Speak Easily

Dir. Edward Sedgwick

82 Minutes

USA

1932

Starring: Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Ruth Selwyn, Thelma Todd, Hedda Hopper, William Pawley

***1/2/*****

Buster Keaton's move into MGM at the onset of his talking picture career us justifiably considered a bad move (both critically and from Keaton himself), though going through the output of the time period makes it easy to wonder if much of this negativity comes from a) comparison to the remarkable collection of silent comedies (which is always going to reflect poorly on the pre-code sound films), b) general desire to go along with the crowd and knock these later works, or c) simply not giving them a look at all and just assuming the worst. Naturally there are some truly painful duds during this time period (Free and Easy is not without its difficulties, and The Passionate Plumber is basically intolerable), but there is a level of experiment with these pictures, coming not from Keaton as a physical comedian and the set pieces that he performs with youthful agility (though there is still plenty of that on display here, albeit with some natural concessions), but from chemistry and banter with comic foils, and his two best films from this period have him doing just that (Parlor, Bedroom and Bath with Charlotte Greenwood, and this one with Jimmy Durante).

Speak Easily has Keaton as a professor dissatisfied with his humdrum existence (a fantastic verbal gag early on has his butler discussing the previous post who shot himself in the very chair Keaton is sitting, and later died laying on the very couch he has moved to sets things in the right direction), and after discovering he has inherited a few thousand dollars sets off to travel and add some excitement (the inheritance is actually a lie created by the butler, who is too pleased with the amount of excitement he is seeing from Keaton for the first time in years to be bothered much by the eventual ramifications). Keaton soon becomes entangled with a small town acting trope after becoming smitten with a young dancer in the group, befriends its musician (Durante), and aids in their putting on a big show. The narrative hits familiar notes, but it is very easy to be charmed by the group and their antics (and the climax during the performance has quite a bit to enjoy, though still falling short of the real enthusiasm ignited by Keaton and Greenwood in the earlier Parlor). Director Edward Sedgwick remains the common link and gives a nice community spirit to the ensemble. All in all a fun film from the often maligned period.

April 27th, 2020