While films on Jimmy Walker and Lon Chaney had better luck in 1957, others on Helen Morgan and Buster Keaton did not. This suffers, not from imperfect casting, but from an intentional untruthful telling of the great stone face's life. After "Singin' in the Rain", Donald O'Connor was the only choice I could see playing Keaton outside of Keaton himself. And Keaton was far too old and tired to do that. He desperately needed money and allowed Paramount (not even his own studio) to exploit him onscreen.
The problem is in the script and direction, combining three Mrs. Keatons into one, and presenting a very poor paced drama that outside of the recreated comedy bits didn't interest audiences one bit, or perhaps they were too smart to believe it. Ann Blyth (who had the misfortune of playing Helen Morgan the same year) plays the wife the same way other male biographies are presented, one note and cliched.
Even worse is Peter Lorre as a fictional director, trying to get laughs when being a fictional Mack Sennett when he's as dour as Erich Von Stroheim. Robert Keith as the studio head is far too cheerful and approachable to seem believable. Rhonda Fleming as a vampy vixen seems far too modern for the time period. O'Connor is the saving grace because he seems to be the only one here who understands the subject of the film.
The problem is in the script and direction, combining three Mrs. Keatons into one, and presenting a very poor paced drama that outside of the recreated comedy bits didn't interest audiences one bit, or perhaps they were too smart to believe it. Ann Blyth (who had the misfortune of playing Helen Morgan the same year) plays the wife the same way other male biographies are presented, one note and cliched.
Even worse is Peter Lorre as a fictional director, trying to get laughs when being a fictional Mack Sennett when he's as dour as Erich Von Stroheim. Robert Keith as the studio head is far too cheerful and approachable to seem believable. Rhonda Fleming as a vampy vixen seems far too modern for the time period. O'Connor is the saving grace because he seems to be the only one here who understands the subject of the film.