tacosalad Reviews

The Scribe (1966)

Easily admired out-of-context by any Buster Keaton fan

[24 February 2003]

Because "The Scribe" is an instructional film, it doesn't develop a traditional plot. Keaton depicts an amateur newspaper reporter who finds a list of safety rules while snooping at a construction site. He runs amok trying to bring safety problems to the attention of construction workers, often precipitating disasters instead of preventing them. Because it's instructive, the pace is sometimes slow, but the film quickly establishes a pattern for delivering unexpected punch lines, thereby demanding the viewer's attention. And when there's action, the film really moves.

Though seventy years old, Keaton darts about at a frenetic pace reminiscent of his early years, and still engages in hair-raising stunts. But while he moves as quickly as ever, Keaton performs stunts that rely on his skill and timing, not physical strength. Instead of leaping chasms and climbing flagpoles, Keaton here plummets through a floor and gets bodily hoisted by a crane. It's still white-knuckle stuff, but distinctly less intense than Keaton's younger years.

Keaton's signature gags and style emerge throughout, and they enhance the film's instruction. For example, Keaton shoves a heavy tool box behind some equipment so nobody will trip over it. In a classic Keaton-style double-cross, someone instantly trips over the tool box in its new location! The gag is perfectly timed and perfectly executed, and it enhances the instructional value by candidly demonstrating that Keaton's careless "safety measure" was inadequate.

Due to its instructional format "The Scribe" is unlikely to satisfy a casual viewer, but it will certainly fascinate a Buster Keaton fan. To the best of my knowledge it isn't available on video, though you might find it on 16mm film at a public library.

The Great Gildersleeve (1954–1956)

Charmless adaptation of a radio & movie classic

[22 June 2002]

The Great Gildersleeve was a pleasant, charming radio show. The television version utterly lacks the charm and cuteness of its radio counterpart.

The show's principal actor, Willard Waterman, seems charismatic and talented, yet the Gildersleeve character he plays is an unpleasant woman chaser. The writing (at least of the episodes I've seen) is excruciatingly tedious; each episode centers upon a singularly feeble premise and then "does it to death."

For instance, in one typical episode Gildersleeve's lust gets him committed to a long course of dance lessons and must get himself out. It's a tired, worn-out premise, yet it's repeated three times in the same episode. This thin plot is padded with feeble gags so tedious that a kindergartener wouldn't have the patience to write them. There are no sub-plots.

Other observers are apparently not so complementary as I've been. Sam Frank ("Buyer's Guide to Fifty Years of TV on Video") described the TV version of the Great Gildersleeve as "insulting and offensive." I haven't seen the episode he was describing, but apparently the show's values were consistently bad. He cited star Willard Waterman as later proclaiming, "The young man who produced the series, Matt Rapf, was an idiot who had never heard the radio show..."

These are harsh words from the show's star, but regard them fair warning before you waste half an hour on an episode. It was offered on video for a while, but apparently did not sell because the tapes were eventually given away as freebies. Hmmm.