Buster slips off his seat as a train rushes past him, or the way he stands on top of the buggy to scan the horizon just as he did on the locomotive in The General.
Ironically, the best sight gag is not in The Railrodder itself but in the documentary about the making of the film, when, with exquisite timing, Buster appears to stop and start a freight train by pulling it with one hand.
The Railrodder and the documentary are both currently available as extras on the MK2 restored 2-DVD edition of The General.