For some unknown reason, Buster Keaton seemed to enjoy lampooning the idle rich. Once again he plays the no account rich son of a wealthy family.
Alfred Butler (Keaton) is a lazy lay about who has a faithful valet (Snitz "arrange that" Edwards) at his service. To make a man of him, Butler's father sends him on a camping trip with his valet. Alfred has all of the comforts of home including an ice box (the iceman cometh each day), newspaper delivery, a comfortable bed etc. etc.
The pair embark on a hunting excursion, but in spite of game all about them, Alfred fails to see the animals. What he does do is accidentally discharge his gun (backwards no less) and come upon a comely young mountain girl (Sally O'Neil) with whom he becomes immediately smitten. After rescuing Alfred from a failed fishing trip, the girl takes Alfred home to meet her father (Walter James) and brother (Bud Fine). The two are not impressed with Alfred and consider him to be unworthy of the girl.
When the valet goes to "arrange" the marriage, he sees a picture of prize fighter Alfred "Battling" Butler (Francis McDonald) in the newspaper and decides to masquerade Buster as the fighter in order to gain the respect of the girl's family. You know where this is going to lead.
Thinking Buster has won the world championship, and with her family's blessing, the two marry. Buster and Snitz decide that the deception must continue as "Battling" Butler is to begin training the very next day for the defense of his title. And the fun begins.
Buster tries to work out with the champion but is found out. The champ walks out and his manager (Eddie Borden) and trainer (Tom Wilson)are told to get Buster in shape for the fight. The fight day arrives and.....................................................
This was not Buster Keaton's best feature. In the first place, gone is his famous pork pie hat. He dresses, except for the training and fight sequences, in rich man's clothes throughout. He just doesn't look comfortable in that attire. Maybe that was intended, I don't know. Up to the point that he goes into training, I didn't think the film was all that funny. The laughs are just too few and far between during the first part of the film. The climatic fight at the film's climax was a little hard to believe in my opinion.
Buster would hit a home run however, with his next film, "The General".
As an aside, Francis McDonald had a career that spanned well over 50 years from the early silents to the 1960s. He was a regular in westerns playing mostly despicable characters is parts of varying size. He did have a small but effective part in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" (1956).
Alfred Butler (Keaton) is a lazy lay about who has a faithful valet (Snitz "arrange that" Edwards) at his service. To make a man of him, Butler's father sends him on a camping trip with his valet. Alfred has all of the comforts of home including an ice box (the iceman cometh each day), newspaper delivery, a comfortable bed etc. etc.
The pair embark on a hunting excursion, but in spite of game all about them, Alfred fails to see the animals. What he does do is accidentally discharge his gun (backwards no less) and come upon a comely young mountain girl (Sally O'Neil) with whom he becomes immediately smitten. After rescuing Alfred from a failed fishing trip, the girl takes Alfred home to meet her father (Walter James) and brother (Bud Fine). The two are not impressed with Alfred and consider him to be unworthy of the girl.
When the valet goes to "arrange" the marriage, he sees a picture of prize fighter Alfred "Battling" Butler (Francis McDonald) in the newspaper and decides to masquerade Buster as the fighter in order to gain the respect of the girl's family. You know where this is going to lead.
Thinking Buster has won the world championship, and with her family's blessing, the two marry. Buster and Snitz decide that the deception must continue as "Battling" Butler is to begin training the very next day for the defense of his title. And the fun begins.
Buster tries to work out with the champion but is found out. The champ walks out and his manager (Eddie Borden) and trainer (Tom Wilson)are told to get Buster in shape for the fight. The fight day arrives and.....................................................
This was not Buster Keaton's best feature. In the first place, gone is his famous pork pie hat. He dresses, except for the training and fight sequences, in rich man's clothes throughout. He just doesn't look comfortable in that attire. Maybe that was intended, I don't know. Up to the point that he goes into training, I didn't think the film was all that funny. The laughs are just too few and far between during the first part of the film. The climatic fight at the film's climax was a little hard to believe in my opinion.
Buster would hit a home run however, with his next film, "The General".
As an aside, Francis McDonald had a career that spanned well over 50 years from the early silents to the 1960s. He was a regular in westerns playing mostly despicable characters is parts of varying size. He did have a small but effective part in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" (1956).