Steamboat Bill, Jr.

1928 Directed by Buster Keaton, Charles Reisner

The Laugh Special of the Age. See It.

The just out of college effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was little.

Buster Keaton Ernest Torrence Tom McGuire Marion Byron Tom Lewis James T. Mack

Alternative Titles

Wasser hat keine Balken, Marinheiro de Encomenda, Stürmische Zeiten, Mand over Bord, Armastus ei tunne piiri, El héroe del río, Laiva-Kalle Nuorempi, Cadet d'eau douce, Apofoitos kollegiou, Az ifjabb gőzös, Io... e il ciclone, 스팀보트 빌 주니어, De schout bij nacht, Steamboat Bill, Junior

comedy action

70 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Sally Jane Black 5

Despite the racial caricatures--and that's a big despite--this remains remarkable. Buster Keaton goes from, as I said to my friend, looking clumsy to looking incredibly acrobatic in his pratfalls. My friend called him "a ferret made of spaghetti and rubber bands." I am in awe of how he goes from standing upright to whirling on his own head without transition. Edit: worth noting that Buster's queerness is explicit.
Review by Travis Lytle ★★★★½ 5

Part comedy, part romance, and part disaster-movie adventure, "Steamboat Bill, Jr." is an uproariously entertaining genre mash-up from cinema's early days. Directed by Charles Reisner and, though uncredited, Buster Keaton, the film weaves a classic narrative together with hilarious comic beats and breathtaking set-pieces. It is a well-assembled, handsomely visualized, and wholly satisfying experience.
Buster Keaton stars as the son of a steamboat captain whose shipping lanes, not to mention entire town, are being taken over by a competitor. The story finds Keaton's character falling for the competitor's daughter, alienating his father, and trying to save dear old dad's ship from a terrible storm. It is a classic star-crossed lovers tale punctuated by clearly communicated themes and comic bits that…
Review by Dirk Diggler ★★★★

A Buster Keaton flick a day keeps the doctor away! The man was a genius in visual and physical comedy. His work is timeless. Though this is not the best stuff i've seen from him, it is still so delightful and enjoyable with an absolutely brilliant third-act. The moment where the house falls around Keaton as he gets through the window frame will never fail to astonish me, and the following storm sequence is so so good. I'll never stop admiring Keaton.
Review by Willow Maclay ★★★★

Yeah, I hate when tools end up in my bread too.
Review by TajLV ★★★½ 2

Part of my Top 100 Directors Challenge
This is one of many uncredited works made by Buster Keaton after his expensive gamble on "The General" (1926) caused him to lose control over production of his own films. Here, despite co-directing with Charles Reisner and contributing greatly to the script, he was billed only as the lead actor and had no acknowledged part in the writing or directing. His younger sister, Louise Keaton, also worked on this film as a uncredited script supervisor and as a stunt double for the lead actress, Marion Byron.
The story takes place in a town called River Junction, where William "Steamboat Bill" Canfield (Ernest Torrence) is the skipper of an aging riverboat called the Stonewall…
Review by Evan Kraft ★★★★ 4

Ok this one was much better. The story was pretty good, but who really cares about story in a Keaton movie (I'm looking at you, Seven Chances). The stunts are what you came for, and stunts are what you get. The second half has so many great gags that look dangerous/expensive, and I forgot this is the movie with the iconique house falling with Buster in the window shot that's been used in so many movies since.
I've said this before and I'll say it again: 1920s comedies slap.
Also last night my brother Sheldon and I watched this and Seven Chances last night, and now it's my turn to link Sheldon's review. Go follow him if you haven't.

Recent reviews

Review by Naoufel ★★★

Outrageous and several very iconic scenes.
Review by m_hulot ★★★★★

the *most* excuse-for-a-plot of keaton's films but a climax that is among the greatest in the history of cinema. when a genius like keaton gets these kind of resources to destroy boats and throw whole-ass houses on himself then the cinema is at its best. i mean goddamn.
Review by mrdrenzaria ★★★

The falling house.
Review by T-Bone T-Bone ★★½

Långt mellan skämten. Sista tjugo börjar massa coola saker hända men då hade jag redan checkat ut. Soundtracket i versionen jag såg hade en elgitarr. EN ELGITARR! Så störande.
Review by Cadinho93 ★★★★★

Steamboat Bill, Jr. is breathtaking in its aim. It is nothing less than one the greatest comedies ever filmed and up alongside The General. If Buster Keaton and "genius" feel overdone, you will discover a renewed conviction of that "genius" label.
Review by Noraa ★★★★

Dads, am I right?
also if this movie was made today (it couldn't be, for safety's sake if all else) would cost like a billion dollars. they destroy like a whole towns worth of fake buildings in this
Review by fireside ★★★★

live music experience with phillip carli! great exp
Review by &rew ★★★★½

*Live performance by Philip Carli
Review by mod16 ★★★★½

Live piano accompaniment by Philip Carli

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